November 6, 2009-email

If you could send me an Ensign, I would appreciate it. If you would also send my 501 Verbs book. We never got any sort of verb book because they're out of Portuguese hymns, verb books, verb charts, and the latest district didn't even get Portuguese Books of Mormon. And we finally got our dictionaries yesterday.

My preparation day is Friday, and temple day is also Friday. I already have the picture of my tag, I just need to print it off.

On Sunday, Elder Fuller and I were walking into sacrament meeting when a member of the branch presidency pulled us over and asked us to serve in a calling. We split our branch on Sunday. We went from over 130 elders and sisters in our zone to only 50 (now 60 from this Wednesday), 90% of which are Brazilian visa waiters. Usually there are only 2 zone leaders, but he asked us to be #'s 3 & 4. Yeah, I thought I would faint.

So, two weeks into this, I'm now a zone leader. And if I thought things were hard then, now it's compounded by 100%. Last night we took the new district around, nice chaps. But on Sunday we have meetings from 8:00-1:00 and so we're on the run and Wednesday and Thursday nights we don't get our study time because we have to help orient the new missionaries. I'll find a way or something.

Class is going well. I love reading from PMG and personal scripture study. Portuguese is coming, but it's really slow.

Health wise, I'm doing a little better stomach wise, but now I'm having 2-3 bloody noses the past few days. Last night's went on for 2 hours. I went to the clinic and they asked where I'm from when I explained what was happening. They asked nicely where I was from, probably expecting to have a Midwest or Eastern state. When I told them Provo, they had no idea, let me borrow a humidifier and sent me on my way.

Here's my schedule:

6:30-7:20 gym, then shower, get ready for day

8:15 breakfast

8:45-9:45 personal study

9:45-1:00 class-1/2 Portuguese, 1/2 PMG

1:00 lunch

1:45-6:00 class-see above entry

6:00 dinner

6:45-7:45 companion study

7:45-8:45 language study

8:45-9:25 planning and then get back, shine shoes, study, brush teeth, write in journal, etc.

10:30 bed

So that's about it. Same thing, day in, day out. That's about all I can think of. If you haven't been here you couldn't imagine it, so I won't describe it. Besides, I'm only in three places, class for at least 8-10 hours, bedroom 8 hours exactly, and then the lunchroom, gym or sacrament meeting room (which is a big classroom).

And that's it, so I'll write next week.

Love, Elder Barton