Elder Tanner Barlow

So I’m pretty sure that if i get another week like this one im going to have to have a nice long talk with God. No before you get all your worries up (mom) let me explain.  This wasn’t really a bad week just not the best. We start out with Thursday. Divisions and i get to spend a day with my MTC companion who is now my zone leader.  It was fun to catch up and talk (all in Spanish i was so happy to show him i can actually say more than three words like the first time we were together.) so we are eating tacos al pastor (my favorites) and the sister say ” oh did you hear sister so and so, died yesterday and they’re  having her funeral today. Now that’s sad but didnt know the sister to well so we didnt go. Ok Friday comes along and my comp and i are going to visit a recent convert who tells us the patriarch just died and they’re going to have his funeral also. Now we knew him really well so we went and said are last goodbyes.  Get home there’s no gas and the land lord doesn’t want to go buy any and it’s the end of the month so we dont have any money to go buy some.  Friday till Monday, no hot water. Tried to wash with ice water that left the tap and almost had a body shut down.  Normally for those who dont know im jumping freezing water all the time with no problem but i figure now that ive shed off so much insolation that i cant do that any more.  So i had to wait till today to shower again.  Now that i think about that probably shouldn’t of said that but oh well..  Dont worry used plenty of deodorant and that manly spray good stuff.  Good news the lady we are teaching is still getting baptized and she is so excited. She had lots of problems this last week and when we said sorry she said nope its just the devil trying to stop me from doing this so im so doing it.  Any ways im happy (and now extremely humbled by the gas thing jajaja) love you all so much

Con amor

Elder Barlow

Elder Samuel James

Right into the week.

Tuesday. We sang Lead Kindly Light in choir. Had a devotional, in which my district were ushers, by Elder M. Russell Ballard. Highlights. It's no small thing to be a missionary. If you have a moment of discouragement, write a letter to Joseph in Liberty Jail to cheer him up. Elder Dangelo gave the opening prayer and Hermana Dustin gave the closing prayer. I think you can see that devotional online.

Wednesday. Elder Porter and I went to the doctor because I've been having a really hard time sleeping. Then we hosted again. Then we got to leave mission boundaries to stop by a pharmacy to get me some medicine. Then we taught a great lesson.

Thursday. I played volleyball in Gym and I managed to spike the ball a few times and block it a few times even though I'm 5'7 and have white-boy-hops. (Yes, that is the technical term). I went to the councilors about my sleeping and stress and it really helped me. Then when I got back to the class room everyone was really excited to see me and really welcoming and I felt really loved. I have an amazing district.

Friday. We taught some awesome lessons and at the end of the day some of the members of my district got in a big rubber band war.

Saturday. We learned the two forms of past tense in Spanish.

Sunday. Devotional highlights. The speaker was Stephen B. Allen. He said he once was sitting in while mission calls were being made. The apostle doing it, when one picture came up, said, "I can see his companion in my minds eye. The question is, where is he?" Then they made their way in on the world map until they found the mission. He also said in the talk that Alma and the sons of Mosiah got depressed on their missions and that's ok. He counciled us to never ever ignore an impression of the Spirit.

Elder Porter and I

​To explain the one above it.

The Elders in our zone

This is Elder Henrie

Elder Tanner Barlow

Well folks,

 Another week has come and gone.  This week was awesome. I do have to say cause it was my birthday.  We taught lessons,  had strange crazy people asking us to teach them, and investigators at church.  Let’s just say it was a nice week for me.  So on my birthday we ate pizza with my land lady.  She is so awesome by the way I think when I come back J  I’m going to call her grandma just for how awesome she is.  Any way then yesterday we celebrated with another family and taught our investigator Miriam. She went to church yesterday, and after, she asked what it is she needs to do to be baptized and if we would help prepare her.  She says that she did not like how people had snacks during church but that she was willing to look beyond that because of the warm feeling she had in her soul and that she loved the feeling.  And we loved that she felt the spirit so strongly.  Well as a present from me to you guys as a b-day present for my birthday i recorded a song that is attached here.  Well that’s really all I have to say this week..

Love you all

Elder Barlow

Elder Samuel James

It's been a bit of a rough week, but I carry on.

