Taught a lesson that I will never forget...

Hi MOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are going to baptize the son of Veronica too! His baptismal date is set for the  5th of July.   He is progressing super well. He is kind of hard to teach because he has ADHD super bad and takes pills for it. Veronica always likes to compare me to him  and says that there is hope for him in the end! I guess we are very similar ha ha. I am going to finish my first year and have been in just 2 sectors, which is super weird and almost never happens but I am OK with it because are going to baptize a lot here in this next month.

 We will have a new mission president the first day of July and president Kahnlien will be in Argentina. I am glad that Britt and dad will be able to spend time together too. I have been thinking a lot about how when I'm home I will be able to strengthen our family. I want to be with you guys forever and if anyone thinks that they are going to skip out on our eternal family I will drag them to heaven by their nose hairs if I have to. I am obviously kidding but I am grateful for all the effort that you and dad have put into insuring our family can be together. I love you very much and here is one of the experiences I had yesterday with an investigator.

We had an awesome lesson with one of our investigators last night, her name is Karen and she is 18. She is progressing really well. She reads, prays and understands most of everything we teach and believes its all true but she still hasn't recognized her answer. She always says she feels really good when we come over and when she reads and prays. She kinda broke down yesterday and started crying. We found out she has had a lot of issues with depression and for a while she had to take medicine.  We talked to her about the atonement last night and how our brother Jesus Christ has suffered everything that we have suffered and that when we keep the commandments and read and pray, He promises to bless us with the spirit and we will never need to feel alone again. It was a lesson I will never forget.

I know Jesus is our savior and that he loves us. He promised us that we can continually have the comfort of the spirit if we are obedient to the commandments of our heavenly father.

John 14 23-28                                                                                                              

 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

 25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom theFather will send in my name, he shall teach you all things,and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: notas the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be                                         troubled, neither let it be afraid.

 28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come                                      again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice,because I said, I go unto the Father: for                                              my Father is greater than I.

Elder Christopher Ryan Barlow

Working diligently and learning leadership skills...

Hello mother and father! I am very well. I have been working very diligently and this diligent has seen fruit.

WE HAD A BAPTISM YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THEIR NAMES ARE VICENTE AND TOMAS AND THEY ARE SOME OF THE SMARTS LITTLE KIDS I HAVE EVER MET!

They are part of a less active family and we started teaching them about 3 weeks ago. Teaching little kids is easy in the part that they accept just about everything you say but the hard part is getting them to understand and actually do the things which we teach them. Vicente was the little kid that prayed and had his prayer answered so he could get baptized yesterday and still go to his basketball tournament. 

Dad I think its cool that missionaries will always do the same things to over come the problems that we have. When I first started off on the mission I didn´t like contacting at all, so my comp Elder Arriaza taught me the word game too! We played it all day one day and had 25 contacts and got about 15 good future investigators from it! I haven´t tried the running from door to door or the praying but I will try it and let you know how it goes! Being a district leader is an awesome assignment not just cause I get to work with the other missionaries and help them when they have issues but I think it has really helped me push myself to be a better leader. I have been told again and again that if as a leader won´t do something then I can´t expect my missionaries to do them and they won´t. I know that this is true with any position of leadership and I think it has really helped me understand the need that we have to trust that what our leaders and parents and the Lord tell us is something that will help us right now and in the future. My favorite song in Spanish is Ejercito de Helaman (Army of Helamen) it is super good in the way that they didn´t change the lyrics to much from Spanish to English but it just gets to me. Especially in the part when it talks about being obedient to the lord.   I love the gospel and I love you so much mom and dad.

Elder Christopher Ryan Barlow

Heavenly father loves us enough to help us over come obstacles

Hey Mom!! I love you! We are going to have 2 baptisms Saturday maybe 3.  I am working very very very very very very very hard and praying hard for 3 because we have changes next week! There are 2 boys who are part of a family that is less active will be baptized this Sunday. I am pretty excited and so are they! I might have never had little brothers by blood but nothing is going to stop me from have little brothers here! Vicente and Tomas are both super super smart and praying and reading a lot, they are 11 and 8 and well Tomas isn´t technically a convert but we are counting him because we taught him everything and he is going to church because we started going by! Vicente is really really good at basketball and had a really cool experience.  he always has tournaments on weekends and they play Saturday and Sunday here in Chile.  He was praying really hard that he wouldn´t have anything the day of his baptism and he found out the day of the tournament got changed to Saturday and he will be able to be baptized this Sunday! I am so grateful that our heavenly father answers our prayers and loves us enough to help us over come the obstacles that we have when we are trying to do whats right. The third is an 18 year old girl who is progressing really well but still doesn´t have her answer.  She is praying and reading a lot and said if Heavenly father answers her prays she will get baptized on the 14th! 

PS: Tell Britt that I am going to date her friends just to bother her after the mission... jk 

Elder Christopher Ryan Barlow

Last month with President and Sister Kahnlein.

Must be cold in Chile! Chris is actually wearing a coat!!!