Weeks 35 and 36 - September 18, 2023

 Misyonè yo ansenye verite

Hey, everyone, I hope everything's been going good for y'all. Don't worry, the title is not in Spanish, but in Haitian Creole, the second most popular language here.  That's the first phrase I learned.  It means, "The missionaries teach truth," and that's true. 

These past couple weeks were pretty interesting.  We had an early exchange because my last comp, Elder Macdonald, was needed elsewhere, and I got a new comp, Elder Bringhurst from Nevada.  This happened a week ago from last Friday, so I feel like I've had enough time with my new comp to say how I feel.  He works super duper hard.  I don't really say "super duper" much at all, so that's how you know this guy is different. Before here, he was working in the air conditioned mission office in the capital, making sure every one of us lowly missionaries get what we need in our house to live our sweaty lives.  Now he's here, he had a couple days getting used to the South (the capital and here in the south are a tiny bit different culture wise), and he's been pushing me to my limit work wise, which is good.  It's honestly been a roller coaster of a week, lots of ups and downs, and the work never stops.  He's been teaching me the "Don't rest until you're dead" type attitude, and man it's been tough. 

I can't say it's been without recompense, though.  I've been seeing a lot of blessings and even experienced a bit of a miracle.  Last Friday, I was not doing well mentally.  I was following Bringhurst around, wondering the whole time if I could ever shape up to be the kind of hard worker he is, or if "my best" will ever be "good enough."  My mind was filled from top to bottom with thoughts of incompetence, stress, exhaustion, and even a bit of wanting to go home.  Later in the day we were having another lesson, and it was time to pray as we do after every lesson.  The person we were teaching chose me to give the closing prayer.  When I prayed, I basically said the same things I usually ask for in lesson prayers.  "Please give us thy Spirit and help us to be happy and to find joy," stuff like that.  Prayer ends, amen, and I open my eyes not to see the world around me filled with stress and loneliness, but I saw love and light.  My mind completely and very noticeably shifted, I saw my comp not only as a hard worker, but as someone who loves the Lord and this work, and takes it seriously.  I saw the person we were teaching as a human being with cares and desires, and when I tried to return to being sad about whatever it was that was haunting me, I couldn't remember what was dragging me down.  I went the rest of the day in peace, knowing although my efforts today might be miniscule, they're my efforts.  It's all I have to give, and someday, I'll be able to give more. 

I'm so grateful I was able to feel of God's love so strongly, and I can testify of its reality and truthfulness.  They say, "God's light is tangible, you can feel it in your hands," and this week I was able to feel that light.  I'm so grateful that in my hardest moments, I can 100 percent say I wasn't alone.  I know too that God loves us all equally, so if this happens to me, why not you too?

I'm going to continue learning and growing, and I know I'll learn a lot from my new comp.  I'm excited to see what else is in store for us here, and I'll let you know all about all the good stuff that happens.  Thanks guys for your support, talk to you soon!

I must go -Elder Barlow

Photos:

This week we had a service project in our backyard helping Haitians fill a huge hole with rocks!  It was pretty fun actually.  The hole was like 2-3 of me deep (super deep), so it took us about 3 hours to do.  Elder Bringhurst knows Creole pretty dang well, so he was talking to them a bunch, which was fun. 

We also had a big lesson and invited a bunch of the members to come over, and we had cake that Bringhurst made too!

Today we went hiking in the mountains, and saw some pretty crazy views.  The only bad thing about great views is how hard it is to really capture its greatness on camera...

Weeks 33 and 34 - September 4, 2023

Hello, all.  Hope everyone's having a dandy time wherever you are.  Personally, I'm doing great, there's sunshine and rainbows everywhere, and I even got to see some unicorns too. 

These past couple weeks have been interesting, jokes aside. I'll start with the tropical storm we had two weeks ago.  We had to stay inside all day on Tuesday and Wednesday because of the "intense tropical storm that will destroy everything, oh no." The most puny storm ever, all things considered.  I've seen worse in the US.  Kinda a waste of two days. 

