Happy Thanksgiving!

Another week has past for Elder Barlow!
He had a great Thanksgiving, and that makes me happy to know that he was well taken care of! It is so wonderful to hear him share his testimony and all of the things he is grateful for! I can't wait to talk to him at Christmas! :)

Here is Monday's email!

Hey B-CREW!

 

How are you all!!!!!! I am so glad that you are all doing good! That is cool that linds caden and whit had a few days off of school for thanksgiving! Did you guys eat with the whole family or no? well let me tell ya thanksgiving was crazy for me! Me and Elder Trujillo had 3 dinners!!!!!! 3!!! haha! I felt so sick after haha my belly was going to explode! haha!

 

We ate at the Cisnero home the Pérez's and with the Felix's haha it was awesome! Guess eat I didn't even get you thanksgiving package yet!! but I kind of know why! since transfers are tomorrow  they do not send mail out for that week cause lots of elders and Hermana's get moved to different places! 

We got our transfer calls this morning to see if we are leaving or staying or getting a new companion! Elder Trujillo is leaving and I am staying in Fillmore and get this! guess who my new Comp is!!!?? haha It is Elder Carter he was just my District leader haha and now we are companions so that is awesome I cant wait till tomorrow to go to transfer meeting.

 

On Saturday me and elder Trujillo were riding our bikes back from taco bell! and we saw the other elders at mcdonalds so we stopped to say hi but when we went to leave on our bike my back tire was flat! so we put the bike on the bike rack and took it back to our apartment and all of dinner I took off my back tire to see what was wrong? and for some reason a found a stupid little hole in the tube haha it made me mad! but oh well I will just have to spend more money to get a new tube or buy a patch! haha it made me think of the words that dad always says " we cant have nice things" haha it just made me laugh!

 

But that is really all that has happened this week! Fillmore is awesome and the weather is perfect! it will be the FIRST time in my life that I will not have a white Christmas! but its all good!! I have a present for the family that I will be sending soon so I will send it in a package and you all cant open until Christmas morning! haha

 

Mom just keep trying to find the glasses and I will be looking for some too! I cant wait to get the package!

I just want you all to know that I have a very strong testimony of this gospel! I know that when times get hard and you want to give up! just remember God is anxiously waiting to answer your prays! I know it is so important for all of us to get down on our knees so we can pray to him! I am so thankful for the Atonement in my life and how it has Blessed me! I am so thankful for the book of Mormon too! I have a goal to finish the book of Mormon by Christmas so we will see how that goes!! I am so thankful for this gospel and my MISSION for all the blessings it brings and most of all I am so thankful for the family I have!! I love you guys and hope to hear from you soon!

 

P.S.  I am still thinking of some Christmas ideas. but cds, ties, I don't really know what else but I will be thinking! oh maybe some brown shoes! ;) haha

make sure to send a tie to for Elder Trujillo so I can give it to him soon!

 

Just remember this awesome quote I got from Zach Creger in a letter! " You may have many options in life don't make Giving Up one of them!

 

Te Amo me famila!

Nos vemos!

 

Elder Barlow

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.....

Austin is continuing to do well! He has been teaching English to some Hispanic ladies. I loved hearing how he taught them about different parts of the body!! :)
I am missing Austin and his happy personality, but I couldn't be happier that he is serving this mission!
Here is the Nov. 18th email!

What Up B-CREW!!!

 

How have things been! I am so glad to hear that you are all doing so well! haha That is awesome that both Lindsay and Caden got 4.0s this trimester! haha  that is cool that cole is home and well! I am doing well also! this week has been really good! last p-day i got my bike it is so sweet i love it!  it was pretty spendy though haha. so i went on exchanges this week  with my DL Elder Carter and it was awesome! we had such a good day! that night before our exchange me and elder carter decided to say a prayer for inspiration for somebody for us to find! after the prayer i said hey lets try first st. by the church and see if we can find anybody! So we finally knocked this one door and it was awesome we met this guy named Antonio and he is solid he came to church yesterday and it was sweet he is so cool! We also taught English class on Thursday and i am the master teacher you can say haha! I taught all these Hispanic ladies about the different parts of the body and i made them all do the one song. Head, Shoulders, Knees And Toes!!! it was awesome! We also have some Former investigators we still try and need to meet! it will be good cause they are both still in high school and there is a priest in the ward named Angel and he is fun to work with! it is crazy cause there is only three young men in the ward!!! so i have to help with the sacrament every week! it is sweet! on Friday we went to go see how angel was doing and he was looking at youtube videos so i told him to look up the belly flop contest i was in. and the next time we saw him he said that it was so funny! haha it was good timnes! well that is all that has happened this week! Tomorrow is Zone Conference so we will see how that goes!

