Christmas

Family,

I guess I'll start from after I talked to you. Christmas Day was one of the rainiest days we've had since I've been here. Despite the bad weather, the 4 of us managed to drive to the beach in a place called Melekeok in Babeldaob and have a BBQ. It took us a while, but we finally got a fire started and cooked some delicious burgers. Afterward, we went back to the Zone Leaders' apartment and watched the 1999 Micronesia-Guam Mission video. It was funny to see some of the long time members in it.

Since then, our air conditioner started leaking, our drains backed up (smells awful), and the leak from our refrigerator has caused a small lake on our floor. That's ok though, Elder Stanley just says that we're being blessed and our wives are going to be especially good looking.

The Christmas rain managed to carry over to these last couple of days, so it's made tracting a very fun experience. Actually, I prefer pouring rain to the blazing sun - so it's been nice.

I made pancakes today for lunch, and they were delicious. I just thought I'd let you know.

By the way, the Branch President's daughter is upset again. She was about to take pictures during the baptism, and someone asked her not to. I guess she got embarrassed/offended, so she left, and didn't come to church on Sunday. Tonight, we will be having a lesson on pride.

Oh, there are a few things I wanted to mention on the phone, but forgot or couldn't because Elder Stanley was there. First, if you could send two of everything in my packages, that would be awesome. I'm not saying send more packages, but in the ones you do send. Elder Stanley's family is from Chuuk, and I don't think they have money to send him things. It makes me uncomfortable to get packages when he doesn't get anything.

Second, I would love a fitted sheet. Odd request, I know, but my sheets are always falling off the bed.
I think that's it for those.

Yesterday we were knocking on doors and came across four Filipino men. This is very common, except that there was a huge pig lying dead in their midst. They began to cut this pig open to make fritata. I have provided a picture - enjoy.

Saturday, the four of us were asked to speak in church on Sunday about whatever we wanted, and weren't given a time limit. Great. So we decided to speak on things that the branch and it's members can do better or think about in the coming year. I spoke about Mosiah 18:9 - standing as witnesses of God at all times, etc. I thought it all went pretty well. We all bore our testimonies in Palaun at the end.

Now that we've had two baptisms, our teaching pool, like our refrigerator and air conditioner, is leaking. Luckily, we have some very promising potential investigators, so we'll see.

We tend to teach younger people (14-18ish), which is great, but there are only like 6 or 7 Melchizedek Priesthood holders (not including the missionaries) in the branch. We're going to see if we can teach more men.

That's pretty much my week. I'm still not done with the Book of Mormon, but I decided I'm going to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation before I finish my mission - hopefully it won't take that long.

Elder Stanley and I get into little useless arguments sometimes, and I'm going to see if I can help put an end to them. They happen because he is so regimented in the way he does things and I'm not very good at being told what to do and doing things someone else's way.

"...stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death..."

Love,

Elder Barlow

P.S. It's pretty funny to see what happens when it rains. Everyone stops working. They take cover until it stops, then continue working. If it rains for 10 or 15 minutes without stopping, they go home for the day. They refuse to work in the rain. They must think we're crazy.

Christmas Call

We called Taylor at 4:45 p.m. our time on Christmas Eve – that was 9:45 a.m. his time on Christmas Day. All the kids had written down questions to ask him. He seemed to enjoy answering everyone.

These are the notes that everyone took from what he said:

Taylor described the process of making Fritatas: You kill a pig and save the blood. Then you remove the innards and clean them. You fry the innards, and add the blood and cook the innards in the blood.

His apartment is near the beach. Everything in his apartment is broken - well, not everything. His refrigerator leaks and some furniture is broken. Missionaries have left behind lots of random stuff which seems to fill up the apartment.

The plumbing is good - the island is more modern than he expected. They have bikes that other missionaries have left. They use them when they run out of gas money. They even have a microwave in their apartment. If you are going to send him a package he would appreciate real food rather than just junk food (although I assume he likes junk food, too). He has a hard time making his money last, since so few members feed them. Most of what they eat is rice, and he would like food to go with that. He said that most of the time he doesn’t eat until he is satisfied (like he would at home) – he is usually still hungry. This month they didn’t have enough money to buy gas to drive the number of miles they are allowed to drive. And they ran out of food, so he was glad to get some packages and food from home.

The island that he is on is connected to other islands by bridges, so he can drive from place to place and doesn’t have to take a boat.

He's had one investigator get baptized. At the recent Zone Conference they have set their goals for missionary work for the coming year. This year's goal was 10 baptisms. They should finish with 8. Next year's goal is 10 baptisms as well. Taylor had an interview with his mission president at the Zone Conference.

They don't do very much tracting [door-to-door contacting].

For his personal scripture study he is currently reading in 3 Nephi.
Lots of people chew beetlenuts. It is addictive, like tobacco (in fact, they mix cigarettes in with it), and it turns your mouth red. They even share it with their children. The mothers put it in the mouths of the ones who are too little to eat it themselves. Although a lot of south Pacific islanders chew beetlenuts, he thinks that the usage is the highest in Palau.

The people also eat dog, but he hasn’t. It’s against mission rules.

Taylor has never been bitten by a dog, but he thinks it is only a matter of time.

He has also not eaten fruit bat soup, and he doesn't think it would taste good.

Taylor thought he had bed bug bites, but now thinks they are really mosquito bites. He would rather get bitten by mosquitoes than put insect repellent on and be sticky and sweaty at night. (Instead of just sweaty:))

He eats oatmeal made with just water since milk is too expensive. He puts brown sugar and syrup on it.

