October 19, 2015

Dear Family and Friends!

What an awesome week! The work here in Hillsville is moving along really well! Our investigators are progressing and we are continuing to find more people to teach! 

So we have a part-member family that we are working with, and we had a pretty interesting experience regarding them this week. So this family lives with their parents and they have relatives that live next door. So when the relatives found out that Brittany and Robbie had been meeting with us and were preparing to be baptized, they wanted to take the discussions too!! So we met with them and wow was it awesome! One of the first questions that they asked was how they can be sealed as a family!! It was amazing! I know that Heavenly Father is preparing and placing people in our path for us to teach! We will be teaching them all together now and I cant wait see all of their progression! It is going to awesome! :)

So funny story time... Haha! This week we went on exchanges and Elder Sawyer went with the district leader in Wytheville and Elder Vest came to Hillsville. On the morning of our exchange, I wanted to be nice and make pancakes for us. I made sure that I got ready earlier so I would have time to make them too! So as I was starting to make the pancakes and everything, I realized that we did not have nearly as much pancake mix as I had thought... So rather than scratching the whole idea I was determined to make it work! So I just added some flour, water, vegetable oil and other things to the mix and prayed that it would work out! By the end of my free style cooking experience, I had made three pancakes... Haha! I gave them to Elder Vest and he said they were good but he was probably just being nice! Haha anyways that was pretty goofy and embarrassing on my part, but the rest of the week was really great! I know that this gospel is true and I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God! I love you all and I love this work! Have a great week! :)

Elder Barazoto

Awesome view!

October 12, 2015

Dear Family and Friends!

What an awesome week! It doesnt seem like it has been a week yet but time flies when you're having fun right?! Haha

So this week we went to see the part-member family that I mentioned last week who is doing really well. They are so awesome! We get along really well and they are both progressing really well! They ask great questions and I love seeing how happy the gospel makes them! So the wife who is not a member is Brittany and we have been focusing on her and during the lesson we committed her to baptism! November 28th is the day and I am SO excited! Its going to be amazing! 

So a couple days after that, we decided to see a potential who we have not been able to contact in a few weeks. He and his family have been really busy and we were finally able to contact him this week somehow! We were so lucky that we were in the right place at the right time! I know that Heavenly Father has a plan and is helping us talk to the people that need and are ready for the gospel! He seems very interested so that is very exciting! 

Yesterday was probably one of the more interesting days of the week though. We were in a place in our area called Galax which is about a 30 minute drive from our apartment because we had a dinner appointment with a family in the ward named the Kohls. As we were socializing around the dinner table, Brother Kohl starts telling these insane stories! He worked for the American embassy in Guatemala when President Hinkley was prophet and when President Hickley, President Packard, and President Faust came to dedicate the temple there, he was the one that was their escort! Crazy right?! He got to know them all pretty well and he has some pretty awesome stories to tell! I loved it! 

Well that's all for this week! I love you all and I love this work that I am apart of! I know it's true and it has blessed my life in so many ways I cant describe! Have a great week everyone! :)

Elder Barazoto

​Hillsville, Virginia!

​Makin pancake! Haha!

October 5, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow the weeks are starting to fly by! Its seems like I was just emailing yesterday! crazy how time works in the mission field! Ha!

So this week was full of really great experiences so here are a few!

On Wednesday we went to go see a part-member family (the husband is a less active member and the wife is not a member). They have been coming to church a little bit so it was pretty evident that they were interested in the church which is awesome! We went and visited with them with our ward mission leader and taught them the restoration and the lesson was a little shaky but it didnt matter because the spirit was definitely there! After the lesson, Brittany told us that she had some questions that she had been praying about and we answered them without even knowing it! It was so cool! It wasnt a perfect lesson as far as what we taught but it was perfect because she felt the spirit testify to her that what we were saying was true and now they are progressing towards baptism! I know that the spirit is very real and it is the single most important element to this work! Without it, that lesson would not have gone the way that it did!

Thursday was a particularly special day for me because I finished the Book of Mormon again! I have grown to love the Book of Mormon so much! I know it is true and it has blessed my life so much! I have always been familiar with the scriptures but as I constantly search and study them I have grown to love them! I was never very good at reading the scriptures every night growing up, but now it is something that I look forward to! I love the Book of Mormon and every time I read it, I learn something new and it is just so enjoyable!