 

Did you ever find any of the CDs i wanted?, And did you order the Shoes, i hope so i got your little package with tie in it it was sweet! i love that tie! and about the SKYPE i am not sure about that i think you only get to do that when you are out of the country or if your parents are?? i will find out though!!

 

I love you all so much!!!

Thanks for all that you do!!

Keep on keeping on!!

la iglesia es verdadero!!

 

B-CREW FOR LIFE!

 

Elder Barlow

 

Here is a picture of his new bike!! He is so proud of it!

 

 

Blessings.....

Elder Barlow is doing well! Here is last week's email. (November 11, 2013)
He was able to give his companion a blessing! What a great thing! We sure love and miss him!

What up B-CREW!!!

 

How are you guys I hope good! That is crazy about the typhoon!!! oh I just told the other elders in my district and they are all freaking out! I am so glad that they found joe and his comp! that makes me so happy!  I am glad that you got my stay fresh pics! haha those were AWESOME!! haha I really liked them so I sent a ton out to everyone!! This week has been really good! After emails I got a haircut from my district leader elder Carter cause he said that he could cut hair haha well when he gave me the haircut he totally buzzed my head! at first I was like What are you doing!!!!! But know I really like it!! it is nice to have it shorter cause it takes longer now to get a haircut!! Anyways haha this week Elder Trujillo got sick on Thursday and Friday so he was not doing to good! On Thursday night the other elder brought us pizza an we gave him a blessing! I was the one he wanted to give the blessing So I Did!!!! it was such a cool thing! It was the first Blessing I have ever gave so far! it was awesome!!!

Not much has been really happening here in fillmore I have just been talking to lots of people and members! mostly members for referrals haha. we have also been doing a English class since I got here and it is sweet! I met this new investigator named Antonio he is sweet! he only speaks Spanish so I had a conversation with him at English class and it was sweet! I cant wait to start teaching him! I was so happy yo get on and see the pictures of the brown shoes! haha the ones that I like are the lighter brown ones if you could send me those that would be awesome!! my size is a 11, 1/2 so I hope that you all are doing well with everything!!

I was so happy to get the Spanish letter from Lindsay! that was sweet! her Spanish is really good! The key to speaking Spanish is that you always have to speak it even if you don't want to haha! don't be afraid to speak!

 

Les amo B-CREW!!!

 

Love! Elder Barlow

 

              Cute missionary with his BUZZED short hair!

Happy, Happy, Happy!!

I apologize to those who are following for not posting last week!
Elder Barlow is doing so well! He is Happy and enjoying his mission! We have loved getting updates from him. He has fun stories and great experiences to share!!
Here are the past couple of emails from Elder Barlow!

What Up B-Crew!!

 

Hey Family how is everything going! I miss you all so much! I am so glad that nate and Brittany got home safe from mexico! haha! well it is true I am in a place called fillmore it is so awesome it is right next to the mountians its so sweet! I love it! that is sad that kerris dad died I hope there family is doing well! I got your letter in the mail it was awesome! I loved it! anyways I wrote a letter and sent it today so I hope it gets to you shortly! I have not got the little package yet so I hope I get it soon! My comp is sweet haha his name is Elder Trujillo! he is a short little Equadorian guy haha he was born in Canada but raised in equador haha! he is fluent in Spanish, English and Portuguese and he can understand French too! its sweet! It is so weird here cause it is always so hot it does not feel like October! but it is cool being really close to the mountians cause the leaves are changing! The ward is pretty cool too! it is very Hispanic! I love it! Since me and my comp are both brand new in the area we need to meet a lot of the member so that we can get some sweet work done! I cant wait to get some work done there is so many Hispanics here in fillmore! I love speaking the Spanish that I know it is hard but it is really fun! I printed of some pictures today so I am going to send some home I hope you like them when they find you! haha  did you find any of the brown shoes that I wanted? just wondering! But right now I don't really need anything specific my letter has a lot of cool stuff in it so make sure you read it with the whole family!! this past Sunday was the primary program it was so awesome to see the awesome little kids sing! the spirit was so strong! I got a big package from the primary too from our ward in Lewiston it was sweet! I am writing a letter to the ward so that bishop can read it to everyone I will send it today! Thank you all so much for what you do! I Love You All!! You are always in my prayers! Keep in touch! Talk to ya soon!

 

Elder Barlow

 

The Letter he sent home was super AWESOME! I will try and scan it in when I have more time! Here is this past Monday's email!

 

B- Crew!!!

 

Whats up family how is everything going! Im so glad that you got those letters! I am so glad that you got my awesome letter! haha! I cant belive that it snowed back home that is weird! haha but its all god cause my weather is so sweet this week has been crazy hot! it haws been like 90 degrees!!!! I LOVE IT!!! haha! Sunday was pretty good for me too! we had an awesome fast and testimony meeting! the spirit was so strong! It was awesome! This week has been really good! haha we still are going over to see Fernando almost everyday! haha one day we went over there and went into his little hut and he was working on his peddle bike so we helped him fix it! it was awesome! We also had another lesson with Olivia! she is sweet! we taught her about the gospel of jesus Christ! it was such a powerful lesson! I hop that she comes to church! Then one of the funniest things that has happened yet on my mission is one day we were trying to find this former investigator named Nelo we stopped by his house once and some younger lady came to the door and said oh nelo is asleep right now You can stop by any day if you see him out on the porch listening to his music! so we said alright! She also saif that nelo is blind. So this one day we stopped by the house and there was Nelo sitting outside on the porch! he was smoking and he had his Cuban salsa music playing! So we went up to him and asked him what his name was he Said My name is nelo! Then we just kept trying to get to know him and He loves His salsa music! He is like 82 years old he was dancing to his salsa music in his chair with a cigarette in one hand and his cane in the other! then he told us if he had a lady he would make her dance with him till she could not dance anymore! haha! it was so funny to see him just dance it up in his chair!! Then he would always yell Aii Aii Aii all the time it was so funny! Then when we told him that we would talk to him later we started to walk off and we turned around cause his music got louder! we looked and he was trying to stand up from his chair so we just watched and when he finally got up from his chair he got his cane and started to dance with it!! it was awesome!! So that is what has happened this week!! Just some things that I would like for you to be looking around for me is that I want those brown shoes! and there are no stores around fillmore where I can get some. But other than that not much just keep sending goodies that is always nice to have!! haha! Thank you all So much for being there for me and having me in your prayers I love you all! I think about you everyday! Im glad that you all liked my letter! I cant wait to get your letter! ;) haha!  I love you guys soooo much!!!! I sent a liitle letter off today so I hop you get it soon too! I will probably write another one also! Keep in touch! Keep on keeping on!!

 

B-CREW FOR LIFE!!!!

 

Love:  Elder Barlow

 

 

I just want all the followers to know that I am trying to get the brown shoes Austin wants! They have quit making the style he wants, so they are hard to find. But we are hoping to have the brown shoes in his Christmas package! Ha Ha! So please don't think we are ignoring his pleas!! :)

 

Letters are always the highlight of his week as well. So if you can, send him a note!

 

Elder Austin O'Neil Barlow

California Ventura Mission

3301 West Gonzales Road

Oxnard, CA 93036

 

 

Transfer Time!!

Elder Barlow is doing so well! That makes us here at home so happy! He has such a great outlook on his mission, and is really working hard! We missed him a lot this past week as we celebrated Nate and Brittany's marriage! He missed us too, but knows what he is doing is IMPORTANT! We are grateful for his dedication, and example to us! If you are following this blog, you will see from his letters and emails that he REALLY LOVES GETTING LETTERS!
Just send them as often as you can! He doesn't always have time to write back, but if you can still send them to him! Here is his address again!

