Monday, June 25, 2012

ARIZONA WEEK 6/25/12

Yeah I finally got over my fear of being down here and doing all of this. It has turned out to be really fun! But the biking is brutal in the heat…

I have not used sunscreen at all down here, I thought I might have had too but I haven’t burnt. Well that was until today… For the big activity of the day most of our zone went mountain biking. I was scared at first to do it but I am glad I did. All morning I was thinking ‘you need to put on sunscreen’ but I just got too busy and rushed out the door. Right before we got onto the trail I got some from another elder and got my neck, so ne neck didn’t get burnt. The only part that I know of that got burnt, so far, is the tops of both my arms. They are really red!!! But the mountain biking was fun; I only crashed once and got some cuts on my right hand, elbow, and shoulder blade area. I think I messed up my wrist a little bit because it is a little sore, but it is not bad at all.

MY NEW BIKE!
But other than all that everything else is going great down here. My companion Elder Mckenna is great. I found out he use to be a magician too! And he use to get all his things from Ellusionist, so we have that in common.
One cool thing is he can beat-box pretty good. He is about a head taller then me and has been out here for eight transfers I think. He has helped me a lot in learning how to teach and contact people. I have been lucky with my companions so far, a whole two, I hope I can have all awesome ones in the future.

The landscaping down here is a lot different than Utah. Instead of lawns they have dirt and rocks; and instead of mowing they comb/rake. There is so much cactus down here and some are pretty big. One thing that surprised me was all the palm trees down here. Just in our apartment complex there are a bunch of them. It is really cool to see how different it is. When they say we live in a bubble in Utah they really mean it. I don’t know if it is just
my area I am in or what but a lot of people do not have much, some don’t even have AC! There is a lot of graffiti and the roads are not kept as nice as in Utah. But it is a wonderful place.

The city I am staying in is Tucson, It is actually a very big area. And to send me letters or packages you can just send them to the mission home and they will get to me.

One thing that amazes me is how much people want the gospel. Once the spirit speaks to them it hits them like a bag of bricks and they want in. It was cool we had a referral that we met for the first time and I got her to commit to baptism on my second day! I do not think I know how much of an impact the spirit can have.

Well I got a couple more emails and not a lot of time, so I will leave it at that. If you guys have any questions for me or anything else, just email or write me with anything!

I love you all! Hope all is going well!!
Love,
Elder Barlocker II

Falcon sitting just outside our apartment.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

ARIZONA WELCOMES ELDER BARLOCKER 6/19/2012


JUNE 19, 2012
Well to day is my p-day down here in Arizona! But after today my p-days will be on mondays.
We slept over at the Mission Presidents home last night, they have a nice house. This morning we had to wake up early to go and meet our companions and have a couple of training meetings. Needles to say I am really tired... But he and his family are really nice. You can really tell he knows what he is doing.
President Killpack, Elder B, & Sister Killpack
It is really hot down here, but it is bearable. Good thing we do not have to wear suit jackets all the time. When we got here yesterday it was 104 and it is hotter than that today. Even when the wind is blowing it doesn't cool down, it is a warm wind. This first area I am in is a biking area. So soon we are going to go and get me a bike to ride. But there are quite a few cars in the mission, mostly Ford Fusions and Chevy Colorado's. But I think the biking should be fun.
My companion is Elder Mackenna (I think that is how it is spelled) and he is on his third transfer here. I have only been to our apartment once today and that was to drop stuff off, but the nice thing is we both have our own bathrooms! When we met he told me we had three baptisms this Saturday! I thought that was kind of cool. And pretty much every dinner is with a member, at least I will be getting some decent meals!
I really do not know if I can really do this. I thought I was ready when I left the MTC, but now that I am here I realized I didn't know a lot about what I was really going to do. It scares the crap out of me to be doing this... But I do not want to let you guys down or the Lord, so I will try my hardest to do what I should be. But I know a lot of new missionaries feel the same way I do, so in that I am not alone... DO NOT worry about me, I had the same kind of felling when I went into the MTC, just not on this scale, and I know I can get over it with time.
I really hope you guys are doing fine without me and not worrying too much. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!
Thanks for being there for me all the time!

Love,

Elder Barlocker II









IN ARIZONA!!! 6/18/2012


6/18/2012 IN Arizona!!!

Jaren called June 18th at 2:07pm form the SLC Airport on his way to Arizona. It was exciting and emotional! He has already changed…growing up in such a short time. The call was short & I was not handling it well (tears didn’t help). On his way to a new adventure…

Monday, June 18, 2012

Leaving the MTC June 16th & 18th


June 16, 2012
So today we are getting a lot ready for Monday, packing, laundry and all that. I don't know if you guys got my letter yet saying that I will be calling on Monday, it should be coming today if it hasn't already. But I think I might be calling anywhere from 12:00 to 2:00 in the afternoon on Monday.

But we do not know when our next p-day is going to be so out branch president said we could email today. So I will not use all of my time up right now, so if you guys want to respond or something I will be on this later...

I LOVE YOU GUYS A LOT!

