The Elder Barr Blog

Thanks for the shirts! I got them yesterday, and they are awesome. It is great to have that event immortalized. I first thought that you had made them for Andy and had sent me a copy, but then I read the rest and it was hillarious.

How is the Blog going? What is the URL? I hope that everything is going well. Make sure that when people send me email, that they include their physical return address, as we are only allowed to SEND one email per week, to immediate family only.

So, things are going great here. It is amazing that it will be May soon. Time is really flying. Today it has been rainy, but otherwise the weather is good - 70s - low 80s, not too humid. However, it is only May and the weather will probably heat up soon.

There have been some great experiences this past week. L******* and her family are on fire. They have been coming to all the activities, and in general they are doing great. I was on a split with Elder Hansen, and we were teaching the law of tithing. I was a little nervous since they are so poor. They live in a small apartment, on section 8 housing, and only the mom works, for $9.40 / hr. We taught her tithing, and her first question was, “how do I pay more?". It was incredible to see how her faith was expressed. So, we went right into fast offerings. She had also heard about polygamy, so we cleared that up for her. Her response was, “I was going to join anyway.", plus some other humorous remarks. Nothing has phased her so far. Church history can be hard for people if they only learn about it through rumors of non-members. We tell people to think of the gospel as a puzzle, and if one piece doesn’t seem to fit, set it aside for a while and keep working on the parts that do fit. Eventually, it all will come together in Heavenly Father’s way.

The most spiritual lesson we had this week was with F****** R*****. She has been inactive for about 10 years, since she moved here from Puerto Rico, where she joined the church. We visited with her, and read with her Joseph B. Wirthlin’s conference talk called, “The Virtue of Kindness“. That is the perfect talk for inactive members. All Elder Wood and I did was pray with her, and then read the talk. When it was over, she started crying as she realized what was holding her back from the church was that she would be judgemental. She told us that she was telling herself that she was being kind in her own eyes, but she had built up a wall. She said that she used to find church boring, or get frustrated when people had said things that they shouldn’t or that are offensive. She realized that she was being judgemental and that she has to be kind, and realize that she shouldn’t be judgemental and appreciate that everyone isn’t perfect, but they are trying their best. It was great to see the Lord working through us to touch her. All we did was read the talk, but she felt the Spirit of the Lord work to break down her barriers to activity.

So, everything is going well. Working hard. Things are good. Oh, Chase and I right now are about 4 miles apart…it is funny how close we are working together. Still, it is against mission rules to visit friends, but it is nice to know that he is nearby.

Studies are going well. Reading “Jesus the Christ", and studying Spanish and a little Hebrew in my free time. It has been fun.

Tell Grace Happy Birthday! I love all of you. Take care and have a great week.

Love,
Elder Stephen J. Barr

Everything is going great here. It is getting HOT here. 70-80 degrees normally, but the humidity hasn’t come in yet so it isn’t so bad. It is great to hear that you had a good time at the R***’s house. That is really awesome. I’m glad you were able to do all of that.

So, I have some funny stories this week. Elder W*** and I were tracting a building. As we approached the building, it of course was locked, and we didn’t know anybody there to let us in. So, as usual, we would wait until someone came in or out. This lady approached us, and said, “OKAY! I’m letting you in, but don’t you dare knock my door. I just put the baby to sleep, and if you knock, the dog will bark, and the baby will wake up. I’m in 2F.” We said okay, marked it in the tracting record (a little notebook to keep track of where we go), and then went about tracting. When we tracted 3F, we said “wow, that was close. Don’t tract 2F". Then, we got to 2E, and I commented to my companion, “it would be funny if we just rang 2F and see what happens.” I was then making a note in the tracting record, and my companion, as a missionary reflex, goes and rings 2F. As his finger hits the button, he realizes what he’s done and RUNS! Instantly, the dog starts barking really really loud. I realize what happens at this point, but am a little confused, so in the process of turning around, putting my pen in my pocket, and running, I slipped and fell. As I’m falling, my first thought was, “Wow, he really did it. He pranked her!” The fall didn’t hurt, but by then my companion was down the hall. He turns around and yells “COME ON!", so I scramble to my feet, run down 2 flights of stairs, down the hall, and out the building. It was hillarious, but we probably won’t go back to that building for a while. My companion felt pretty bad, but I don’t think it was a huge deal. We’ll wait a while before being on that floor though.

The other big thing of the week is that L******* is getting baptized, along with 4 of her kids (#5 is 7, and not quite old enough, but he’ll recieve a baby blessing). They will be baptised on the May 1st. I am really excited to have them baptised. They are a special family. They are good people. It is sad though, in a big city, without a church or work, you are truly isolated.

I was a bit frustrated this week, not sure at what. A lot of it is that people who have surrendered their lives to welfare/section 8 housing have completely lost their sense of responsibility. There are people here who are fathers, who would sit at home and play video games 10 hours/day while their family lives on welfare, in section 8 housing, and get their food from various pantries. Sometimes I want to teach personal philosophies, like telling them that if they are unemployed and need money, they should be looking for a job at least 8 hours/day, but that isn’t the mindset here. A lot of it is that if it is free, take it. Oh well, I think that as people accept the gospel and realize that things truly are the responsibility of the individual, that situation will improve.

Thanks for everything. Expect my letters as usual.
Take care. Love,
Elder Stephen J. Barr

Things are going great in the Bronx. My new companion and I are working hard, and this week we have made some great contacts through tracting. It has been great to see people change as they accept the Gospel.