Elder Austin O'Neil Barlow
California Ventura Mission
3301 West Gonzales Road
Oxnard, CA 93036

Here is his email this week!

Hey Family!!

How are things! i am so glad that the wedding went well i remember thinking about all day but it was really cool to think about what i am doing out here in cali! Its really cool that nate and britt are in mexico that is awesome! i hope they both learn some espanol!! haha But i have some pretty sweet expirences it is awesome! we met with this surfer guy named shane and he has attened church for the past two weeks cause some of his friends are members in the pismo ward! but we went over to talk with him and we set him with a baptismal date on the 16th of Nov. haha and he said yes! it was awesome then Yesterday was awesome! we got this referral from ag 1st ward about a lady that lived up in pismo! so we called the pismo bishop to come tag along with us so that we could go into the ladys house! anyways her name is michelle she is so awesome she is friends with a member in ag 1st and knows alot about the church and she just had surgery on her knee! but she opened up to us and told us that her husband died 10 years earlier and she knows that she can live with him again!! and so we talked about the plan of salvation and the restoration! and we set her with a baptismal date on the 30th of Nov. and she said yes!! and it was only the first lesson!! it was amazing!! Some other news elder buckmiller goes home on Tuesday he is very excited and this morning we got the transfer calls from the zone leaders and i got some pretty cool news i am being transferred out of this area and going to a place called Fillmore! and my comps name is Elder Trujillo! i will meet him tomorrow at transfers! i am so excited! Thats mostly what happened this week. the spanish is coming along slowly but shortly i love trying to talk in espanol it is so much fun! i cant wait to see more pictures of the wedding and all other things that has been happening at home! But yesterday we ate at bishop staysells house and it was HUGE!!! it was so big it was nuts then sister bunton was there and she took pictures of us and sent them to our parents so i thought i bet if she sends this to my mom she would be very happy!! and im glad you got it!! I am doing so good!! i love My mission and the people i am around! i cant wait to go work in fillmore  but i was so blessed to spend my first 6 weeks in paradise!! it was a life changing event!! i love you all i will try to send pictures and remember that i love you all!! p.s also remember that i love getting mail from anyone! it makes my day so much better! that picture of the cardboard cuttouts are sweet!! i hope you got some awesome pics of us!!  Again i love you all so MUCH!!! Estoy muy agradacido por su orarciones!! Buenos Dias! Nos vemos!

 

Love You!

Elder Barlow

 

A great picture of his companions and other Elders in his area!!

 

 

Here is the picture Sister Bunton texted to us Sunday Night.

Elder Buckmiller (Center) leaves the mission today to go home.

He was Austin's first companion in Ventura!

 

Thanks again everyone for your love and support to Elder Barlow!!

 

 

Roller Coaster Ride!

For those that are following the blog of Elder Barlow, sorry there wasn't anything posted last week!
Elder Barlow sent a short and not too descriptive email that just said he was struggling with some things, having a hard time and was missing our family, especially since we have a lot going on with Nate's wedding etc.
He asked us to pray for him. And said he needed to talk with his mission president and that was pretty much it.
We prayed CONSTANTLY for Elder Barlow and worried about him all week. Finally on Saturday we got a sweet letter in the mail from him. It didn't explain in detail what his struggles were. But gave us some insight into just how difficult a mission can be! He was recommitted to his mission, and we are so grateful for that. I know that Satan can really make you doubt and fear things, and I know he was working hard on Elder Barlow.
Please keep Elder Barlow in your prayers every day!
Here is the happy letter!

 

 

And Finally that brings us to Yesterday's Happy Missionary Monday email!

 

I though about editing the parts where he answers my questions, but I didn't, so please bear with the questions that he answers!

 

 

Hey B Crew!!!!!