Tuesday. We started teaching "Ariel" (Just one of our teachers). We had the Tuesday night devotional. Highlights. David F. Evans, (from my notes, not a direct quote) Proselyting is suffering and growing with the people. Trusting God to help you. Being cast out, mocked, and spit upon. Being bound and thrown into prison. All to save some soul. Next was Wendy Nelson, desperation can help you work harder and do more. Then Elder Nelson spoke, he said him, the first presidency and all the apostles send their gratitude to us and our families. Keep in touch with our converts because we'll always be hero's to them. Ask the missionaries is about us now.

Wednesday. I set the wall sit record in gym with 4:33. We hosted for new missionaries. I then found out my cousin was having some troubles. My district joined with me in prayer for him.

Thursday. I found out my cousin was going to have to go home and it was really hard on me. We taught members. We then talked about how we're like the stripling warriors in class for a bit.

Friday. We were suppose to teach twice and both fell through. Then las hermanas got new trc people and Hermana Dustin was super sad that she wouldn't be teaching her person anymore. Me and Elder Porter are going to be giving the guy a card because we'll still be teaching him.

Saturday. I was to class on time. We taught Ariel. We also learned how one of our teachers proposed to his wife. And we learned that he's the opposite of an insomniac and he can't stay awake to save his life.

Sunday. Devotional. It was all about getting to know the new MTC presidency. I don't know if

I can really share the best part of it for me with you because it was some really personal revelation.

My district is amazing. I think they're the biggest blessing I've seen so far of my mission.

This is the whole zone. We got a new district. The new ones are Hermanas Hartley, Dempsy, Runnells, and Wood. Elders Shaeffer, Chandler, and Henrie. That's the new ones left to right.

The one in the onesie is 6 foot 6

​Ping Pong. My companion is using a book of mormon in this picture. It should be noted that he won using the word of God.

Elder Tanner Barlow

Ok, so what to say about this week.   It was really fast and slow at the same time.  Um at times I think God is saying that I can never get married because I always seem to have comp problems but I'm sure it's nothing.  Um so we went to the visitors center this week with a investigator who is so totally ready to hear the gospel, that and a couple others we have are doing so well.   The problem is that church is at 8 in the morning and all though I thought I would never say it's freezing down here at that time in the morning (I was looking online and found that we're just about the same temperature down here as you guys up there in Leeds Utah.  What more this week we had our activity of zone.  We watched a movie and all the sister missionaries we're way to over excited during the intense parts of Saratov Approach about the kidnapped missionaries.  Yep that's pretty much it.  So I just got informed that I now have 18 months in the mission and that on Saturday is my birthday.  To be honest I had totally forgotten about it.  Any way for those of you who don't know.   To get to my house you have to pass through a internet cafe and we are teaching the internet lady who is also our land lady.  She is super crazy but with all this time spending teacher her I've learned to love her even if she is like 80 years old and crazy and still makes us pay rent and buy things at there normal price.   Speaking of old people I met a couple of senior couples today and boy do I miss old wise people.  Well yea that's about it.
Love you all!

Elder Barlow

Elder Tyler Stone

Dear Family,

 

Holy cow, this is all so surreal. 2 years is such a short time when you think about it. I'm so grateful for these 2 years. So many lessons and memories that I will never forget. I love my mission. Now on to the newest mission. Life!! I'm excited to see what comes. (: I love you and am stoked to see you tomorrow!! T minus 24 hours and I don't know how many minutes!

 

Love Elder Stone

Elder Samuel James

Tuesday. We taught Eduardo. We had a devotional, and I was in the choir. The speaker talked about how God has a plan for us and we need to trust that he knows what's best for us.

Wednesday. We taught Eduardo. We taught a new investigator named Javier.

Thursday. We taught Eduardo for the last time and it was an awesome. Hermano Brown, our teacher, asked us where we want to be at the end of our missions.

Friday. Eduardo's real name is Hermano Pemberton and he is actually one of our teachers. In the lesson with Javier that day Elder Porter and I invited him to be baptized. He said he needed to know us and the church better, but possibly in the future. Hermano Brown told us about his life growing up and about his testimony. A lot of the stuff he said reminded me of myself. I love that man.

Saturday. We learned about stress and how to get rid of it from Hermano Pemberton. Then he started interviewing us all to get to know us better. Hermano Brown was sick, so he had to leave early, but that night we practiced door approaches and teaching each other as though we were investigators.