They exercise for thirty minutes a day. Taylor runs a quarter mile at the track. He has also used the jump rope Mom sent him (and Haven picked out).

The other missionaries in his zone/district came on Christmas morning, woke them up early, decorated their apartment and wrapped up presents for them (copies of the Book of Mormon, Restoration pamphlets, etc.). He had a barbecue at the beach with the other missionaries planned for Christmas day.

He feels like he is doing pretty well learning Palaun. Church meetings are partly in English and partly in Palaun. The missionaries are making corrections to the Palaun language materials to assist future missionaries. There is only one branch in Palau. He said that they are in the Manila Temple District.

Their time is 17 hours ahead of California time.

He said his companion grew up in the Church – sort of (whatever that means). He went to the MTC in Manila before he came out on his mission, but it was pretty hard for him since he didn’t speak much English.

Taylor sounded really good and didn’t seem to want the conversation to end. It was very fun talking to him.

Dennis Barlow

Scrooge

Family,

First I'll answer your questions.

1) I received one package from you guys last week (everything's been eaten), and two (one from the Roses and one from the Mathovs/YW) yesterday. Good to know there are more on the way. So far they have had all my favorite things, so thank you so much (ke kmal mesaul).

2) If you could actually call at 9:30 or 10, that would be better. We have plans during the day.

Moving on.

Interestingly enough, December is the time when people want to hear about Christ the least. There is this thing called Bethlehem that is put on by a few churches (not ours) in the area. Different organizations put together a choir (schools, churches, groups of friends, families, whatever) and they sing and I guess there's food and stuff. Anyway, it's a real nuisance. It goes all week long (last week), so no one is home for their appointments, or we couldn't schedule anything because they wanted to go there. It was kind of a slow week.

The branch was also putting on a Christmas party. These are usually a huge hit with investigators and less-actives. The day for the party came, Friday, and we still hadn't heard anything about it. We called around but couldn't contact anyone. Finally we talked to someone in the YW presidency who told us it had been canceled. Keep in mind that they announced it in church the Sunday prior. At some point in the week, someone realized nothing had been planned, and decided to cancel the party - without telling any of the members or the missionaries. It was then our job to talk to everyone we had invited and uninvite them. The other elders went to the church to turn people away. Very frustrating - especially since no one said anything about it at church on Sunday. They just acted like nothing happened.

We are supposed to drive 1000 miles/month or less. We've driven less than 700 and are out of money - and our gas tank is empty. Looks like a change will have to be made in the office. We aren't sure what we're going to do. We still have a week until support money comes. The same goes for me. I was under the impression that my money for the transfer would come today (since that's what my companion told me). Turns out it doesn't come until next week. Luckily I have some food left from last week and I got those two packages yesterday.

Despite all of this negativity, we did manage to have a baptism. We were supposed to have two, but one has to meet with the mission president first. This woman, Ungilbung, was getting really excited. She put a ton of thought into every detail of the baptism - especially the hymns. Afterward, she came to Elder Stanley and I individually and thanked us and told us how happy she was. Very cool.

Just some pictures from the baptism we had on Saturday. The woman (Ungilbung Sechalboi) is the one who was baptized, and the man (John Thing) baptized her.

I told you a little about the Branch President's step-daughter who said she was done talking to us. We visited her a few days ago, and she told us how much she missed meeting with us. So we had a lesson, and re-committed her to be baptized. She accepted for January 16th. I'll let you know how it goes.

We have another baptism happening this coming Saturday. This is our golden investigator. We've had to really rush to teach her all the lessons before her baptism, and we'll just barely make it. We had to teach her the Law of Chastity on Sunday, and we were not looking forward to it because she has two younger sisters (11 and 8) who always sit in on the lessons. We decided to split up. I took Meilany (the one being baptized) and taught her while Elder Stanley taught about the Sabbath to the rest of the family on the other side of the room. The man that we brought with us sat in between. It went well I thought. We talked about the program with her last night and gave her a list of people to choose from (who will baptize her, etc). She'll tell us tomorrow.

The Branch President's wife invited us to their house for Christmas, which is great. Unfortunately it's at a really awkward time. We had things planned as a zone, and we're not sure how it's going to work yet. Luckily she makes great food.

The language is coming. I'm learning pretty quickly I think. One lady I was talking to asked how long I've been here, and when I told her she was really surprised. She said I spoke really well. That made me feel pretty good. It's just hard when none of the missionaries really speak, and the language materials (which were written by missionaries who didn't speak the language) are very basic. I've just had to memorize and memorize, and spend a lot of time in the Palaun/English dictionary (which is actually pretty unreliable). It's been a good time.

Next time someone decides to send me a package, my favorite pens are G-2 ultra-fine point, black.

Time for me to go, but thanks for everything. I'm having a good time, and praying for all of you.

Merry Christmas,

Elder Barlow

Tales of Turkey Tail

Family,

As you may have guessed from my clever and mystical subject line, I had turkey this week.

Turkey tail is actually one of the foods forbidden by Sister Dowdle (the mission president's wife). However, they are more of "guidelines than actual rules" (name the movie). We went to a less active member's house for dinner and he made chicken curry with rice (or so he told us). It looked pretty good so I began to eat (which I would have done if it didn't look good, being the missionary that I am). Halfway through the meal, he mentioned something about turkey tail, which is when I realized that there was a reason why this "chicken" tasted nothing like chicken. It was turkey tail. Let me try and help you understand this particular delicacy:

Imagine cutting all the fat off of a steak or bacon or anything that has the really chewy rubbery fat on it. Take that fat and compress it into a chunk of meat. Now remove the taste. Then eat it. That's turkey tail. It tastes like nothing, but is pure fat and feels gross in your mouth. Delicious right?

So this Saturday we have 2 people being baptized. Their baptismal dates have been postponed many times over the period of about 5 months now, and they seem ready finally. Hopefully they pass their interview tomorrow.

We are going on exchanges again tomorrow so that one of the zone leaders can come with me and do these interviews. It's going to be a real test for me because we have appointments scheduled all over the area. I'll have to get us from place to place without Elder Stanley to guide me. I think I'll be okay except for one hamlet(or village) called Ngerbeched. It's the biggest hamlet with a maze of roads, and everything looks the same. I'll see what I can do.

Dad having a lot of church and work meetings sounds a lot like Dad before Gospel Doctrine. Looks like Hannah will get to use the computer more - no more planning lessons every hour of the week.

Palau has several islands. One (Babeldaob) is huge. It takes about an hour and a half to drive from one end to the other. The other is the main island where we live (called Koror), then there is Malakal, and Meyuns. Meyuns, Malakal, and part of Koror are in our area, and all of Babeldaob and the other part of Koror are in the other area (it's the biggest area in the mission). These are the only islands we cover in our zone, and we drive to them all.

Mail seems to come faster now that its coming straight here and not through Guam. Only like five days.

We have some awesome investigators. 6 of them are planning to be baptized in the coming weeks, we just aren't sure when.

Support money doesn't go as far as I thought. I have to plan things a lot better. Looks like I'll be eating a lot of bread and rice this week.

Oh! Mom, speaking of rice. Can you send me some things that are good with rice? Preferably easy sauces that I can buy. Its really bland alone, but with sauce it makes for a easy, filling, inexpensive meal. Thanks.

That's all the time I have for this week, I'm going to try and send a few more pictures.

It's amazing to see how I always seem to have just enough energy to get through the day, but no more. The work is hard, I'm always exhausted, but the Lord is helping me through.

I love you all,

Elder Barlow

Fritata - chewy, kind of grity. Not horrible.

 

Nervous at first.

 

Let's just go for it!

 

Coconuts from a member

 

Name of the Church in Palaun

Q&A

Several days ago I wrote to Taylor asking some questions. Here are his answers:

1. What is your apartment like?

My apartment is apparently one of the nicest in the mission. It seems like a typical missionary apartment. A room for study, a bedroom, a kitchen/eating area, and a bathroom. We can’t drink the water so there is a filter system. We live on the second floor with some pretty vicious guard dogs. They bark meaner than any dogs I’ve ever heard, but no bite. How’s that cliché for you?

2. Do you have all four elders together or just the two of you?

Just two.

3. I think I read there is just one branch, is that right?

One branch, yes.

4. Do you have a regular branch building or is it in some other type of building?

I don’t know what “regular branch building” means, but it isn’t like any chapel I’m used to. However, it does have a sign.

5. Is the Branch in a stake or does it report to the mission (or do you know)?

I think that it reports to the mission [I had that confirmed. Our branch is under the MGM (Micronesia Guam Mission)]

6. How many members in the branch?

No clue. About 50 come each week.

7. Are there any American fast food places?

No.

8. I saw a lot of very beautiful pictures of your area – when you have time, please send us some of the area.

Sure.

9. What do you eat for breakfast?

Eggs, oatmeal, cereal, toast, whatever really.

10. How is your Christ-centered reading of the Book of Mormon coming?

It’s coming slowly. I don’t think I’ll finish in time, but I’ll try.

11. What kind of a car do you drive?

2004 Toyota Corolla – 21,000 miles.

12. Do you have an umbrella?

No, I don’t need one. The rain is the only thing that cools me down.

13. Is there anything that you need?

I need bigger envelopes. The ones I have are too short. They’re long enough, but I can’t fit pictures in them. Oh, and a 512 mb SD memory card.

14. Should we send letters and the Family Newsletter through the email or should we send them by regular mail?

Letters are fine through email, but the newsletter I would like snail mailed. (Don’t send letters in the mail – too slow).

15. Can we send pictures by email?

Pictures have to be mailed also. These computers are awful. I’m sending pictures in the mail also, I can’t attach them to emails.

16. I assume we should use the new address in Palau that you gave us?

Yes, mail is slow enough as it is.

17. Did they give you any idea of how long you would be in Palau?

Nope, I’m the first one to have Palau as my first area. I assume I’ll be here a while.

18. Are distances measured in kilometers or miles?

Miles. They’re trying to be as American as possible.

19. Are there larger shopping areas like malls, or mostly just small commercial areas?

Nope. “Commercial areas” is an overstatement. There are shops and things, but not like anything I’m used to. And all the food and stuff is really expensive because it all has to be imported.

20. How often do you have district and zone meetings – and if you have a meeting larger than just your district, do you all gather together somewhere?

District Meetings → once a week. Zone Conference → once every 6 weeks. Our district and our zone is comprised of the same 4 elders, so we meet often.

Palau Zone

Elder Acton and Elder Lyman – ZL's

Elder Stanley – DL and Elder Barlow


Dennis Barlow

You talk like American Black

Family,

It’s good to hear that I have a package on the way. I haven’t got it yet, but I also haven’t checked the mail since….Thursday I think. Packages take a little bit longer than letters anyway.

So we have been teaching this girl (Branch President’s step-daughter), and she decided that she wants to be baptized on the 19th. Saturday night, we got a text message from her saying that not only does she not want to be baptized, but she doesn’t want to come to church, and she doesn’t want to meet with us anymore. It turns out that she and her mom had gotten into an argument about the car. This girl assumed that she could take it to go hang out with her friends, but when her mom got home, she said no. The daughter got upset, and her mom said we just need to give her a few days. We’re supposed to have an appointment tomorrow night, so we’ll see how things go.