I am so glad that you guys got my letter before today! i wish it could have gotten home faster! This week has been so different with everything after talking with president castro my thoughts about the mission turned upside down!! I cant tell you how many blessings i am getting! Es Muy Bien! Estoy muy agradecido por me misscion! yo puedo sentir el mucho bendiciones de me famila!! I love you guys so much! i am so glad that you are all my family! I was able to go on exchanges with one of my zone leaders on satuday His name is Elder Paz! he was born in peru and he is a convert when he was 17! He is so aweosme! we worked so hard all day with the studys before and the meeting we had after we were done with working we only had 6 hours of sharing the gospel! and i know the lord was on my side! We got 9 declarations 4 other lessons and 2 new investigators but he coolest part was in planning the night before we decided to invite 2 people to be baptized just people that when the spirit told us to do it we would so i said how about we invite 3! so  we chose to do that! and at the end of our day we invited 4 people to be baptized!!! it was some of the best numbers i have had my whole mission! that exchange was one of the best ones yet! it will be hard to beat! I also got to talk in sacrament meeting yesterday with my 2 companions!! yupp thats right i have 2 comps right now. unti the end of this week cause elder buckmiller goes home and elder fridal is in pismo beach! but it is so much fun to have elder fridal with us he is from malta idaho and his family owns a gas station on the side of the freeway! he is a character let me tell ya! he is a funny sheldon! haha! But things i could need is.... i love getting letters it does not matter who from. it makes my day so much better when i just have one letter in the mail! and mom yes it is ok to have brown shoes on the mission where the picture of the ones i sent you the elder got them at mr. mac! im sure you are working on getting some pictures to me that would be awesome to get some pictures! get alot from the wedding cause i am really sad that i am missing that!! haha Remember my shoe size is 11.5 haha some elders have got ties in the mail that would be sweet! But mostly i want to have some pictures and i love getting letters! and i can only write back on p- day sorrow i have not been sending pics. i have been taking many but i need to get a memory card reader that plugs into the computer. so i will send some soon! I dont need my winter coat yet i might not even needit at all cause my klim jacket is working really good! on the misson we are allowed to have light grey pants so maybe you could go look for some at the kater shop my suit pants are more tapered then the other ones and i like my suit pants the best. so maybe you could find a pair that is more tapered but if not its ok it is just way more comfortable. i will try to look for some too!  Thanks guys for praying for me! Yo puedo sentir sus orarciones!! i pray for all of you everyday! every prayer that i say!! I Loved reading todays email from home it was so great! I just want to tell you guys that i am doing better than i ever have before in my life!! I have so many great people around me i am so blessed!! I cant wait till next weeks email! B CREW FOR LIFE!! I Love You Guys!!

Elder Barlow

 

We are so happy that Elder Barlow has found the answers to his prayers and made it through his first extreme case of homesickness! Please continue to pray for him and MOST OF ALL:

Send him letters!! He may not have time to write back, but send them anyway so he can feel your support!

 

Here is his address again!
Elder Austin O'Neil Barlow

California Ventura Mission

3301 West Gonzales Road

Oxnard, CA 93036

 

Thank you Everyone!!

 

The Work goes on!!

Another week has come and gone for Elder Barlow! He is doing so good, and loves his mission!
It makes us so happy to be able to read about his excitement!
He loves to get letters! Emails are good, he just doesn't have very long to answer people. So if you can send letters!!

Here is Monday's main email:

Hola Famila!!

 