Sunday. We had study time in the morning. Then priesthood, we learned about ordaining people and about growing our faith. After that was a bit more study until sacrament. In sacrament meeting I blessed the bread in Spanish. So, fun fact, in the MTC they choose who's speaking in the meeting that they are speaking in so you are told that you're speaking right before you actually speak. I got to speak. We all get to know the subject the week before so that we can prepare. During my talk a special musical number started in the next room over and it worked perfectly with my talk to bring the spirit. That night we went to choir. we were singing Joseph Smith's First Prayer and the director told us, if ever we were in a meeting and it wasn't going well and we needed the spirit to tell the Joseph Smith story. He said that general authorities have said the spirit will always rush in to confirm the truth of it. Then in the devotional after that they talked about how God works between lessons, more than during them. He had all of the missionaries who were converted to the church within the last two years share their stories and it was really powerful. I love Sundays  

This was a huge message so I hope it all works out.

Until next week,

Elder Samuel James

This is our lack of a room number

This is the in-room-refrigerator

The Elders in my district. From left to right. Elder Porter, Elder Jensen, Elder Henderson, and me.

This is the whole zone at the temple. The tall one in the back by Elders Porter and Henderson is Elder Duffin. The other two not in the other pictures are Elder Lines, behind Hermana Cluff, and Elder Dangelo, behind Hermana Cardon. Those three are in the intermediate Spanish class and they are their own district.

week 

Elder Dylan Sanders

OKAY!.  So!  Monday I woke up sick nothing eventful happened.  Tuesday I went to the clinic where they told me it's no virus but I need an extereme amount of rest including the need to skip my classes, Also in the first 20 minutes of gym I managed with my bad luck of course; To pull a muscle in my leg, get hit in the back of the head by a volley ball (giving me a killer headache) twist my ankle, hit Myself in the face with a 4 square ball also breaking my glasses at the same time, and then got hit once again by the volley ball almost knocking me out..  On Wednesday I was even worse and slept for about 16 hours but I did manage to help teach our investigator Marco. Marco is 65 years old he uses 2 cruches because his legs are weak and I believe he is a true investigator and not a paid actor.  Thursday. I was quarentined to my room and was not allowed to do really anything.  I'm feeling pretty good today though.  We went to the temple at 8:00 for the endowment session it was amazing.  I miss all of you and thank you so much for writing me.  please forward this to anyone and everyone.  also I'll be on for a little bit later tonight  I do not know when. so just be watching ;)

Elder Tanner Barlow

Hi Family,

So where to start.  Um yes I’m afraid I’m writing again on Wednesday but my president liked the idea the last time so now its going to be a habit.

So every 6 weeks right after changes I’m going to be writing on Wednesday.  Write it down mom so you don’t get upset that I wasn’t on. Mexico just finished their 3rd holiday in a row so… happy wise men day    (it was on Tuesday) but unfortunately that means work wasn’t that successful.  I’m still here in my same area with my same comp which is ok, we have our moments but he is defiantly one of my best companions.

Well i think that’s about it. There’s a new sister in my district,  she is from Peru but don’t know what part. I havn’t had much of a chance to ask her.

 Yep that was my fun week.  Oh Mom ask if anyone knows how to get pictures back after a virus has deleted them all cause that’s what happened to my cameras memory.   let me Know please.

Love you alll

Elder Barlow

Elder Tyler Stone

Dear Familia,

 

I don't think it has fully sunk in that this week is my last full week of the mission. To be honest I don't know if I want it to sink in... Missions are amazing. I'm sure sometime this week it is going to hit hard. On a happier note, I am very excited to see all of y'all in a week!! One of the downsides of a mission is we are limited on who we get to hug. Basically Elders are the only ones who are allowed to be hugged by other Elders. It has lead to a lot of Elders getting hugged by me and I'm not sure how much they appreciate it so I'm looking forward to giving you all a big hug. (: 

 

