Family,
Our P-day was switched to Tuesday this week because we had Zone Conference yesterday. That was so crazy. There are 20 missionaries in Guam (compared to the 3 or 4 in Palau) plus 2 senior couples and a senior sister, and President and Sister Dowdle. It was nuts.
Saturday we had my first baptism here in Guam. One of them has gone through several sets of missionaries and I was actually able to teach her a few times when I would come to visit from Palau. Finally she decided to be baptized. Her brother is actually the one that has been coming teaching with us all the time. She asked me to confirm her, and I was so nervous. The ward (it was just officially organized on Sunday) here has so many people, and I had to talk into a microphone and everything. I had the mission presidency, bishop, and stake presidency sitting right behind me too, but it all turned out okay.
The other girl is the step-daughter of a Palauan recent convert. She would run away from us for a while because she used to be taught by the sister missionaries, and she only wanted to be taught by them. After we just kept going over there, she finally started sitting in and asked us to be baptized.
A lot of the zone leaders are probably upset with us, but Elder Matthews and I decided to organize a mission-wide 'finding day.' As a mission we've been putting a lot of emphasis on improving our teaching - which has been great, but as a result, people have left finding on the side. This coming Saturday, each companionship is not to set any appointments, and not talk to any members, but to spend the entire day finding new people to teach, and talking to everyone. We're pretty excited about it, and I think it will have some great results.
Speaking of new people, one of our Chuukese members brought her niece with her to church, and we were finally able to go over and visit them last night. This girl doesn't speak any English, but claims to understand some. My knowledge of the Chuukese language is about what you would expect out of someone who's been studying for 2 weeks, so I told her that we will teach in English and that if she has any questions, or doesn't understand, to just tell her aunt or her cousins, and they will translate. The lesson went okay, and she was able to answer our English questions in Chuukese. She seemed to be having a great time, and we're going back again tonight. We're going to ask her to be baptized next Saturday. The only problem that we'll have I think is getting permission from her parents back in Chuuk (we don't even know how old she is actually, so that may not be a problem at all).
In other news, this week Elder Matthews and I are going to Saipan to go on exchanges with the missionaries there. I'm pretty excited since I'll get to work with new missionaries and see a place I haven't seen before. When we get back, President Dowdle wanted to talk to us about going over and doing the same thing in Pohnpei and Kosrae. I'm pretty excited, but I just hope traveling doesn't get in the way of teaching our investigators.
P-day next week should be back to normal, so I'll talk to you then.
Love,
Elder Barlow
Friday, February 25, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Guam
Family,
All right, let me give you the run down on what I've learned about Guam in the week that I've been here. We live in a place called Mong Mong, and cover most of the central part of Guam, and we drive a minivan (so we can transport lots of missionaries). Our Guam Zone is divided into 3 districts - North, Central, and South. This week we're getting 6 new elders and 2 new sisters, so we're going to have 20 total here in Guam, and then there are a few going to the other islands (including a new guy going to Palau to replace me). As you know, Guam was just made a stake (our branch is the Stake Center), but the wards haven't been created yet. They're still branches with branch presidencies. I don't really know what they're waiting for, but every week they make a few more stake callings, just a little at a time. I don't know if they're waiting to make all the stake callings that they need to or what, but it's already the middle of February. You'd think they'd have it all taken care of by now.
The native people in Guam are called Chamorros, and they all speak English (there are a few who still speak Chamorro, but I haven't met one who doesn't speak English just as well). There are a bunch of other Micronesians mixed in too - the majority being Chuukese. Because of the military, there are a lot of white people too. So, the members live in anything from normal suburban-style homes to plywood and tin.
Moving right along - we had such a great week. Until Elder Tuaitanu leaves this Friday, there are 3 of us, and there's a Chuukese member who has been going on splits with us all day everyday for about 4 or 5 days straight. He loves it. We were able to teach about 30 total lessons, we had about 7 investigators at church and 2 baptisms planned for this Thursday. It's been so fun. It's been good because it doesn't give me time to sit around and think about Palau. I just get homesick when I do that. We won't have as good of a week this week since it's transfer week. We'll have orientation, the baptisms, and we'll be living at the airport picking people up and dropping them off. But, that's all new stuff for me, so I'm looking forward to it. I'm trying to learn Chuukese and it's actually going okay. Elder Tuaitanu called on me to pray in the Chuukese Sunday school class (he teaches it), and I was pretty nervous, but I did it. Afterward, one of them came up to me and said (in Chuukese), "I didn't know you speak Chuukese!" and of course I replied, "I don't." I noticed that Chuukese people, if you say anything to them in Chuukese, they will assume you know how to speak, and from then on not speak to you in English. Whereas Palauans will respond to you in English until they are confident that you will understand, and then respond back in Palauan. I think it's because Palauans are much more proficient in English than the Chuukese. Anyway it's been fun for me. Especially trying to talk to the ones who don't speak a lick of English.