We're getting moved into the new house over time.  Every week when we go shopping we add more stuff we need to the house.  We're still missing some stuff that I would like to have, but that's the mission life, I guess.  I'm gonna be bold and say I actually kinda miss Barahona, my last area.  Things were more comfortable there.  I do find myself having the "grass is always greener" type mentality, but I don't let it affect me. 

I've been really getting to know the area and the people in it pretty well.  Just this past week we found a lot of new people to teach, I think we got to 24.  We were also able to hit our 10/10 member lessons goal again.  It's been a while since we got that.  We have three people on date for baptism, two sisters of Rodalfi, the guy we baptized when I got here, and another girl named Francesca.  Fun people, I like being around them a lot. 

I want to also mention that things have happened that are personal but have really strengthened my testimony a lot.  Like, undeniably I know now that God really truthfully loves each of us and is there to help us through hard moments.  My faith has really been tested after working hard for these past eight months, but sometimes a miracle happens and it's all worth it.  I've learned that faith (belief + action on that belief) is extremely important and that literally everything else comes after.  Faith comes first, and if we act on the beliefs we have, there's consequences, good ones.  Sometimes we don't see it or recognize it, other times we do, but every time, there's consequences, or blessings, that come from having and acting on faith. 

Anyway, things are overall going really well, the work is getting a little easier over time as we're constantly working to make our teaching pool bigger.  I hit eight months recently, which marks me finishing the beginning (the first 3rd of my mission), and entering the middle stage.  Time has been moving really fast, it's crazy.  Thank you all for your support, I'm praying for you, and I hope you have a good rest of the week!

I must go -Elder Barlow

Letter of Introduction of New Mission President to Parents of Missionaries - August 25, 2023

 

Hola Brother and Sister Barlow,

We're Presidente and Hermana Hernández, the new mission leaders of Elder Barlow and the rest of the 180 missionaries of the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo West Mission. 

We have one son, Oscar David. He is 16 years old and soon will be here in the Dominican Republic with us. We are both from Honduras but consider Guatemala our home. We like to travel, watch movies, play basketball, be together as a family, and serve the Lord. 

We arrived to the mission almost 2 months ago and have had the chance to get to know all the wonderful missionaries here, including your son.

Elder Barlow is a great missionary and we are very excited for the opportunity to work alongside him. Our upmost priority is that he can stay safe and protected and that he can become a more devoted lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ. We know that the Lord will bless him and all the people he is currently teaching as he serves the Lord with all his heart, might, mind, and strength.

We appreciate the support and energy you bring your son every week.

With lots of love, 

President and Hermana Hernandez 

Week 31 and 32 - August 21, 2023

Hey, everyone, these past couple weeks have been interesting, we've had a lot of good stuff happen.  Let's get into it. 

For my first couple weeks in Azua, I've gotten to really know the differences that it has from Barahona.  The people here talk a lot faster and are a bit harder to understand.  The members are all super faithful, but it's hard to get them interested in helping out with missionary work.  If you didn't know, a big part of missionary work is exciting the members to do some of it for us, because you know, I'll leave here in a couple months, while the members are here generally until they die, so getting the members involved with the people we're teaching is really important.  

Of course, it's also super-hot down here as well, nothing new there.  We stay indoors during the afternoon, so we don't die.  I also got to realize how big the area really is.  We ended up doing a bit of exploring in places my comp has never been before, to try and find new people to teach, so that was fun.  I got a lot of pics for that. 

We also were able to move into a new house that's right in the middle of our area and a minute walk from the church, and that was a blessing.  The new house is super nice, a lot better than the last one.  We spent a lot of money on the moving truck, so now we're a little down money wise, which is difficult.  Soon I'm also gonna have to start learning how to cook because neither me or my comp Elder Macdonald know a lot, and I'm really not a fan of starving. 

Things are starting to get a lot harder for me here, mostly because of the food issues were having.  Prayers for helping us find someone to cook for us every day would be appreciated.  I have a lot of trust in God that these afflictions and difficulties will be for my good, and that it will all end.  The mission is hard and that's OK.  We're taking it a day at a time. 