This week was amazing! We had a super cool experience this week with our investigator Kim. We have been working with her for a long time and helping her get ready for baptism but she has been living in fear a lot for what her mom will think if she does it. This week we stopped by her house on Saturday night to make sure she was still good for church. After we left around midnight she texted us and told us that she had talked to her mom. We were super excited in the morning when we got that text and couldn't wait to ask her about it at church. Haha the story turned out to be pretty intense but from an outside view it was funny! The family was all gathered around Saturday night and the mom, Reyna, said that she was thinking about canceling a counseling session she had the next morning. Kim responded to her "I wouldn't cancel it. I think you are going to need this one." And then proceeded to tell her mom and the rest of the family that she had made the decision that she is GOING to get baptized. It was really cool because the rest of the family one by one told her that if that is what she had decided to do they would support her decision. (Even her dad which we were really shocked to hear!) The only down side is that her mom is really upset and she told Kim that she won't go to the baptism. Kim is a champ though and she's not letting it get to her. Her mom has tried many different ways including anti-Mormon material trying to get her to not join the church but Kim is positive and now she is just praying for the date that she should get baptized. Miracles are real people! They happen all the time! What was also super cool is that Kim's older sister even came with Kim to church the next day to support her. I think once Kim gets baptized slowly but surely the rest of the family will follow behind her. She is setting a great example for them. From what I hear St. George is only around 6 hours from here so when they get baptized it won't be too hard to find a way to make it to the baptisms. (: 

 

After reading all of your letters I'm feeling really nostalgic. I still have a few more days to make some memories that will probably last me a life time. For anyone that reads this that is debating on whether they should go on a mission, I promise you that it is very much worth the effort. Nothing you do in the 2 years that you could be on a mission will be quite as valuable as what you would be doing if you served. There is hardly anything that I think could bring as much happiness. It's hard, but it's worth it. I have a testimony of God's love for His children. He loves all of us. He wants us to be happy and has prepared a way to do it. All we have to do is trust Him. 

 

I love you all! I can't wait to see you! 1 week! (:

 

Love Elder Stone

 

Elder Samuel James

Hola. So we'll get right into the good stuff. Day 1 the teacher walks into class and I think I hear a total of 10 words in english for him the whole day, and at least 5 of those are the same in spanish and english.

Second day, after being in class all day when we weren't eating, we met our branch presidency and my companion was made district leader. Happy new year.

Day 3, we taught our first lessons in spanish. I had a very strong experience where for all of 5 sentances I spoke fluent spanish... then it was gone.

Day 4, gym and second lessons in spanish. I had a moment with the gift of tongus again, but the lesson was horrid. Yo no hablo espanol.

Fifth day, we had 2 devotionals a temple walk and my district all shared with each other how we were converted to the gospel. Best way to sum up the day. God loves us, the heavens are open, I apsolutly love my district. You'll probably hear that last one in every email while I'm in the MTC.

As for today, I went to the temple first thing, so it's been good.

You probably want to know who all is in my district so I'll tell you. Me and my companion Elder Porter, Elders Jensen and Henderson, Hermanas Cardon and Cluff, and Hermanas Dustin and Ardnt (that's pronounced like aren't. I know you were wondering and I got your back). There's one other district in our zone that is made up a one threesum of Elders Duffin Lines and Dangello. I love them all with all my heart and I feel like I got the best district in the entire world, so to all you other missionaries and future missionaries, be jealous.

Also, my room has no number by the door so I'm pretty sure we're in a broom closet.

Sorry, no pictures this week, but I'll get them in the email next week.

One last thing, if any one wants to send letters or pacages my mission address while I'm in the MTC is

Elder Samuel Cornwell James

FEB09 ARG-RES

2009 N 900 E Unit 123

Provo UT 84602

I won't be able to get pacages in Argentina so if you want to send stuff to me, do it while I'm here. Elder Henderson has already gotten, like, a bazilion letters and a pacage. Elder Porter got a pacage today. Don't feel like you have to write or send stuff, I just wanted to make sure that anyone who wants to write me has my address.

With Love,

Elder Samuel James

Elder Dylan Sanders

So. I love the MTC so much. Yesterday was really tough but it was a ton of fun too. My first companion is named Elder Poulsen lucky for me he took 3 years of espanol before this. He is tall white and really dorky kinda like me. The first night I didn't sleep at all. There were to many emotions inside of me and I just couldn't stop crying. uhm... Elder Poulsen and I are in Branch 41 District 3. We are bunked with Elder Rue and Elder Fusi  Rue is from Louisiana and has a southern accent. Fusi is tongan and loves sports as well as pretty much all of the shows I used to watch.    I am having a hard time adjusting to life here. I have espanol class 9 hours a day and on Saturday we have to teach our first investigator in spanish....    but I think we will be okay I have faith in my companion and his abilities.   Today I said my first prayer in spanish and am atempting to memorize the purpose from preach my gospel in spanish as well. I wish you all the best and I hope everyone is doing well. I love you all.!   sorry no pics are included with this email. I'll be sure to send some asap.