Earthquake In Viña del Mar, I'm good, it was so cool, didn't have any fear...

Hey Mom! 

I am perfectly fine!!! I was in the earthquake but nothing happened. It was so cool! I know that sounds bad because there was a lot of damage but from where I was in the moment it was super cool! I was in the street walking with my comp and my legs started shaking and everything started moving! I knew it was an earthquake so me and my comp put our arms across each others shoulders and started walking shoulder to shoulder in case wires and things started falling. I didn`t feel any fear to be honest, I was perfectly calm. I was more worried that something would fall and hit my comp and I was ready to push him out of the way or cover him if a wire or something fell. We started walking forward slowly. As we walked a lady started motioning and shouting at us to come and help her, so we went and asked her what we could do. During this time everything was still moving around us and she just hugged us and started shouting "Lord give me strength! Stop this terrible force give me strength!". It was kind funny and sad at the same time. She was fine and when it ended we started searching for all the members and investigators that we could find. Everyone was fine and no one was hurt.   We didn`t have  power, so we were walking around with flashlights. We are all good here except in Coquimbo where most the damage happened. I am sure  this week I will receive a call to go down and help as a zone. It hasn`t happened yet. I am fine though! I think you should watch this video that we have been sharing with everyone.  I am being dead honest about  how I felt.  Its called the hearts of man will falter by Elder Nelson. He talks about when he was almost in a plane crash. 

Finally have investigators, studying Miracle of Forgiveness, finally received my birthday package...

Hey dad!

I am still with Elder Gutierrez which is awesome! I have a pretty good streak going with my companions by having had a baptism with every companion and I don`t want that to change. We finally found investigators! We found 5 this last week and they are really good. One accepted a baptismal date but  didn`t come to church, so we are going to have to get him excited to go to church and make the changes that will help him get to baptism. Some of our other investigators are coming along as well. Camillo accepted a baptismal date but we have to help him strengthen his faith.  He thinks that if he gets baptized he will get kick out of his school and so does his mom. Its a catholic school but I don`t think that will happen. 

I had a really cool question come to my mind during my studies today. I was reading preach my gospel and  was reading about faith in Jesus Christ and how part of having faith in Christ is being able to achieve or accomplish what he wants us to do. I sat thinking about what Christ wants me to accomplish and now I have a new way of measuring if what I'm doing what I should be. "Will this help me accomplish what the lord wants me to do?" I think its pretty good, not gonna lie! I also started reading the Miracle of Forgiveness. It's super good and has kinda opened my eyes to the types of small sins that we commit everyday. I really like it. Have you read that book? I love you dad and hope you are doing well. I am praying for you guys and I also love that photo of the deer pajamas. Tell mama I love here and give her a big hug from me. Also tell Micheal to write me so I can talk to him.

 I got the package! Thank you very much for all the things you sent me! I love the shirts, the ties and the football. My comp loves the movies because at night he can watch them while I am making my calls. We climbed this huge hill with the zone today and launched lanterns from the top, representing the converts that we had in the zone this month. It was a little scary because some almost crashed into the ground and I was pretty sure it would  start a fire. 

Elder Christopher Ryan Barlow

Transfer day to La Serena

Zone activity

Breakfast of Champions

Estoy pasándolo chancho aquí en Chile! 

That's a Chilean phrase for "I am all good here". Like you said I am going through a slow moment on my mission and really trying to find out what the lord is trying to teach me and how I can consecrated more on him. I asked my mission president if my companion and I can get up earlier to study and start studying the Books of the apostles and prophets, like the doctrines of salvation and The Miracle of Forgiveness and other books like that.  Because we had lunch with a member the other day who is dying of cancer and he started talking about the experience of knowing your dying and how he has really just put himself in the hands of the lord. He goes to the temple as much as possible and reads and prays a lot. He is only like 40 and has 2 young kids so its been rough for him, but he says and I believe him, that he is truly at peace with his death coming. He said death is a privilege to him and is glad that he will be able to experience it. I have never heard anything like that before.  Death is a privilege. He is not afraid, he is at complete peace and it brought to mind a video that we share with investigators and less active members called Men's Hearts Will Fail tThem.  It's a video of Elder Nelson talking about an experience of  one of the many flights he has taken in his life when the engines caught on fire and the plane started to fall out of the sky to their deaths. He says he was completely calm. He says he was ready to meet his maker and that a women in the next aisle was freaking out and that he felt bad for her. I think we need to prepare better for these moments of life. I have no idea what will happen to me in my life apart from the promised blessings that I have from my patriarchal blessing. When I pass away I want to be able to say the same thing, that death is a privilege and I am ready to meet not only my maker but my savior and enter into his presence. I know I have to do much more, but Jesus Christ is the savior of the world. He made is possible for each and everyone of us to be able to change and not only become free from death but free from sin, imperfection and fear. I am so grateful for my savior and brother.

Tell sister Tait she literally is always in my prayers!!!

Elder Christopher Ryan Barlow