General Conference this weekend was so great! Being on a mission has made me cherish every spiritual nourishment I can get and boy was that a feast! Haha I learned so much, but Ill share one small thing that I learned. It was in the talk given by Sister Neill F Marriott. She taught us that if we put our trust in the Savior, it will all work out. This is such a true principle! I know that everything that happens to us is for a reason. We may not know all those reasons, but we can be assured that the reasons are heaven sent! Trust the Savior! He loves and wants what is best for all of us! I loved General Conference and I cant wait for it to come again! I love my mission and I love teaching the gospel! Thank you for all the support and love! I love you all!

Elder Barazoto

September 28, 2015

Awesome week! It has been raining for three days straight and I dont think that I am used to that yet! Ha! I dont think that I have used an umbrella this much in my whole life! Arizona doesnt get rain like Virginia does! Ha!

 

As far as missionary work goes, we had some awesome lesson this week! One was with this family that is progressing very well! The father has been investigating the church for about a year and a half now and we were able to teach him and his whole family too! Ashley is his wife's name and she recently is coming to terms that God is real. Her mother recently passed away as well so we taught her the Plan of Salvation and it was so amazing! The spirit was SO strong and we all felt it! It was awesome! The whole family is so loving and the gospel will bless their lives so much! I know it!

The next day, we drove to a place called Cana, Virginia to follow up with someone who requested a Bible from Mormon.org. We talked to them a little bit and they invited us in to learn more about what we believe. We talked about the Restoration and they enjoyed it! Most of the people out here go to church somewhere and it can be pretty difficult to get people to listen to you sometimes! They are mostly set in their ways or comfortable with the church that they are at which is really sad! I know that this is the only true church on the earth and it can benefit them so much! I hope that they recognize this too because it is absolutely true! 

Missionary work definitely has its ups and downs, but the "ups" always make up for any "downs"! When someone believes what you teach or accepts the gospel in any way, it makes every trial or disappointment totally worth it! I know that I say that all the time, but I just love it! The happiness that comes from sharing the gospel is amazing. I want to feel it all the time! I love my Savior and because I love him I will serve him! I love missionary work! :)

Elder Barazoto

September 23, 2015

Sorry for the late email! Transfers week!

Hello Family and Friends! 

This was a pretty great week and I could really feel myself becoming a better missionary through some pretty amazing experiences! But before I get to the good stuff, Ill fill you all in on the struggles of serving a mission in the United States haha! So most of our mission has cars and on Thusday we had to drive to Roanoke to install this little black box in our cars that monitors our driving... If we go 3 mph over the speed limit, it will say, "check your speed" and if we dont slow down fast enough it will send a message to the mission president that we were speeding! When we were leaving Roanoke to go home, I completely forgot about it and it yelled at me to slow down because I was going too fast in the parking lot haha! but enough of these "First World" missionary problems and on to the good stuff!

So on Tuesday, we saw our top investigator and he is doing great! He is progressing really well and I hope that he continues to progress! On Friday, the Elders Quorum had a big bbq and he and his family came! They had a blast and now the wife who we haven't really be able to talk to yet wants to come to church! Elder Sawyer and I were so excited! We hope to be able to teach there whole family if things continue to go this well! Ward activities are so great!

Another really cool experience that happened this week was on Saturday, we decided to go try and contact a potential investigator who keeps avoiding us, but we went to go see her anyways. As we were walking over there, we passed by this weird looking super rundown trailer. There were dogs outside that were barking at us and stuff, but that is pretty normal in Virginia haha. We passed the house like it was any other house on that street but I felt very strongly that we need to go back and knock on that door. Elder Sawyer told me that the person that lived there is a former investigator and wasn't very nice to the previous missionaries, but we went anyways. The dogs barked at us all the way up to the door but I didn't care because I knew that we needed to see this person. An older woman answered the door and we invited her to learn more about the gospel and she said yes! It was an amazing experience and I am so happy that I listened to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and turned around instead of just shrugging it off! I know that Heavenly Father is the one that directs this work and I am just an instrument. It is my responsibility as a missionary to listen to the spirit and allow awesome experiences like that to happen! I know that God is very real and he is influencing our lives whether we know it or not! I have felt the spirit more and stronger than I ever have in my life and it is truly amazing! The gospel is for everyone and it can help us with anything! I love it! True happiness comes from living the gospel. Always remember that!

Thank you so much for all the support and love! I love you all and be sure to choose the right! :)

Elder Barazoto

​Me swinging around the club! I miss golfing!

​Elder George and Halterman! They were in my MTC district. Love them!

Sepember 14, 2015

Dear Family and Friends!