Another girl we are teaching is just great. She’s the daughter of one of the less-active members that we have been teaching. (I may have already told you about her) Anyway, she asked to start taking lessons from us, and so she has. As a result, the mother is active again, and the 3 daughters (8, 11, and 15) want to be baptized. We actually invited the oldest daughter, Meilany (may-law-nee), to be baptized in our last appointment, and she said yes, but then told us that she has been meeting with a “fat [other religion] lady” at the same time she’s been meeting with us. She comes every Saturday, then picks them up and takes them to church on Sunday. Meilany said, “I have to escape, I don’t like her.” It was a pretty good time. Anyway, she reads everyday and even brings the Book of Mormon to school and highlights verses that she likes. She’s great.

(This letter is a lot more missionary-oriented, I just noticed.)

Two of our investigators also prayed for the first time this week. It was really cool. I’ve grown up praying, so I guess I’ve kind of taken it for granted. It’s really refreshing to see how someone’s first, sincere prayer can surprise even them.

Mom, I have some extra time, so I’ll try and answer your questions from last week.

3 meals a day? Yes. Absolutely.

Brakfast? Cereal, oatmeal, eggs, cinnamon rolls. Whatever I want really.

Do the members feed you once a day? The only member that feeds us is the Branch President’s wife, when we teach her daughter. Which is actually good, because they lived in the states for a few years, and the daughter doesn’t like fish. Currently the daughter is upset though, so we’ll see.

Sleep on a bed? Yes. However, I always thought bed bugs were invented for the children’s rhyme. Turns out they’re real, and live in my bed. So every morning I wake up with four or five new bites. It’s a real nuisance, but I’m starting to get used to it.

Apartment a shack? Nope, my apartment is actually one of the nicest in the mission, or so I hear. The zone leaders have the nicest in the mission. Anyway, I included some details in the letter I wrote home. We have 2 guard dogs that attack everything that come up and down the stairs, including us. So it makes every morning, and every night an adventure.

Snake free like Hawaii? Palau is not snake free. There are 2 kinds. One is poisonous and one is not.

I have four things to add:

1) Contrary to popular belief chickens CAN fly. I witnessed this groundbreaking event yesterday as a rooster took off and flew over my head. Flabbergasted, I turned to one of the Young Men that was with us and said, “I thought chickens couldn’t fly!?!” To which he responded, “Who told you that? Of course they can.” Must be American propaganda.

2) My companion refers to all black people as “American Black.” We met someone from Nigeria, who had never been to America, and Elder Stanley still said American Black. It was so funny.

3) Could you send me my sunglasses? I need them when I drive. Either the white ones or the black and yellow ones.

4) If there was one thing I would change about missionary work, it would be morning exercise. I have been exercising for 30 minutes every morning, simply because it’s a rule. Jake (Berg, not my brother), I got your letter and I’m sorry to say I have not grown to love it. People say exercising in the morning is such a great source of energy. I disagree, all it does is make me hate my life for 30 minutes. Anyway, enough complaining. Just expect me to come back looking like Arnold – pre-politics era.

Another thing, a gallon of milk is $12. Just thought you’d like to know that.

I love you all,

Elder Barlow

Thanksgiving

This was the email I got from Taylor and the conversation that we had while he was on in Guam. We happened to be on at the same time for a few minutes, I, Jacob, will be in green:

Jacob,

So I was wondering how that blog is going, if people actually read it. Also, what kind of comments you have added or things you have removed.

The language is coming slowly I think. Most everyone speaks English, and some better than others. So missionaries have been teaching in English, up until now. No one really speaks Palaun, so this is a new move by the mission president. It's hard to learn the language when your only material is a language packet written by missionaries who weren't even fluent in the language. But yeah, I've just been teaching in English, and throwing in a few Palaun words where I can.

I'm in Mosiah. I have until Dec 8th, so one week. I probably won't make it. We'll see. I'm actually starting to think it was just a challenge from my zone leader, because my mission president said I get a transfer. Oh well.

The baptisms we had scheduled didn't come through. One was still chewing betel nut and the other one didn't come to church. But we have a few more commitments to extend.

It's sunny today, so today's pictures should be pretty spectacular. I sent some in the mail yesterday, so they should get there in about a week.

P-Day next week is on Monday, because of Zone Conference, just fyi.

Love,
Taylor

Oh, Thanksgiving was great. The Branch President and his family fed us, and then there was a branch activity the next night.

Palaun Thanksgiving is the same as American Thanksgiving. No one knows why they celebrate it, they just do. So I had delicious turkey, honey-baked ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, kool-aid (they love that stuff). But for some reason they always have to throw in their own flair. So there was also sashimi (raw fish), tapioca (not pudding. I guess it's a plant), fried fish (head, scales, and all), and 4 kinds of rice.

You still there? This internet is a crazy thing. It's 6:58 PM here, on Monday. You already write to mom and dad? I meant to say earlier, one of the more frustrating things for me was writing and not getting a real response until a week later, when I didn't need it anymore. I think there's a reason for that, you have to rely on the Lord.

Yeah I'm still here, but just about to leave.

It's especially frustrating because mail is so slow. I have to wait forever it feels like.

Anyway, could you send me a few cds with good music on it? I can listen to EFY, and any hymns sung by any LDS artists. Vocal Point has a rendition of Be Still My Soul that I really like if you can find it.  I'd rather have hymns by LDS artists if you can find a bunch, but if not, EFY works fine.

Thanks,

Taylor.