Elder Barlocker II




June 18, 2012
Well today is the day! I leave the MTC around 11:30 and our flight leaves at 3:00 I think. The rest of our district left this morning at 3:00... We got lucky with the 11:30. But it is sad to see this go, I have had such a great time here! The best thing about it is the spirit here, it is so strong!

I won’t lie I am scared to death right now to be doing missionary work out in the field... but I hope I can overcome those fears by trusting that this is really where God needs me.

Well you guys might not even get this email until Tuesday... I do not know when my next p-day will be so I do not know when my next email will be. But hopefully when I come to my next p-day I can send you dome of the pictures I took.

I love you guys!

Elder Barlocker II

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Everybody! 6/13/2012



I leave the MTC on Monday the 18th. I have to be ready to go
to the airport at 11:30 in the afternoon, and we get to call home.
I do not know when I will be able to call, I do not know how long
I will have before I leave to AZ or how long I will have when I get there.
But I expect to be calling between 11:30 and 1:00…

I hope all is going well, I love you all!

Love
Elder Barlocker II

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

CAUSE AND EFFECT 6/12/12

Jun 12, 2012

Thank you so much for the email. It is kinda cool to see how much one thing can happen and effect a lot of people.

Bet everything is just fine here. It took a while to get use to but everything turns out to be okay in the end. But even with that said the MTC is nothing like I had been told or even what I had expected... But like I said it is turning out great!


The best part about the food here is that I get that chocolate milk every day for ever meal! I haven't gotten sick of it yet, it is so good! Plus every sunday and wednesday it is all you can eat icecream! I will admit I am not eating the best here but the food is pretty good, but not as good as at home.
But I did get a little sick from the food the other day; I was eating a burger and when I got to the middle it was pink! I had a migraine the rest of the day but got through it okay.

Yeah I have just been doing a lot of studying and praying. I did find a scripture that sounds a lot like the 'Lagoleers' 1 Nephi 12:4. I looked at it and thought it was kinda funny.

The other day I bought a water bottle that was supposed to be shatter and shock proof and all that, and after about 3 days of having it I dropped it once and it cracked all along the bottom... The funny thing that I didn't even notice about the bottle was the brand name was 'Nathan'. SO make sure Nathan doesn't fall off of anything... haha jk

But yeah everything is just fine with me. I just sent our the letters to all of you and this is the last thing I am doing tonight before I go to the temple.

I hope everything keeps going okay for you guys, I pray for you every night.

I love you sooooooo much I can't express that enough!

Wishing you all the best,

Elder Barlocker II

What a Week...6/12/2012


Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 2:54 PM

Thank you so much for the email. It is kinda cool to see how much one thing can happen and effect a lot of
people.
But everything is just fine here. It took a while to get use to but everything turns out to be okay in the end. But even with that said the MTC is nothing like I had been told or even what I had expected… But like I said it is turning out great!
The best part about the food here is that I get that chocolate milk every day for every meal!
I haven’t gotten sick of it yet, it is so good!
Plus every Sunday and Wednesday it is all you can eat icecream!

I will admit I am not eating the best here but the food is pretty good, but not as good as at home.
But I did get a little sick from the food the other day; I was eating a burger and when I got to the middle it was pink! I had a migraine the rest of the day but got through it okay.

Yeah I have just been doing a lot of studying and praying. I did find a scripture that sounds a lot like the
‘Langoleers’ 1 Nephi 12:4. I looked at it and thought it was kinda funny.

The other day I bought a water bottle that was supposed to be shatter and shock proof and all that, and after
about 3 days of having it I dropped it once and it cracked all along the bottom… The funny thing that I didn’t even notice about the bottle was the brand name was ‘Nathan’. SO make sure Nathan doesn’t fall off of anything…haha jk
But yeah everything is just fine with me. I just sent out the letters to all of you and this is the last thing I am doing tonight before I go to the temple.
I hope everything keeps going okay for you guys, I pray for you every night.
I love you sooooooo much I can’t express that enough!
Wishing you all the best,
Elder Barlocker II

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

June 5, 2012 First EMAIL!!!


Thanks so much for the email!
So the answers to those questions….
- My favorite instructor is Bro. Bradley
- I think I am getting enough sleep, by the end of the day I am way tired.
- I am getting along extremely well with the other elders of my district and I think sometimes we have a little too much fun. Like today we saw a starch can at the end of the hallway and so we sat at the other end and tried to hit it; I was the only one to hit it!
- I like both of the packages a lot, but the other elders in my room do not want anything so I have been eating a lot, like the whole bag of candy bars. What I have now might hold me out to the end of the MTC… haha!!

One thing I need is some envelopes and maybe some stamps.

The computer will not let me upload pictures to the email right now, but it might just be this computer… I will maybe try later or you will just have to wait until next week.

But everything is fine here, still getting use to it though. I hope everybody is doing fine.

Oh and tell Kevin and Nathan THANKS FOR THE LETTERS! And thanks for all the letters and packages!

Hoping all is well,

Elder Barlocker