This week was pretty great! Wednesday we had a lesson with one of our investigators named Jim. He has been investigating the church for a while and for some reason wont commit to a date to be baptized. We taught him about the Book of Mormon and also why our church is different from other churches and we helped him to understand why we are asking him to do all these things. As we were talking to him and things were starting to make sense to him, we asked him if he was now willing to be baptized. He thought for a minute and told us that he knows its all true but he does not want to change his life... It was pretty frustration as a missionary to hear that but people still have their agency! We actually met with him again yesterday and basically told him that he needs to pray and make a decision on what he whats to do, so we hope and pray that he will make the right decision! 

So on Thursday, Elder Sawyer set up an appointment to see an optometrist that is in our ward. He is actually the former bishop so he is super nice to the missionaries. His office is actually right below our apartment too haha. So we went through all the test and one of the assistants is actually a less-active that we are working with and we talked all about the different eye instruments and how they work and stuff! It was super cool and I loved learning all about that kind of stuff! 

Then on Friday and Saturday we did a companion exchange with the district leader and that was a blast! I went with Elder Boyd and Elder Boyd's companion who is Elder Vest went with Elder Sawyer. Elder Boyd is pretty new to the area so we did a lot of trackting. I really enjoy trackting but sometimes it can be pretty difficult! We found a little ripstick and so I had to try it out to see if I could still do it! Ha! 

Sunday we went with a return missionary in our ward to go see a less active family. Ill be honest, it can be pretty intimidating to teach with a return missionary who is pretty awesome at missionary work but it was great! He is really awesome and he wants to come out with us a lot more so that will be fun!

I continue to be amazed at how amazing this gospel is. I learn everyday and I know there is so much that I need to learn! I love reading from the Book or Mormon and learning from it. I know that it is true! It has changed my life and I know that it can bless yours too! Continue to be righteous and do the things that you know are right! I love you all so much and thank you for all the support!

Elder Barazoto

No pictures this week, Sorry!

September 8, 2015

Sorry for the late email! Everything was closed yesterday because it was Labor Day!

Wow what a crazy week! So much has happened!

So Tuesday and Wednesday we didnt get very much done because I was packing for the transfer, but Wednesday night the whole Charleston Zone was invited to a baseball game! I never thought that I would be attending a baseball game on my mission so that was a pretty interesting experience! President asked that each companionship bring someone to the game whether it be an investigator or a recent convert because they were going to have a devotional before the game. They called it "Mormon Night" and it was a lot of fun! There were so many missionaries there it was nuts! So after the game, Elder Spinks and his new companion left and I was put in a threesome with the Assistants! I spent all dayThursday doing missionary work with them and it was such a blast! We had so much fun together and they are awesome missionaries. I was only with them for about a day and a half but I learned so much from them. Friday morning, we woke up early and headed to Virginia. The drive to Virginia was incredible. There was so much green and tons of hills and just beautiful landscape. It was awesome! We got to the zone meeting where I met my new companion, Elder Sawyer. Elder Sawyer is from Ogden, Utah and he is pretty awesome. He is so loving and he has already taught me a lot! 

So in Hillsville around Labor Day, they have this MASSIVE flea market. It covered the main street in town and trying to get around was a total nightmare. We were able to go and see an investigator named Jim though. He is a retired cop and we basically stopped by and invited him to church. It was really interesting trying to get him to commit to come to church because he has back problems, but as we were talking to him he finally promised that he would come! It was a pretty awesome experience and I know that it was the spirit telling him that he needed to go to church! 

Monday we met up with some elders in our district and we went fishing. I didnt catch anything but I know that will eventually! Haha I'm starting to think that fishing is a mission wide P-day activity. We've gone fishing almost every P-day now! Ha! Well that's all for this week! I am so excited for the rest of this transfer and I can't wait for all the work that I will get to do here in Virginia! I know that this church is true and I know that the Savior lives! I love you all! 

Elder Barazoto

​I probably should have rolled down the window before I took this picture but this is just a house that I thought was really cool in Marietta.

​This is another house that I thought was really cool! It reminds me of a barbie house!

​Baseball Game!

​Relaxin at the baseball game!

​This was the score of the game when we left, but we later found out that the West Virginia Power won! Woohoo!

​Funny license plate that I found in Charleston. The owner of the vehicle was actually walking over when I was taking this picture haha it was awkward!

​President Salisbury's board of missionaries

​Presidents office!

​Me and Elder Halterman! We roomed together at the MTC!

Elder Sawyer! 

​The Assistants! Love them!

​me and Elder Sawyer

​Flea market! So crazy!

​New room!

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​Our room is on the other side of the wall to the left so our apartment is pretty little!