Mail from home

Telungalk,

So I really don't like dogs. I guess Tucker doesn't count, he's more of an ROUS. Let me explain why I have a new found dislike for these obnoxious creatures.

Here in Palau, there are about as many dogs as there are people (also chickens, I see about 100 per day, and that's probably a low estimate). Every single one of these dogs is some kind of mutt and and full of diseases I'm sure. Because there are so many dogs, it's nearly impossible to keep track of all of them while walking. Anyway, I do my best to judge each dogs reaction to us walking by. Some dogs lay there, most bark, and some really get angry. Everyday there are at least two or three sandlot beasts (erector set beasts, not end-of-the-movie beasts). These are the ones that would rip off my calf like a chicken leg if they could. Luckily most are on chains and can't come as far as we are.

Now, the reason I don't like dogs. They hide and/or play dead/sleeping. For example, we knocked on one particular door (dogs barking), talked to a lady, then proceeded to walk back to our car. As soon as we turned around a dog came out of behind a wall and really wanted to kill me. Luckily this beautiful creation of our Heavenly Father was on a chain. I haven't been so terrified in a long time. When I get back, I'm gonna work with the President of Palau and have all of these dogs euthanized and sent to Phonpeii to be eaten.

Oh! New experience of the week. This week, we went to visit two of the long-time members. They had just had a big party and had some food left over. In particular, sea turtle. In the pot was chunks of meat in some kind of broth and two, pretty large, turtle heads. It was actually pretty delicious. We didn't eat the heads because the custom is that those go to the Rubak, or the man with the highest social standing present. There are a few more things on my checklist. Crocodile, fruit-bat, and shark - just to name a few.

Now lets focus on what I'm actually doing here. (I wrote Jacob about my Thanksgiving, so I'm sure he'll forward that to you)

We have a less-active, recent convert who we are really struggling with. She calls us almost every day, usually several times a day, and asks us for money and or food. Now, as a missionary, one of our rules is to not borrow or loan money or goods from or to anyone. We told her this, but she refuses to accept it. These conversations usually end in her yelling and hanging up on us. This is all fine, except it means she doesn't come to church because she thinks it'll "show us". We talked to the Branch President and I think it's getting taken care of.

We have six or seven really great investigators, so I'm excited to see how things progress with them. One of them is a little 9 year-old Palaun girl. Her step-dad is a member from Nepal. We ran into him while knocking doors and found out he was baptized in Palau like seven years ago. Anyway she sat in on a lesson and asked where our church was. "Ok, I'm going to try and come." She hasn't yet, but we see her a couple days a week and she reads the Book of Mormon everyday and looks up the words she doesn't know.

I also noticed that the Lord knows more than me. Sometimes we set return appointments with people I think are a complete waste of time, and they usually are. But more often than not when we go back, there is someone else there who is very interested. To my credit, the original person is usually not there, or is very uninterested.

Ok so myldsmail had an error and didn't send my email. But I had this much saved. I think everything is here besides the answers to a few of your questions. I sent a letter home with my pictures yesterday that answers the questions that Dad asked last week, so they should also answer most of these. Anyway, there we go.

Thanks for everything.

Love,
Elder Barlow

Makes my blood boil

Ungil Suelb!

So one night my companion and I were doing our nightly planning session and our phone rang.

"Hello, this is Elder Barlow"

"gsajfhvbaksjdvg" (She said something in English, but I can't understand the Palaun accent)

*gave the phone to my companion*

"You have some? Yeah! Tomorrow? Sure."

*click*

Me: "What did she say?"

Him: "She (one of our member friends) was wondering if we wanted her leftover fitata"

Me: "Her what?"

Him: "Fitata, it's like the inside of the pig cooked in the blood"

I laughed a little and then asked again what she wanted. He said kind of the same thing. Turns out he was serious. Fitata is the innards of a pig (intestines, kidney, you name it) boiled in the pig's blood, then fried in it also. So the next evening on our way home, we picked it up. And then we ate. It actually isnt bad - that is, if no one told you what you were eating.

This week has been a great week. I tried several new things (Palaun apples, coconut fresh off the tree, fitata, etc), and our missionary work was very successful. One of the assistants actually gave us a call congratulating us on the success we had.

We taught a group of Chuukese college students last night. Like 7 or 8. Since my companion is Chuukese, he taught them in Chuukese. So I mostly sat there and listened (kind of). At one point - in English - I heard him say, "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ..." and I immediately perked up. This was a lesson that we hadn't planned to teach. Sure enough he extended the commitment, and a few said yes, but no one said no. We have a baptism on Saturday, and they agreed to come watch. It was a pretty funny experience.
I told Jacob this, but the President Dowdle (my mission president) gave me 3 weeks to finish the Book of Mormon, and highlight any references to Christ (including pronouns), gospel principles (faith, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end), anytime Christ speaks, and His attributes. He told me I had 3 weeks after a week had gone by (yesterday). So now I have 2 and I'm not very far. I'm kinda stressing out.

Someone told me that the rainy season just ended before I got here. Which is hard to believe because it rains almost every day. I can only think of one day that it didn't rain. Even on that day, everything was still wet. I don't understand.

Anyway, I'm reallly starting to bond with these people. Even though their mouths are always red and they're missing most of their teeth. I haven't met one angry/mean Palaun. Disinterested, sure, but always jovial, or "ungil a rengul."

All the kids love the missionaries. Some days I'll hear my name, and It will be a kid up in a tree, and he'll toss me a few things to eat on my way. Makes life pretty interesting.

Well, my time is up, but I'm really having a good time. Seems like the mail takes forever, so if I'm not responding to your letters, its because I haven't received them yet.

Ma uriul,

Elder Barlow

Good afternoon. It's straight business.

So I don't know why this didn't send last week, maybe because I'm trying to email on stone tablets. Anyway this was last week's email:

Dear family and esteemed colleagues,

So I'm no longer at the MTC. I have a new P-Day here in the field (you'll find out where I am in a minute), which is Tuesday. I'm not sure of the time difference, I think it's like 17 hours or something. Maybe 18 to California, who knows. Anyway it's Tuesday afternoon here. By the time I send this email, it will be about 11:45 I think, so you can do the math.

So I left the MTC on Monday night last week (Mom and Dad, I called you, remember?), and after about 30+ hours of travel, I arrived iin Guam at about 1:00 am. Unfortunately, we had to wait until about 3:30 for 2 missionaries arriving from New Zealand. President and Sister Dowdle let us sleep in until 9:30 the next morning.

Sister Dowdle made us some amazing French Toast before we had orientation, which took all day. At the end of orientation we got our area assignments. Elder Matthews was sent to Kosrae to learn and speak Kosrean, and I'm here, learning this language (again, patience). So after he told us where we were going and gave us our language packets, President Dowdle said, "Elder Barlow, your flight leaves in an hour and a half so I need you to pack up all your things and the office elders will take you to the airport."

So we left. Turns out we don't really use boats in our mission. Only airplanes. After another flight, and another time change, I arrived in..........Palau! at about 10:30. President Dowdle said Palaun is the hardest language in the mission. Just to give you an idea, it's like a mix of Spanish and Japanese. Great.

Palau is also the most tropical island in the mission. It rains everyday. There are 4 missionaries here...in the whole zone(each island, or island group, is one zone. There are 7 zones. Guam, Saipan, Palau, Yap, Kosrae, Chuuk, and Pohnpeii.). There are 2 zone leaders, 1 district leader (who happens to be my companion), and me. It just so happens that our district has the same area boundaries as our zone. It's really a weird system.

Anyway, my companion is Elder Stanley. Don't let his name fool you, he's a native Chuukese. He speaks broken English, so we can communicate fine most of the time. Quick story. So yesterday I gave him an Altoid, and to describe the taste he said, "it tastes...cold. But then not cold. You know?" Mint. He had never had mint before. Pretty funny.

I was talking to a Palaun member named Joel (Joe-el) and he was asking about California and I said it doesn't rain like it does here, and he replied, "then how do you catch water?" All I knew was that I turn on the faucet and water comes out, so I just pretended like he didn't say anything.

Sorry there isn't really a flow to this letter, I'm just writing things as I think of them.

When I arrived in Palau, the zone leaders gave me a key. Apparently I'm the driver. Not only did I not expect to be in a car, I definitely didn't think I'd be driving. I guess it makes sense, our area covers about 3 different islands (Again, no boats. They are all connected by bridges that we can drive on.), and the "houses" are very spread out. When I say houses, I really mean shack, or "lean-to". Everyone sits on the floor, and you take your shoes off everytime you enter a home.

There are dogs, cats, chickens, roosters, and frogs EVERYWHERE. The cats and dogs are filthy. Cockfighting is huge here, hence the roosters. They're either caged, on a leash, or just roaming the amlet (village).

Popular foods: Fruit bat soup*, crocodile, turkey tail, fish (all kinds), monkey, dog, turtle, etc.

*fruit bat soup is basically a whole fruit bat cooked in boiling water. I'm not sure of the details. But natives eat everything - wings and all (not bones).

Fortunately I've been able to avoid all the aforementioned items. Except the fish. Sister Dowdle said we are not to eat dog, turtle, or turkey tail (phew).

One of the recent converts that we were teaching gave us each a slice of seafood pizza. Sick. It had different kinds of fish, octopus, clams, and like 2 other things I forgot. That was hard to stomach, let me tell you.

Last thing, EVERYONE here chews this thing called beetlenut. Its like a big green acorn, that they mix with lime, a cigarette, and this leaf that makes their spit red. Even the kids chew it. It is so bad for their mouths and teeth, so its against the word of wisdom. Pretty different.

I'm sure there's a lot more I could tell you, but I'm out of time. I'm getting used to the schedule and the weather.

Prayer works. Heavenly Father really is looking out for us. Lucky for me.

I love you all,

Elder Barlow

Mission Blog (for the whole mission, courtesy of Sis. Dowdle):
guamadventures.blogspot.com

New address in Palau:
Elder Barlow
P.O. Box 551
Koror, PW
96940

(I'm going to blame my lack of mail on the assumption that mail takes a few days to get forwarded from Guam.)

P.S. - Holly, thanks for the package! It had all my favorite things.

P.S.S - Send all mail to that new address.

P.S.S.S - I saw a chicken cross the road yesterday.

In Transit

If anyone was wondering, Guam is 16 hours ahead of California. So far, we haven’t heard from Taylor since he arrived in Guam.

However, we received a call from a lady who saw Taylor and his companion in the airport in Salt Lake. She found out they were going to Guam and was quite excited because her next-door neighbor is the mission president there. She wrote a note to give it to them to take to the mission president and by the time that she got back to them, they were asleep. But she and her husband waited for them to get off the plane in Atlanta and since they had a lengthy layover, she and her husband took them both to breakfast. We talked to her for a little while and she was very complimentary of both Taylor and his companion. She said it seemed like Taylor had some travel experience. However, she indicated that his companion (who was from Rexburg) had only been on one flight before, and that was to Portland, so she said he was a little more wide-eyed than Taylor. She said their daughter just got home from serving in Geneva, and their son is currently serving in Fiji. It was very good to talk to her.

Dennis Barlow

Departure

Taylor called about 9:00 p.m. our time. His flight leaves about 12:50 a.m. (Utah time), so they are 3 hours early. It is just him and his companion flying to Guam (through Atlanta and Tokyo). He said that he had to get a haircut before he left, so his hair is pretty short. He said that he learned a lot at the MTC but that it was starting to get kind of boring - same stuff over and over. He also said that one of his toes was all healed and the other one was getting there. He has gotten packages and letters and was appreciative that so many people sent him things. He had to pay $50 to check his luggage, and he is told that the mission would reimburse him. He was very excited to start his mission and it was good to hear that excitement in his voice. He said it was hard initially to not been looking for phone calls and text messages, but now he is ok to be off-line. They couldn't shake hands in the MTC, and they had hand sanitizer all over the place and had to wash their hands many, many times all day. As a result, the MTC is one of the safest places in Utah. It was good to talk to him.

Dennis Barlow

11/4/09

Dear family and interested friends,

I got my travel itinerary on Friday, its pretty exciting. It looks something like this:

SLC-ATL (3 hours)
-Layover in ATL (5 hours)-
ATL-Tokyo, Japan (Forever long)
-Layover in Tokyo (5 hours)-
Tokyo-Guam (like 4 hours)

Anyway, total travel time is 27 hours or so. I'm the travel leader, but being first alphabetically isn't very hard to do - especially when there are only two of us. I still can't figure out why we're taking the most roundabout way to Guam, but hey, whatever's cheapest right?

Not much to report in regards to exciting things that happened this week. It has pretty much been the same as last week, just a little faster. I've made friends with a few elders from other districts in our zone, so that's been pretty fun. One is from England (he said the city but I didn't recognize it. He said it's where Stonehenge is.) and he's super funny.

Hannah, I need you to write me and tell me how to work this clock. I can't even set the time. I need to know how to set the time and the alarm, and anything else you can tell me. If you want, there is a website called DearElder.com where you can just write me a letter, email style, and submit it. They'll print it out and put it in my mailbox the same day. Thanks.

Mom and Dad, I think I already asked you about my line of authority, but if I didn't, I still need it, if you can send it to me.

Kim, someone in my district was looking through my photo album and wants to write you. So I'll probably give him your address - don't be creeped, he's cool. He's from Southern Alberta, Canada. You're welcome.

Everyone, like I told Hannah, there's a website called DearElder.com where you can write me letters and send them same day for free. You can also send packages ;) (I don't know if those are free. I doubt it.) They aren't really good for anything once I leave the MTC, because they can't do it same day. I'll be here until Monday night though, so write away. But I would just like to remind Holly that she promised me a DearElder letter and I haven't got one yet. I'm just saying...

The weather started to warm up a little which is lucky. I was starting to get nervous.

I'm low on time, so I have to get going. Word on the street is I get to call from the airport to let you know my plane hasn't been hijacked or anything. We'll see if that's true.

"Fear not, though the enemy deride. Courage - for the Lord is on our side."

Love you all,

Elder Barlow

10/28/09

Dear Family (and interested friends),

So I officially finished my first week here in the MTC, and the new missionaries come today, so we won't be the new missionaries anymore. When you first get your nametag, it has a bright orange dot in the corner to let everyone know you're new. I guess its helpful because I didn't know where anything was, but it's pretty embarrassing. I went on exchanges last night and I heard one of the zone leaders call them "dork dots." Kinda funny. So I think I told you that I met Elder Smart last week. If you don't remember, his sister was kidnapped about 7 years ago and is now going on a mission to Paris. Her brother, Elder Smart, came the same day as me. We sat together at lunch - he looks exactly like her. FYI, he's from Salt Lake City and went to East High, and is called to serve in Mexico somewhere. After about a week here, I'm pretty sure my companion, Elder Matthews, and I are the only ones in the entire MTC going to Guam. People always ask where we're headed, we answer, and then they say one of two things: "Oh yeah! I've heard about you guys!" or "...where is that?" The other missionaries in my district are going to Tampa, Florida or Cleveland, Ohio. My Zone Leaders are speaking Cantonese in either Hong Kong or Toronto (Dad).

Moving right along...

It snowed here in Provo yesterday. Which is great actually because I brought four short sleeve shirts, and that's it. Luckily the ac/heat doesn't work in the buildings either, so I'm in good shape. Just kidding, it's really cold, but I'll be leaving 2 weeks from yesterday, so I'll be ok I think.

Like I said, I went on exchanges last night with the zone leaders because no one in my district wanted to go to choir, and I couldn't go unless I had a companion. I wanted to go because the choir is guaranteed a seat at the devotional that night. Good thing I did too, because L. Tom Perry was the speaker (which they don't tell you until he walks in). He spoke about how to be a more effective teacher - it was incredible to see all these missionaries sitting attentively and vigorously taking notes.

My companion is from Rexburg, Idaho and I think I'm the only one in my district that has ever been to a halfway decent-sized city. They are all from Idaho, Canada, or New Mexico. They always talk about farming and tractors and these other things that harvest wheat. It's so weird. I also decided to wear my skinny jeans today for P-Day, which was a hot topic for discussion at first. I'm sure they'll understand how to wear their jeans soon enough.

I only have 5 minutes left on this computer, so I'll have to wrap this up. I have never been so consistently tired in all my life, but I'm learning so much. Jacob, I'm making a Bible like the Book of Mormon that you made, but it's taking me kind of a long time. I'm really learning to teach pretty well and how to work together with my companion as we do it.

