Hello, everyone! Week 2 is done and now only 19 days away from 19+ hours of traveling to Singapore.😅 This last week was just amazing. Starting to love this place and people. Food was actually above average, too, this last week which is always a plus. It's so funny playing basketball here at the MTC because of the Pacific Islanders😂😂. I kept getting constantly shaqed in the paint by someone who's double my weight😂. I love it.
Getting to call home on P-Day
Full immersion this last week was stressful but necessary. Have to jump into the fire at some point🤷♂️. I got so stressed when we started last Friday, my head hurt so bad and then I was sick from Friday to Monday. It was horrible. I know my mom is going to cringe when I say this, but I decided not to take any medicine or go to the doctor once😂. I always choose to thug it out. Learned a lot more about faith, responsibility, charity, and ministering this week among many other things.
I want to talk about an experience I had and also connect it with another banger mural here in one of the buildings of Joseph Smith as a young farm boy looking off into the distance pondering where he stood before God. I mentioned it in my farewell talk as well. The verse and the question opposite the wall is:
"I frequently fell into many foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature; which, I am sorry to say, led me into divers temptations, offensive in the sight of God. In making this confession, no one need suppose me guilty of any great or malignant sins. A disposition to commit such was never in my nature. But I was guilty of levity, and sometimes associated with jovial company, etc., not consistent with that character which ought to be maintained by one who was called of God as I had been." Verse 28 of Joseph Smith History.
This was after Joseph Smith had seen the First Vision and been visited four separate times by Angel Moroni. He was frustrated that no one believed him, and he felt different from the world (he couldn't be more right about his feelings, PTTM) That's how I was feeling during one of our district devotional reviews one night. I wasn't focused on what we were talking about and felt frustrated about my language skills, that I need to be studying more, reading more, felt behind compared to my district, wasn't feeling the Holy Ghost, I had been sick and could barely even speak because the sickness affected my vocal chords for a full day, and like Joseph Smith felt like I wasn't taking things serious enough and dealing with levity issues knowing that in less than three weeks, I will be thrown into the refiner's fire and at the hand of the Satan the deceiver if I didn't live up to seemingly harsh expectations and guidelines for a 19-year-old kid from Plano, Texas, and straight out of high school, and I just felt overall incompetent. The question below the Joseph Smith verse is, "How do I continue to strive to maintain the expectations God has called of me?"
Back to the meeting though. As it was finishing up, my mission president called me and my companion outside, and my heart dropped. I thought we were about to get absolutely grilled for not having the right socks on. (Elder Stevens had short socks on and I had white socks, and I assumed it wasn't allowed). He pulls us out to a side room, and I prepare for a scolding. I had been praying and been so thankful for this whole mission opportunity and have exercised much faith in the Lord to hear my words of blessing me to feel better not only physically from my sickness but to help me feel his love and Spirit and to help me know I was doing the right things. My mission president then proceeds to convey to us that he had an impression to make me and Elder Stevens Zone Leaders for the next 2 and a half weeks!!! I felt so relieved and that my prayers had been answered and uncoincidentally, I felt perfectly fine that night and my voice had returned. The Lord brings us trials and sees if we will abide in him and still place our faith in him even when times are tough. I saw a quote and it said that if we ask God to win a marathon, he won't give us a medal, he'll give us running shoes. Barely two weeks in and I am seeing the Lord's hand in my mission already. I testify that if we FULLY place our faith in the Lord, we can do anything and accomplish fully the expectations Jesus expects of us.
Jesus is the Christ and God of this earth, this gospel is undeniably true, the Book of Mormon is the truest and most correct book on the face of this planet and always will be, and Joseph Smith WAS a true prophet of God. If you can have faith and agree to those four statements, I testify that you will receive blessings and feel more fully the love of God.
I feel impressed to share this. I can't wait to keep improving my Malay and improving each and every day and strive to be the best possible missionary for the people I love so dearly already--any and all people residing in the lands of Singapore and Malaysia.
-Elder Barlow, jumpa lagi👋
P.S- Whoever sent me a massive bag of candy, thank you so much🙏 Didn't say who sent it, but thank you.
I did NOT sign up for this! lol j/k Was fire to help with dinner tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment