Helllllllooooo family hows it been?   First off Mema and Pa thank you for the package I got it today and ate some pretzels.  Thanks for the money and letters as well I love them and appreciate them!!!

 

Well lots has happened this week so here it goes!!

 

First on miercoles me and my comp helped build a house and that was awesome I miss doing service it made me feel good. It was for one of our investigators Manuel snf for his son.  We were in charge of the concrete of the house. I would have never thought that I would be thankful of all things for a concrete mixer but we did it all by hand and wow I have never been so sore,   For 3 days after I have hardly been able to move hahaha but it felt great I have pics!!!

Next on jueves we went out and I spoke my mind and said Elder Parker if you haven't noticed our area is struggling we need to drop so and so and find more so we did.   We prayed and went and found 14 new investigators and I have another story that I will tell later but possibly 11 more so we will see.  I will fill you all in but it feels so good I feel like I am losing myself in this wonderful work. My comp is awesome we work really well with each other.  He is a nice missionary and I sometimes am the bad guy but it works!!!

Also on jueves we got invited to lunch which is huge here and so we went and ate a duck hahaha.  My comp is awesome he ate the duck hip with the kidneys and liver and he gave me the leg which was way good really tough meat but delsh!!

This Sunday well was sad but awesome. I walked into church to find 14 people there and nadie else so i was just like depressed cause we worked so hard to get members to come to church. Eventually more showed up but I asked to give a talk hahaha weird but you know how I said I am the bad guy in the companionship I got up and got teary as I always do.   I said this is a sad sight hermanos this kills me inside to see this.  We work so hard and this is our reward and then I went on to say we have a plan every Sunday.  We want every member to come with us at two and go visit whoever did not come to church and just talk and bear quick testimony and then when everyone comes we find more less actives and we are going to fortelecer san luis, I then went on to say the Lord doesn't want quantity he wants quality. I asked what is the name of our church I said it and I said Latter Day Saints these are the latter days we as missionaries need all of you to come and help us without you we get cast out because we are gringos from the ustados sonitos so we need you all.  I then said I am so thankful to see you all here though the Lord knows you and he will bless you for helping us and going to church. I told them I loved them and said we are meeting at the Lopez´s house at two please be there!!!!  At two everyone except for one old lady was there and it made me so happy like so happy it was awesome we went and taught and told others we loved them and wanted to know how the ward can help but gosh it made my mission!!!!

Ok last part today is a big day for us it was the first p day where I have actually been like I actually need this pday to recover so that was nice and about those 11 possible investigators as we went and looked for more investigators these kids came out of the bushes and said hey gringos we want to play you in futbol soccer and we said we can't today but Monday at 5 and they said ok and then my comp was like wait on one condition if we win we get to teach you and you have to come to our church with us and they all agreed so wish me luck family. I love you all have a Happy Halloween!!!!!!

Love Elder Barker

Wow Conference was sweet.  I loved it and I learned a lot and felt the spirit a bunch so all in all a great conference!!!  But not a ton has happened this week.  I went to a zone meeting in San Benito and ate Burger King.  I had to teach a lesson in Spanish to all the missionaries there.  It was all good until I closed and I said en el nombre de tu hijo jesucristo amen.  For all of you who don't speak Spanish like me I said in the name of your son Jesus Christ Amen.  Hahaha, geez all the hispanos just kind of looked at me and chuckled but dang almost perfect but oh well!!!  Like I said I ate at Burger King.  I don't even like Burger King but it was soooo good.  Its crazy how good things taste here!  My birthday was not like it is at home.  I didn't even realize it was my birthday until the President called.  It scared me because he only calls if someone dies.  I am thankful for him though, he is a great guy!  I am trying to lose myself in the work, I just have to be diligent.  My Spanish is coming but I am learning it mixed with some Mayan too so don't be surprised if my Spanish is weird.  I am not going to write too much because I want to send some pictures and it takes a while.  I will tell you real quick about our investigators.  We have one guy whose son is a member and he would never come and greet us but he noticed how the church has changed his sons life so now he wants to know.  Unfortunately he didn't come to conference but its all good.  I am hoping he accepts baptism this week because then it will have a domino effect on his family.  The other is Hugo.  He is a body builder.  We are going to the gym and teaching him while he works us out haha.  He won't get baptized until his family hears the message.  He has two daughters and they go to different evangelist churches so he is kind of torn.  But if he gets baptized he will definitely be the next branch president!  Pray for us por favor!  Well that's all, have a great week!!  Love Elder Barker

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Well this week has been a lot better thank goodness! I was so cultured shocked last week but things are better. To start off I have two stories to share this week and then I will answer questions. I went on my first division splits I went with Elder Guitierrez up north to a town called San Benito which is a two hour bus ride and when I say bus ride it isn’t a bus it’s a van that they squeeze at least 18 to 25 people on so its tight, it doesn’t help that the ladies breast feed their babies right in front of you, super disgusting. Once we got to San Benito we took a little motor cycle thing?? And went to work. I failed to mention that Elder Guitierrez is my zone leader; he only spoke Spanish the whole day which helps me with my Spanish. The next day he started speaking English which really surprised me because he is a Latino. We finally made it back to San Luis, San Luis is nothing but hills my calf muscle are so sore from all the hiking up hills don’t worry I drink about three litters of water each day. We buy pure filtered water because the water here has worms in it. Hahaha We use a capilla which we wash are dishes in look it up on-line. In the bottom where the water is it there are hundreds of worms little gross. I am use to the ants in my food and having them crawl on me they are tiny sugar ants. I eat them all the time people here eat ants there is a kind of ant that they or we eat that tastes like long grain rice, not too bad. We went to a small village near San Luis named Cain which has a bunch of tiny little grass huts with dirt floors scattered throughout the hills. We went there to teach this awesome family definitely humble people their house is a grass hut with dirt floors there were dogs, ducks and pigs running around. We brought with us one of the most amazing members  his name is Humo Gustavo who is a recent convert to the church. He brought his little son with him Angelito who is super funny and nuts. We had a great lesson we finished teaching and left to find our bus back to San Luis the driver wouldn’t take us back to San Luis so we had to walk. We walked back to San Luis which is about three and a half miles in the pitch black night, at one point in are hike back we stopped on the top of a hill which overlooks the valleys below it was beautiful calendar picture like. To one side a huge lighting storm in the distance the sky would light up purple. I wish I had brought my camera. The stars are just nuts I have never seen so many stars in my life, it is crazy beautiful. I have a story from my walk home that I will have to share when I get home off my mission. Hahaha don’t worry I am fine and all is well. Q&A time: I eat pretty much what you would think I would eat beans and rice and avocados for every meal mema you would love it the avocado in the states are tiny compared to these the avocados here are bigger than my cabaza(head). Some days we stop by the only restraint In town and buy a half of chicken for each of us really good. We have had three dinner appointments which have been really good. We don’t have a ton of people to teach right now so we are trying to working with less active members. Oh yah, before I forget they made me the branch secretary on Sunday, funny. Well that’s about it for the week, I love you all take care.

 

Love,

Elder Barker