P.S., I need my line of authority and all my friends' mailing addresses. It's hard to write to people when I don't know where to send it.

I love you all,

Elder Barlow

10/22/09

Dear Family,

Today was day two in the MTC, and what an experience it has been. I'm not going to go into too much detail because I'm just supposed to tell you I arrived safely and all is well, which I did – and it is. My companion is Elder Matthews from Rexburg, Idaho. He's a really cool guy and I have a lot to learn from him. He has a really strong testimony and an arsenal of good habits to teach me, whether he likes it or not.

Anyway, I realized I left a couple things at home (I had to have the info desk call to see if I had my MMR booster or not) so if you could send that to me, I'd appreciate it. I also left my razor at my friend Sal Trejo's house in Provo, but I'm not sure how to contact him. I'm sure I'll figure something out, but just as a little cliffhanger to keep you excited for my actual weekly letter – I made friends with a certain Elder Smart yesterday at lunch. So, family, all is well, and until next time;

Love, Elder Barlow VII

("Hannah said that VII meant that he was the 7th Elder Barlow, after me and his 5 older brothers. I never would have figured that out." -Dad)

Farewell

Prior to leaving for his mission Taylor had a lot of friends over for a barbecue.

Since the missionaries were also over for dinner it was decided to introduce Taylor’s friends to what Taylor would be doing for the next two years. So the missionaries presented a gospel discussion to the group. Then the Bishop had assigned Taylor to speak in Church on Sunday, October 18. Many of his friends were able to attend. He also had family come from Idaho, Michigan, Utah and Arizona. Interestingly, the other speaker fainted leaving Taylor a lot more time than he had anticipated. But it worked out fine.


















The Stake President set him apart as a full-time missionary on Sunday evening, then he left for Provo, Utah on Monday, October 19.

















His brother, Clark, picked him up from the airport and he stayed with Clark and Holly until Wednesday, October 21, when he went into the Missionary Training Center.

Mission Field Address

Also, I almost forgot; Some people have been asking about my address in Guam, and I don't know it for sure. However, my booklet says the following:

Tell your family and friends (thats you) to send letters to the mission office until you can notify them (again, you) of the address of your first assignment in the mission field:

Elder Taylor J Barlow

Micronesia Guam Mission

PO Box 21749 GMF

96921 Barrigada

Guam

Phone: 1-671-734-2294

Mailing packages to the mission: Following is the address where packages can be sent to the mission office:

Elder Taylor J Barlow

Micronesia Guam Mission

620 W Route 8

96921 Barrigada GU

Guam

(Telephone same as before)

My Last Week

White Shirts? Check

Slacks? Check

Black Socks? Check

Shoes? Check

Garments? Check

Baptismal clothes? Check

Flight itinerary? Check

Yapese copy of The Book of Mormon? Check (just in case)

Crocs? Check

Nervous? ...Check

(I came across this poem today - just thought I'd share.)

The Plane Ride

As I stare out the window,

The tears still in my eyes.

I saw the friends and those I love,

As we had said our last good-byes.

The ride was long and trying,

As two questions plagued my mind.

Do I want the life that's up ahead,

Or the one I left behind.

Two years is such a long, long time,

For going door to door.

In my reflecting I thought to myself,

There really must be more.

I dragged myself down off the plane,

And stared smiling at the beach.

When a man turned me the other way,

Saying, "Elder, Go find and teach”.

I sit reflecting once again,

As this day is my last.

“Please Lord this isn't fair,

The time goes way to fast”.

And I stare out the window,

The tears still in my eyes.

I see the Elders and those I love,

As we've said our last good-byes.

The ride was long and trying,

As two questions plagued my mind.

“Do I want the life that's up ahead,

Or the one I've left behind?”

-Author Unknown

Step 1: Wisdom Teeth

Taylor went to get his wisdom teeth pulled in preparation for his mission. Surprisingly, it only took about 20 minutes. Taylor said they put a needle in his arm and he was telling the doctor and the nurse (a graduate of BYU) about his mission when he fell asleep. When he woke up he was singing along to a song on his phone and everyone was laughing with him.

They brought him out and he was really loopy. His mom took his arm and helped him to the elevator. In a very loud voice he said, "Sorry everyone for being so ridiculous." They all smiled. When he and his mom got off the elevator, one woman asked if his mom wanted her to sit with him while his mom brought the car around. She was very sweet but it wasn't far to the car. Taylor insisted he could drive, even though he was dizzy, double/triple vision, and couldn't walk straight.

He said goodbye to everyone we passed and then was waving out the car window to everyone walking by. He called his friends and spoke with gauze tucked in his mouth. A couple of his friends came over so they watched him while his mom left to fill his prescriptions and get him a Jamba Juice. That afternoon he had two ice packs inside pantyhose tied under his chin. But so far the pain is minimal.

1 Taylor 1

1 This will likely be the only post that I make personally. After this, my brother, Jacob, will be posting the letters I write home for all to read. I've also asked him to add commentary explaining certain aspects and humorously enhancing others. So here we go:

2 I believe I have finally finished all of the paperwork that is required before I embark on my adventure. For those who don't know, or have forgotten, I will be serving a full-time mission in Micronesa - Guam for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the next two years, beginning in October.

3 I opened my mission call about a month ago, and I wanted to thank everyone that was there with me, on the phone, or on webcam. For the record, Rafael wins for having guessed Guam at all, it was the last place I was expecting, but I am beyond excited.

4 After having spoken to a few people who also went on missions to the same area, I have learned the following:

5 -Micronesia consists of hundreds of small islands and several different languages, so I may not be speaking English after all.

6 -I will most likely starve to death, or lose 40 pounds.