(You can go ahead and send those gifts out - no need to wait for anything. Did anything get taken in customs or anything like that?)
I'll try to get all those pictures for you, but maybe not the one's of members homes - that's kind of awkward. I'll see if I can do it nonchalantly (9-point Boggle word).
Love,
Elder Barlow
P.S. I realized last week that I think I forgot to give you my new address:
620 W. Route 8
Barrigada, Guam
96913
You can send any mail/packages to that address. That way it will go directly to the mission office rather than the post office - eliminating an extra trip for the office couple.
All right, let me give you the run down on what I've learned about Guam in the week that I've been here. We live in a place called Mong Mong, and cover most of the central part of Guam, and we drive a minivan (so we can transport lots of missionaries). Our Guam Zone is divided into 3 districts - North, Central, and South. This week we're getting 6 new elders and 2 new sisters, so we're going to have 20 total here in Guam, and then there are a few going to the other islands (including a new guy going to Palau to replace me). As you know, Guam was just made a stake (our branch is the Stake Center), but the wards haven't been created yet. They're still branches with branch presidencies. I don't really know what they're waiting for, but every week they make a few more stake callings, just a little at a time. I don't know if they're waiting to make all the stake callings that they need to or what, but it's already the middle of February. You'd think they'd have it all taken care of by now.
The native people in Guam are called Chamorros, and they all speak English (there are a few who still speak Chamorro, but I haven't met one who doesn't speak English just as well). There are a bunch of other Micronesians mixed in too - the majority being Chuukese. Because of the military, there are a lot of white people too. So, the members live in anything from normal suburban-style homes to plywood and tin.
Moving right along - we had such a great week. Until Elder Tuaitanu leaves this Friday, there are 3 of us, and there's a Chuukese member who has been going on splits with us all day everyday for about 4 or 5 days straight. He loves it. We were able to teach about 30 total lessons, we had about 7 investigators at church and 2 baptisms planned for this Thursday. It's been so fun. It's been good because it doesn't give me time to sit around and think about Palau. I just get homesick when I do that. We won't have as good of a week this week since it's transfer week. We'll have orientation, the baptisms, and we'll be living at the airport picking people up and dropping them off. But, that's all new stuff for me, so I'm looking forward to it. I'm trying to learn Chuukese and it's actually going okay. Elder Tuaitanu called on me to pray in the Chuukese Sunday school class (he teaches it), and I was pretty nervous, but I did it. Afterward, one of them came up to me and said (in Chuukese), "I didn't know you speak Chuukese!" and of course I replied, "I don't." I noticed that Chuukese people, if you say anything to them in Chuukese, they will assume you know how to speak, and from then on not speak to you in English. Whereas Palauans will respond to you in English until they are confident that you will understand, and then respond back in Palauan. I think it's because Palauans are much more proficient in English than the Chuukese. Anyway it's been fun for me. Especially trying to talk to the ones who don't speak a lick of English.
(You can go ahead and send those gifts out - no need to wait for anything. Did anything get taken in customs or anything like that?)
I'll try to get all those pictures for you, but maybe not the one's of members homes - that's kind of awkward. I'll see if I can do it nonchalantly (9-point Boggle word).
Love,
Elder Barlow
P.S. I realized last week that I think I forgot to give you my new address:
620 W. Route 8
Barrigada, Guam
96913
You can send any mail/packages to that address. That way it will go directly to the mission office rather than the post office - eliminating an extra trip for the office couple.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Transferred
Family,
Well, before I left, we had some great things happen. We had like 6 investigators just fall into our lap, and now they are either on a baptismal date, or hopefully will be this week. Again, I'm just sad I had to miss it.
I don't really have much to say, I'm still getting settled in. We live in an apartment with the office elders, and I have to learn Chuukese now. I'm pretty excited about that, but I have a feeling it will be pretty hard since we're going to be so busy.
Most of the mission doesn't know I'm here yet, so I have to be all secretive and not answer the phone and stuff, it's so weird.
I'm sure I'll have more to say next week when I'm all settled in. I'll let you know how everything goes.
Love,
Elder Barlow
[Editor's addition:]
Updated mailing address:
Taylor J Barlow
620 W. Route 8
Barrigada, Guam
96913
[Editor's addition:]
Updated mailing address:
Taylor J Barlow
620 W. Route 8
Barrigada, Guam
96913
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