Being right on the equator during hot season is actually the closest Satan can ever get me to Hell. This is unacceptable weather conditions😭😭
It either rains sideways or it's 99 degrees, 11 UV and like max humidity. So crazy😭 this is basically what OPK is like though.
Solid solid week. Fought for this one for sure. One more week till transfer calls. Worked super hard. Got really pushed out of my comfort zone as always with Elder Marshall. Looking forward to this last full week of the transfer. Let's go.
P-day was fun. Went to Sentosa. Went to the southernmost point of continental Asia. Played soccer, wiffle ball, and ultimate Frisbee. Super fun day. Sitting on the beach, calling fam and eating a Mcgriddle was legendary.
P-night- went to Boon Keng for P-night. Found for an hour and a half and then tried some calls. Went back to Newton and did some miracle minute finding in Newton to finish it off. Elder Huntley and I never went to Boon Keng. It's super Chinese and half the people didn't even speak English. Stood in a walkway and probably attempted to stop close to 200 people and I maybe only stopped 2-3 people. Shared a couple of verses. Super tough. Really hard. Humbling P-night to start the week. This one super hard-hearted guy refused to listen to what I wanted to share about the Book of Mormon and just kept calling me to repent and stop sharing verses about our prophet. He couldn't humble himself and bring himself to hear the Word of God. Unfortunate.
I will say y'all it has been getting better at the house. The other ZL in the house, Elder Finch, is such a stud. We've become good friends and he recognizes and gets onto Elder Marshall when he acts like a robot. It's been great.
Tuesday- EXCHANGES WITH ELDER BARKER〽️
WE'RE BACKKKKKKKKKKK.
Man, it was sooooo clutch to start off the week with Elder Barker. He was my companion out in Miri with our trainer Simonsen. Man, that was a crazy transfer. We both have work passes and are both here in Singapore. It is nice being companions with the Zone Leader because you get to go on so many exchanges and with so many other Elders. I've been on seven exchanges through three and a half weeks. So crazy. It was such a good day. We found in Tao Payoh. Ate, studied, went to Ben Coolen. It wasn't great. Went to China Town and it was a lot better. Met some cool people. They had some Spanish club music going on with a bunch of Chinese aunties dancing like crazy. One of the songs started off and was like, "REPUBLICA DOMINICANAAAA🔥 🔥 💥 💥 💣 💣🇩🇴 🇩🇴🇩🇴 🇩🇴" with literal bombs and sirens going off. Just the funniest thing ever to hear mid-conversation with someone. Obviously reminded me of my brother. Loved it. Ate. Went back to Newton and met with our recent convert. I had a call with a friend of ours and we had a member help us, and he was so clutch. He explained so much in Mandarin with this guy and helped us so much. Since Tuesday is exchange day for everyone pretty much, we get back to the house and there's sooo many Sembawang Elders in our house already doing calls, calling all the helpers from Myanmar. I even got to hop on one and help teach them. Those Burmese members are so much fun. The house was great that night, so much energy. So much teaching going on. So good. Went to bed and called it a night.
Wednesday- back out with Elder Marshall for a grind day. Man, getting out the door on Wednesday was tough, I'm not gonna lie. That's where faith is tested. Commitment is proved. Five and a half hours of finding. No lessons. We went to Bishan and found there for two hours. Went really well. Heading over on the train and I was just not feeling it. Was so tired mentally and physically. Had a prayer in my heart. Actually, somehow had the strength and energy for those two hours. It actually just should not be possible. There's no way I was able to go and do that.
TUHAN KEAJAIBAN.
Went to Bouna Vista after Makan, studied and found for an hour and a half. Then went to Tanjong Pagar. Another hour and a half. Was raining as we found, but we got it done. Contacting and had a call. Ate GYG. Mexican food. Had a cool little miracle alongside the Newton Sisters. Went back to Newton and called it a day. Went to bed early that night, I was outta there.
Thursday- Thursday was solid. Weekly planning went well in Queenstown. Did morning Finding there as well. Found in Bishan as well. Also, in Toa Payoh. Got like five hours of finding in. Which on a weekly planning day is amazing. Super diligent. Met a lot of cool people. Good day.
Friday- half-day exchange with Elder Finch in Newton and then switched halfway back with Elder Marshall.