Thank you all for your support and prayers.  I love you and talk to you soon!

I must go -Elder Barlow

Lots of pics, but there's also a lot of really cool videos in the Google photos album!

Week 29 and 30 - August 7, 2023

Hey, everyone, just got back from the beach, super hot, but it was fun.  Got a ton of stuff to talk about, sorry for all of you who aren't fans of long emails, I promise you don't wanna miss this one though.  With that being said, let's get into this week. 

Wednesday:

Transfers happened, left the house super early to San Geronimo (area in between South and capital) to do transfers. 

When we got there, we had a short devotional about how important having a good relationship with your comp is.  Then they pulled up a wheel with a bunch of our names on it, and when it landed on someone's name, they came up front and they announced where they're going and who their comp is.  I was actually the second person to get to go up, which was hype.  They called my area, La Colonia, Azua.  When I heard I was going to Azua, I was terrified because that's the hottest area in the mission, and it's August, the hottest month of the year.

 

I met my new comp, Elder Macdonald, and said goodbye to Elder Winkle, wished him luck with the area, and got on the bus to the "land of fire."   On the way, he told me a little about the area, its huge, and has a super good branch, tons of super strong members, including a lot of youth.  Very different from my area, in all the best ways.

We got back to the Azua Chapel (where we have zone conference, and where we stopped earlier that morning), and then went right around the corner to the house.  It's a 6-man house, and definitely not as good as the last one I was in.  A lot bigger, but a little messier.  In the house was the zone leaders Elder Scott and Elder Walker, and also Elder Bueno and Elder Fernández, who were in my district in Barahona for a bit, good to see him again. 

The rest of the day we spent resting at home because Elder Macdonald was sick.  Then at 9:00, the power goes out, no water, no light, pitch black, no fans, 90 degrees.  Then it starts pouring rain, then smoke starts filling the house because apparently the neighbors like burning their trash sometimes. Great first day. 

Thursday:

Today we did weekly planning, and I was able to kinda get to know a lot of the people were teaching and sorted them all in my notes according to where they live and how long we've been teaching them.  The area we work is actually split into four areas, La Colonia the main part, north of that is Buenos Aires, south of that is Quisqueya, where all the rich people and their mansions are.  Then, a long drive away is two more neighborhood towns, Las Charcas and Estebania.  We don't go to those last two very often, as it costs 300 pesos there and back, 600 in total, so we only go every other Sunday.

After learning all that, we start the 30-minute walk to our area, it's a long walk, but I'll get used to it.  Besides, we're in the process of getting a house inside of our area that's down the street from the church.  We ended up not spending that much time prossing, because it starts storming rain again.  Luckily, we're close to the chapel, so we go there to wait out the rain. 

As we were pulling up to the chapel, a bunch of kids were playing basketball outside in the rain, and I got to meet some of them, including Rodalfi, the kid getting baptized this Saturday.  He has a phone call with the zone leader and does his baptismal interview at the church.  I'm pretty excited to meet the rest of the youth.

We go back to the house, and get there at 9, and the power is out again.  No light, no water, nothing, second night in a row. I'm starting to think I brought the Barahona rain curse with me. 

Friday:

We wake up and the power still hasn't come back.  We end up going to the church to do morning studies and to charge our phones, then we have district council, which was fun. 

Today ended up being the first full day of work in my new area, and it was good.  It rained yet again.  Luckily, we were in people's houses most of the time.  We had a member come out with us for basically the whole day, Danilo, the secretary, super cool dude, about to serve a mission.  We had this one lesson with a guy named Enmanuel, super super cool kid, probably the smartest kid I've taught in my mission so far.  I got to teach him the first vision and the lesson overall was great.  He was super engaged. I hope I can be here for his baptism. 

I also got to meet the kid are baptizing this Saturday, Rodalfi, and his family.  That was fun, they're all great people, and a strong family, too.  Every lesson I had today got me more and more excited to work more here, but I was also really stressed by the end of the day because of how big the area is and how many people I need to keep on track.  Elder Macdonald, I noticed, is an amazing companion though, super funny, super chill, and has really good empathy and respect.  He told me I'll be fine, and we'll work hard to get me situated. 