I am doing awesome in the great California Ventura mission!! This week has been the best for me and Elder Buckmiller! we have made alot of progress! We have four new investigators and they are so awesome! There is this guy named Alfonso he is so chill! haha we met him late one night and we gave a restoration pamphlet in espanol cause he is spanish, he is on like 23 years old.. but we met with him the next day and we asked him if he read the pamphlet but he said no cause he understands spanish he can speak it, but he really cant read in spanish!! haha it was funny! so we gave him one in english!  We also taught this lady named Elena she is really hispanic its hard to understand her but i can get some bits and pieces of what she is saying! We also met her husband Beto and so on saturday night we went over to their home to teach them. and thats when we met beto. So when we sat down sitting by her was the book of mormon we gave her the first time we met her! so we asked her if she read some of it and she was like well..... and then we were like oh great she dosent even car about it.. Then she just went off and she was like i really like the story of how nephi had enough faith to go back 3 times and try to get the plates from laben!!!!! and we were like What?!? hahaha it was sweet! then her husband started asking about the book of mormon and we were about to tell him about it. Then Elena just went off again about it and how its another testiment of jesus christ and how it ties in with the bible!! me and elder buckmiller just looked at eachother with amazment! haha But after that we gave a awesome lesson on the restoration and now we have another meeting with them tonight! So that is the coolestthing that has happned this week! Every morning me and elder buckmiller wake up at 6:00 and then we just jog down to this little park that is like 5 minutes away from our apartment and play basketball! and its awesome cause its so quiet and we can hear the ocean! its so loud it sounds like a train!! haha And its cool cause we watch as the sun comes up too! I love where i am serving right now! I am writing a letter to you guys today so i will send that as soon as i get home! But we are meeting some awesome members and they are starting to feed us! i am also so excited for general conference! i have never been so excited for it before!! I dont need a coat yet but maybe soon we will see! I cant wait to get the wedding announcement in the mail! that is so cool that nate is an elder now too!! I am so greatful for the family i have!! i love You ALL so much! I hope to hear from you soon and you are all in my prayers daily as well! I will talk to you all later!! From your favorite Sheldon ever!!!

Elder Barlow!

 

Here is a picture of the basketball court:

 

 

Ocean/Beach

Thank you everyone for your LOVE/PRAYERS/SUPPORT!!

 

 

 

Another Week.....

Another P-day came and went! We got a quick e-mail, and everything sounds good!
Last week on Wednesday we received a package of goodies from Elder Barlow. He sent some fun stuff from Mexico. There were ties for all the boys, Key chains and coin purses, and bags. Some pesos and other fun stuff. In his letter he said told us that he and his companion had been given a lot of responsibility to try and start a Spanish branch from scratch. He mentioned it in last weeks email, but the letter was a little more specific and stressed how important it was. And a HUGE task. He said he had seen many miracles at work already!


Here is yesterday's e-mail to us with a few random pictures he sent, and I will update any more news when we get a letter later this week!!

Remember any mail or packages send to the mission home!

Elder Austin O'Neil Barlow
California Ventura Mission
3301 West Gonzales Road
Oxnard, CA 93036

Hey Family!!!

Everything has gone pretty good this week! Its pretty fun to go around and talk about god with everyone you meet! Church yesterday was pretty fun too! me and my comp taught a primary class! they were really crazy they would not sit still! luckly i had four pieces of candy in my backpack so that calmed them down a little bit! Im glad everything is going good at home! this past week i was able to go on exchanges with another elder in our district his name is elder fridal! he is from malta idaho and he is really funny we stayed over in his part of the area called pismo beach! it is the coolest little town ever! its just like a tiny little beach town! everywhere i go i can see the ocean! it is awesome! for the past couple of days i have had a really bad sore throat it sucked i think it is starting to get better so i hope it does! Me and my comp were driving around some of our areas trying to find little pockets of hispanic people! and there are some really good key indicators of that hispanic people live in certian houses! some of those are they always have christmas lights on! they have a mop by the door! they have lots of cars outside of thier house! ands thats really it! But on saturday we went up to these four guys some of them were drinking and we just started talking to them its pretty hard to understand the spanish but i could get some bits and pieces of it! they all seemed really interested! one guy named martin said something really cool that i didnt understand so after my comp told me what he said! he said to us if you guys need a place to stay or have some dinner my door is always open to you!! it was so cool! it is so awesome when you talk to spanish! when you say hello in english they are really shy! but when you start speaking spanish it is so cool to see there face light up and they are so willing to talk to you!! So thats all that really happened this week! i am glad everythings going good at home! Did you guys get my package i sent! i hope so I will try and send some pics if i can!

I Love You all so much thanks for all the support! if i think of stuff i need i will send it in a letter i will be writing later today! and always just send everything to the mission home address thats what the rule is then they will send it to us!

You are in my prayers everyday!

Again I Love You all!!

Elder Barlow

 

Sure Love this crazy Elder!!

MISSION MAIL!!

I was able to speak to an Elder Truman and the Ventura Mission home this morning, to clarify Austin's address! He told me he was able to meet Austin last Monday and sit in on some trainings. He told me he was impressed with what a happy and eager missionary Austin was! He thanked us for sending him to their mission and told me he would do great things!! (What great news to hear).