It was a GREAT day. Elder Finch wanted to meet with this old friend he used to teach a year ago and so he went with me to meet them, and we also did some service in the morning for a member. Service went great. Took two and a half hours and it was us moving like three boxes and just hanging out with him and eating lunch with him. Went over to his condo with some Indian bro that were helping him move and yeah, it was fun. His new spot is super nice. We ended up just walking around Singapore the three of us. He bought me a mango monster. Met up with Elder Finch's friends and they were super awesome. They got drinks and we got Cokes at a bar. This guy Robby, his dad Stanley was so funny. He didn't know a ton of English only Mandarin and so he would also hit his son for a translation of what we told him. The dad had a lot of questions, and we answered all of them. It went really well and the son Robby, who kinda already knows majority of what we believe, was being super funny the whole time. Elder Finch is awesome. He never at one point rushed me or the day and just let it happen. Nor did I feel like a business partner. So needed.
Did eventually--meeting back up with Elder Marshall at 5:00 pm for the second half of the day. I don't blame Elder Finch, he wanted to go eat Chick fil a with a member in YSA. Elder Marshall and I found in City Hall for two hours, which was good. I was really wanting to go out and find; we did absolutely zero finding from 10:00am to 5:00pm that day. Finding was good. City Hall is fun. Boat tower as always in view and in the distance. One of many symbols of Singapore. The Marina Bay Sands building. Man, I love Singapore so much. I love Malaysia so much. Love these places and people. It makes the mission so much easier knowing I'm here and helping Singapore and Malaysia and its people. So awesome. We are, did some calls, went back to Newton and called it a night.
Saturday- exchanges in Jurong with Elder Wright. Finally, a normal exchange day in Jurong with Elder Wright. Ate Wing Stop for lunch and then opened my fast. We did morning finding in Chinese Gardens which is so beautiful there. I'll throw some pictures on here. Ate, studied, went back to Chinese Gardens. It was raining sideways, so we left to Bukit Gombak. Found there. It was solid. Went to Choa Chu Kang and finished off the night there. Did calls. Went all the way back home and called it a night.
Sunday- always a great Sabbath. Fast Sunday, too. Took the fast seriously. Fasted and prayed for guidance in the companionship and the work. Enjoyed Sacrament and made it the most joyful event of the week. I was smiling throughout. So so good. The most focused I've ever been in actively and humbly worshiping. Such a world changer. Sacrament attendance was huge for me even when I didn't have a testimony and now Sacrament is just my favorite time of the week. Anyways, we found in Tanjong Pagar for like two hours and then went to Dhoby Ghaut again on Sunday night to close out the week.
Great week. Elder Marshall and I worked hard. Did we work alongside each other? Not really. Did he still get in my face multiple times and push me really really hard? Yeah, he did. Did he do it out of love.
Of course he did. We had a super emotional moment together on Friday night. We were having our usual back and forth yelling match going on and by the end of the night when we walked through the gate and I asked him, "Elder, do you have anything else you wanna tell me."
He ended up asking me a few questions and by the end of it, he was super emotional and he said everything with so much love. A side he never shows to me. He hides it and that's okay. But he said, "Elder, you need to let your mission change you."
And so there's always more we can do to submit our will. I've learned a lot about him and what he expects and the work and being an example/leader and just consecration/sacrifice from him. It's awesome. That's my business partner. Such a love/annoyed relationship haha. It keeps me on my toes, I love it.
Last full week of the transfer coming up. This week is going to be a grind. We're going to work super hard to close out this transfer. Transfer calls next Tuesday on the 12th. Feeling good. We're gonna finish strong. Continue to set up and build up for next transfer. Didn't baptize this transfer, but it's all good. Next transfer should have one or two. Memang it's not about the baptisms. It's about change and growth. I've done a whole lot of that these last five weeks especially.
Random thoughts
- It's so insanity that LeBron is playing at a high level in the playoffs right now. That's just unreal. He came into the league and then I was born four years later. I now have a year left on my mission and he's STILL PLAYING. Actually, so crazy😭 Jordan's still the goat though, but man.
Scripture lah:
Alma 29:8- Lihatlah, Tuhan bahkan Kristus doth grant unto kedua-kedua negara, of their own 🇸🇬 nation and bahasa 🇲🇾, untuk mengajar firman dia, yea, dalam kebijaksanaan, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore kita lihat that Tuhan doth counsel in wisdom, menerut kepada that which is just and benar
As always, it's till next time from the Lion City🦁
Elder Barlow 🇸🇬
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