Saturday:

Today was fun, we had the baptism of Rodalfi, who's a beast.  I had more time today to meet some more of the youth, and they're pretty cool.  Later that night, as we were walking back home, me and Elder Macdonald talked about setting goals to help me be more active in regard to getting to know people.  I would say personally I've definitely gotten down the teaching part of missionary work and finding new people, or walking up to random people saying, "Hey, we're the missionaries would you like to hear our message?" doesn't really scare me anymore, so that's not hard.  The hard part for me is simply talking to people as people.  I, as well as Macdonald, feel like that's the next step for my personal progression here on the mission.  I'll keep y'all updated on that.  I'm truthfully excited to work more with Macdonald, he's very knowledgeable, super friendly, Tongan/Texan pride guy (what's a better mix?). 

And Sunday was pretty straightforward.  Went to church, met a lot more people- super cool people.  There was a moment that I thought was super funny today.  We passed by this metal basketball hoop that was connected to a window, and it was DROOPING.  It is literally hot enough here that it is melting metal!  Absolutely unheard of.  Later in the day we took a drive to Las Charcas to teach a member family over there, then took a taxi back home.  We actually have "our guy" who is a taxi driver who we call whenever we need a taxi.  His name is Yunior (Junior), and he also is a rapper.  We listened to some of his songs on the drive to Las Charcas and they're not bad. I'll try to get a good pic with him just so when he gets famous I'll have a pic with a famous guy, ya tu sabes. 

Wow, super long and scary email.  Hope it was a good read, I try my best.  Right now, as I'm typing this, I have hope for the future of working in this area, and a little stress too.  This area is filled with a lot of people that are way smarter than my last area, meaning when I teach and work here, I actually have to try.  Simply saying, "God loves you" is'nt enough here (not that that's the only thing we were saying in my last area but just as an example).  I'll let y'all know when I feel like I've finally settled.  Thanks for all the support and love, I'll keep praying for y'all.  Hablamos!

I must go -Elder Barlow

Week 27 and 28 - July 24, 2023

I feel like it's been a while since I've sent an email.  Sorry about that, but it's OK because I'm back now. 

These past couple weeks have been pretty normal, nothing insanely crazy happened.  We're still searching for people that will follow what we teach and invite them to do.  Kinda a weird feeling, but after 5 and a half months of being in this small little area, I feel like I've spoken to just about everyone.  

We do have some people that are cool and that have a lot of potential to progress and make it far.  There was this one lady we started talking to recently, and when we visited her the second time, we asked if she was reading the book of Mormon we gave her, and she said, "Yes, you don't have to keep asking me, I love reading."  So that was fun.  We just hope her Evangelical mom doesn't tell her she's not allowed to talk to us (it's happened before with other people). 

Our main man Manuel is still going strong, he said he's still figuring out something (he won't tell us what) and then he's ready for baptism!  Hopefully he gets it figured out soon, I only got a couple weeks left here. 

I've recently been figuring out what does and does not bring me joy here.  For example, prayerfully working and serving and talking to people, I've found, has made me happy here. Whenever I want to rest or do nothing like Bruno Mars, I don't find myself as happy.  Every day, finding the motivation to work has been really hard, but I also ended every day with a positive attitude.

  

I'm so grateful for this opportunity I have not only to serve, but to see exactly how the gospel brings happiness and true joy into people's lives, including my own. I'm not seeing as much progress in people as I would like (the past couple months we've only had a maximum of three people at church), but I know according to the scriptures that if we "bear with patience [our] afflictions, [God] will give unto [us] success" (Alma 26:27), not only in missionary work, but in whatever we strive for.  It's not always easy, of course, to keep this patience, but it's what's expected of me as a missionary, and I know by the end I will be blessed as I continue. 

Thank you, everyone, for your support.  Send me an email letting me know how everything's going, I would love to hear from you!  Talk to you (hopefully) next week!

I must go -Elder Barlow