The monumental event of the week was this Sunday. It was definately the best Sunday of the mission so far. A*** and R**** went to church, with R**** being there for the first time, as well as J**** and T***. It was fast and testimony mtg, which was awesome but somewhat strange for a first time. After sacrament, R**** was called to a job and had to leave, but the rest of his family was there. We also had a family that we had tracted into a while ago, L*******, and her kids C**** (15), M**** (12), D**** (10), A****** (7) at church for the first time. Pervious to that Sunday, we had taught them a few times and they were doing well. They loved church as well.

After sacrament, it is always chaotic for missionaries because we need to get all the investigators to their correct classes. After doing that, we snuck back into the Gospel Essentials class. A*** and L******* were there. C**** and J**** were at YM/YW, and L**’s kids were at their respective classes. After church was over, L******* had such a great time that she stayed, with her whole family, for the baptism.

I grabbed J**** and we got changed. J**** is 5′11″, and 340 lbs. A BIG kid. He had to use another Elder’s clothing for the baptism, and I used the clothing that I brought from home. We got clothed, took a picture (which I will send sometime soon), and had a wonderful program. Tons of people from the ward stayed for the baptism. We also had a mom and her son, who were to be baptised by Elder C*** and Elder R***** at the same service. After the opening hymns and talk on the Holy Ghost, the baptisms occured. J**** and I were last, and it was really cool. It was difficult to baptise someone of his size, and some of the water splashed out and got the carpet wet, but it was an amazing experience despite the awkwardness imposed by his size. After he was baptised I gave him a big hug, and then we proceeded to dry off and return to the service.

We visited their family later in the evening, and T*** is getting baptised possibly this Sunday. A*** is trying to take care of her wedding (she will probably do city hall marriage) so she can get baptised this week. We are also helping her though the stop smoking workshop.

On Tuesday, we revisited L*******. After a great lesson, Elder W*** asked “Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptised?". She accepted. It was awesome. By the end of the week, we are going to try to set a date for her and her family. The absolutely loved the church. When their son, C****, prayed, he thanked Heavenly Father for “the best friends he has ever had". That was humbling to say the least. It was a privelage to be able to be an instrument for the Lord in touching people who are so lonely. It is humbling here people pray and thank Heavenly Father for ALL that they have, when what they have in terms of worldly possesions is little more than a scant apartment and a weeks worth of food.

I need to go. I will send a written letter in more detail. Thank you for everything. I love you all! Take care and have a great week of vacation!

Love,

Elder Stephen J. Barr

So, the first cycle is behind me. As I said, a cycle is 6 weeks long, so it has now been 6 weeks in the field. It has been great! Wonderful things have been happening, the weather is getting warm, and the gospel is continuing to spread.

The first big news is that I got a new companion at transfers today. Elder W***** got sent upstate. It was fun working with him, and I know that we will remain in contact. My new companion is Elder W***, from Sandy UT. He is cool. We just got back from the transfer meeting, where all the missionaries in this part of the mission get together, and they announce the new companionships. If someone is going to a different part of the mission, the will be grouped together and then they get taken upstate, and a bunch of new Elders and Sisters will be coming back down here to work in the city areas.

One thing I hadn’t anticipated was how hard it would be to say goodbye to the members at transfers. A mission has quite a few hard farewells, not just the departing one. For example, on Monday, Elder W***** and I went to A***, T***, and J**** house to break the news, and A*** cried. We also broke the news to the people who were at Sister C******’s (the 85 year old woman) house, where she was having her every-other-week family night. She holds this every other monday, and she has a bunch of people from the ward, mostly new converts, at her house. She cooks for everybody, and then the missionaries gave a lesson. They all told Elder W***** that he left such a lasting impression with them. He was a good trainer.

So, J**** is getting baptised this Sunday. He will be interviewed tonight by Elder W***, and then we need to make a program, and make sure there is a good service that is very inviting of the Spirit. His dad, R****, will be there too. He also lives at their house but he hasn’t participated in the lessons. I think he will come around and eventually be baptised.

The other big thing I need to work on this week is arranging a civil wedding for A*** and R****, so that A*** (and R**** eventually!) will get baptised. The stake president is going to marry them, most likely next Saturday. It will be an exciting time for them.

I will be sending a CF card today. It has good pictures on it. I have a picture of Elder W***** and I at Sister C******’s house, me in the Bronx, me in front of a funny building that we pass every day, which is a health clinic/liquor store. There is also some funny ones in the apartment. I also have one of Elder W***** and I at the Temple (at the very bottom right corner, I am the one with my arm up), some pictures from at the top of a tall apartment building, the cornerstone of the Temple, and A***, T***, J****, Elder W***** and I. Please clear the CF card before sending it back, that way I can be sure that you have already put it on the computer.

The other really cool thing that we did yesterday was take the new missionaries “fearlessing". These are missionaries that were in the position I was in 6 weeks ago, fresh out of the plane and driven straight to the Bronx (right near my focus area), and told to street contact people, hand them pass-along-cards, and invite them to church. It was so great to see them make their first contacts. I was paired off with a brand new Elder from Moroni, UT, a small town of 1200 people. He did a great job.

Well, I need to send an email to the mission president. Thank you for all your love and support. Mom, I did get the Easter Package. I really appreciated it. The goodies were great. It was wonderful to have some homemade food. Things are going great here. I am eating well, I’ve lost a little weight, and most importantly the Gospel is being spread.

Have a great day. I love you Mom, Dad, Andy, Tina, Bianca, Grace, and Maggie too!

Love,
Elder Stephen J. Barr