So I just want to pass along Austin's address!
Everything will go to the mission home for his entire mission!
Letters, packages, etc. Then they will forward it all to him. If you send things Priority Mail or 1st Class, then they can send it on to him at no charge. For regular letters that is just your normal postage stamp. For Packages just send Priority or 1st Class!
I know he won't have a lot of time to answer e-mail on P-day but hopefully he can find some time during the week to answer letters!!

Thank you everyone for all your love and support!

Elder Austin O'Neil Barlow
3301 W. Gonzales Road
Oxnard, CA 93036

Ready-Set-Go!!

So Monday was a great day!! We finally received a quick email from Elder Barlow!! He didn't have very much time, but it was sure good to hear from him! And as an added bonus, we got a letter from him, and his Mission President and a Photo! It was a great day, and our family is so happy!!
Here is the email followed by the letters!!

Mon 09/16/13 12:38 PM Attachments Name Type Save View Part 1   text/plain Save   Part 2   text/html Save

Hey Guys!!!   I am glad to hear that everything is going good!! that is awesome that you guys found some help for the farm!! But anyways i have some awesome crazy news!! My first area is is called Arroyo Grande!! It is sweet! My comps name is Elder Buckmiller! haha he is really cool! he is from salt lake and he only has 6 more weeks of his mission!! So some more of the crazy news is that me and my comp are covering three wards! Ag 1st 2nd and pismo beach!! and we are the only spanish elders up in this area! Are apartment is brand new! and when we walk down the road a little bit from the apartment i can see the pismo beach sand dunes!! the ones from rob and big!! haha!! its awesome! but anyways president castro sent me and my comp up to this area to do the impossible it seemed like! what he wants us to do is start a spanich branch from scrath!! one that builds off of the one of the other wards! It will be hard cause we are both brand new to this area and here there are really no spanish speakers!! So many miracles have been going on the past week! my very first day in the field was sweet! we knocked a few doors and nothing was happening but then we walked up to this house and talked with this girl named maria she was doing the dishes! so we just talked to her through the window!! we told her about everything! the restoration and the great apostocy! and then we just asked her if she would be baptized and she said YES! haha the spirit was so strong!! and in my mind i could feel the spirit workin through me!! so what i did i asked her if i could give her a book of mormon! and she accepted so i gave that to her! we still have to go check up with her on if she has been reading!! haha The miracles here are the best!! Today i am going to try and send a package home to you guys so i hope you get it! i hope to hear fromyou guys soon!! but the picture for nates wedding i like the one i sent, and i will try and write letters to you giuys as much as i can! i dont really know our email schedule yet so but i know its only for an hour so.... but  I love You guys!! tell everyone that i love them so much!!   Love___ Elder Barlow!!

Austin is a Great Missionary!! And even though we miss him like CRAZY, we know he is doing much good and we are Honored to be his family!!

Back in the USA!!

Austin left the Mexico MTC on Monday September 9, 2013. He called us from the LAX airport for just a few minutes! It was so good to hear his voice! We asked him if he was nervous about going to California and start teaching in Spanish, he said NO! He is actually very excited!!
As of today he has been there for 1 week. We don't know where he is yet, or how things have been going for him. But today is P-day, and we should hear something!! So Stay tuned..........

Elder Austin O'Neil Barlow

 

MTC Life........

Austin's time at the MTC went by quickly! He really enjoyed it there but was ready to move on by the end of his time!
One of his first e-mails was mostly of his experience as he first came:

Hey Famila!!!

