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

Pics of the Week

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!