 This will be one of the big emails that you can share!  when i first arrived in mexico and all the missionary got on the mtc busses it was so crazy.  the traffic here is nuts there is no rules at all.  most of the local busses just stop in the middle of the road just to cram more peolple on them.  then we were driving by a pretty good sized wall for a while and then realized that on the other side of the 10 ft. wall was the mtc!!  we got to the main gate and all of the guards that protect the main gate of the the mtc came out to make sure that everyone on the bus were missionarys. so basiclly the mtc is locked surrounded by a 10 ft. wall with barbed wire at the top. and nobody is allowed out of the mtc! But the cool thing is the mtc is pretty big it is about 93 acers of land because it used to be a school here.  it is pretty nice to have so much room.  but as soon as i got off the bus in the mtc the first person i saw outside was my friend from high school Elder cory fowers. it was so awesome to see someone that i could talk too! Then we got our compainions and went to lunchroom and my first mexican meal in the mtc was a cold peice of pizza from costco.. it was pretty sweet i guess. Then we went to go try and find our casa we finally did and it is really getto!! haha but i love it still.  all of my roomates are really cool and awesome to hang out with we all get along so well.  the nights in mexico are really scary actually me and the elders in our room the first night were trying to fall asleep but we couldnt because of the gunshots and abulences going around the mtc most of the night!!! but now it does not even bother us.  it actually puts me to sleep. i will tell you the rest of my story tonight when i get on!!

Love you guys!!

Elder Barlow

 

 

He also told us that his very first lesson on his very first day was 100% Spanish. And everyone was supposed to speak in Spanish all the time. At the end of his first week he was praying in Spanish and sharing his testimony.

After 2 weeks he told us he blessed the sacrament in Spanish without any mistakes! He was pretty happy about that.

After a couple of weeks there, he was made district leader which he said meant he was in charge of about 10 missionaries.

Some other high-lights at the MTC were:

~Being able to attend the Mexico City Temple 2 times.

~Teaching a member investigator and realizing they had talked with her for 20 minutes in complete Spanish with-out any notes or help.

~Leading all the Missionaries in the mission purpose at one of the last devotionals.

~Being able to speak and understand Spanish so quickly.

~Seeing old friends from home around campus, and making new friends there!

~Standing with all the other Missionaries that were leaving the same day as him and singing 'God be with you 'til we meet again' in Spanish to the rest of the missionaries.

~And of course all of the Soccer playing he got in during gym time, and p-day!

There are many more, but these were some of the ones he was most excited about!

 

                                          Standing outside the MTC

                                         1st Companion Elder Eric Sheldon Laws

                                         Outside of the Temple

                                          Mexico City Temple

                                          Friends from Home

                                         The city

                                          Some of his instructors

                                          Missionaries

                                          MTC

 

 

Picture used in the church news that he was cropped out of!

 

                 MTC Flower!

                              The Temple

                 'Live' shot he sent as we emailed on his last p-day!

                  Cutest Missionary Ever!!

 

 

Time to Fly.....

Austin was set apart as a Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints on Monday July 29, 2013 by our Stake President. President Henderson gave a beautiful blessing, and it was a VERY Special experience for our family.

We took Austin to the airport on Tuesday July 30, 2013. It was such a BITTER-SWEET time!
It was NOT fun saying good-bye, but we knew Austin was doing what he wanted to do!

We watched as he made his way through security and then he turned and gave us one Smile and Wave, and was gone!!

That is probably one of the HARDEST mom moments I have experienced!

I had my first Tender-Mercy later that night when I happened to check my e-mail and there was an e-mail from Elder Austin Barlow!!

It was short but OH SO SWEET!! He was basically letting us know that he made it safely to Mexico City. He sounded so excited to be there!! It was such a blessing to us to receive that email!!

 

Called to Serve!!

It all started with the Call!!
Austin wanted to have an 'Opening Party' to read his Mission call!
Family and Friends gathered and helped celebrate this great moment in his life!

Dear Elder Barlow,
     You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the California Irvine Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months.

     You should report to the Mexico Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, July 24, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language!........

Little did Austin know he would receive 2 calls! The Irvine Mission was 'over-called' so they were sending him a whole new call. Of course Austin wanted to have another 'Opening Party'.

Dear Elder Barlow,
     This letter is to confirm that your mission assignment has been changed from the California Irvine Mission to the California Ventura Mission as a Spanish-speaking missionary. You should report to the Mexico Missionary Training Center on July 31, 2013.
     We appreciate your willingness to accept this assignment and are confident that you will be able to successfully fulfill this new calling.
                                                                  Sincerely,
                                                                Thomas S. Monson
                                                                      President

And so the ADVENTURE begins!!