Dear Family and Friends,
It's Christmas and it's been quite the Christmas. As the Snyders mentioned to you already, I was at the Instacare yesterday. Yesterday I woke, I felt burning, but my feet/hands were freezing, chills, nausea, pain in my side, dizziness, and fatigue. So we went to the clinic, they took one look at my temperature and sent me to the Instacare. I didn't get an exact number but they said it was over 100. At the Instacare, I was diagnosed with strep throat, so I spent the rest of the day in my bed. I'm on medication, so I'm doing better today, but I'm still really dizzy and tired, so I have to be sitting down, so the walking has been hard. But other than that, it's been a great Christmas. The Elders loved the cinnamon bread and I have so much candy I can't eat it all. Seriously...I'm pretty much asking nicely not to send more...ish. Because I love candy, but the "Elder Barton:Candy Ratio" is not working in my favor because everyone else also has candy. But I do enjoy it so....
On Tuesday Elder Andersen of the Twelve spoke to us and Elder L. Tom Perry of the Twelve spoke to us this morning and both were excellent talks for the Christmas season. While here, I have now listened to 1/3 of the 12 Apostles speak in person. And we know who is going to speak tonight, even though it is supposed to be a surprise: Greg Olsen, the artist. The translation box is in our new room and they put an agenda there. So we're really sneaky. Thanks to my family, the Taylors and for the mountain of Christmas cards from family, friends and ward members.
I'm glad to hear my brothers are glad I'm gone, because I am too (Dave told him that his brothers happily divided up Josh's portion of bacon, eggs and cinnamon bread amongst themselves at Christmas breakfast). Elder Perry spoke of how he missed 4 Christmas' in a row, 2 for a mission, and 2 serving in the Marine Corps during WWII. What a great example of service and I hope that all of you who pray or think about me are blessed for my service this Christmas. There are so many thoughts I want to say, but I'll try to give you a few of my thoughts. Sis. Perry quoted an article from a Deseret News column about how that Christmas night the Savior's hands were not yet calloused from being a carpenter, or pierced by the nails, that His head was not yet bleeding from a crown of thorns, that His lips had not yet spoken the Sermon on the Mount, or that His shoulders had not yet borne the cross. She then went on to how connected the Atonement and Christmas are, but as I have been thinking about Christmas I think I may understand how Christmas is about hope. It's about how that little baby wasn't yet the Savior, but He was because we read in the Book of Mormon how He saved the Nephites with His birth. He wasn't yet the master teacher, but He was because He was already setting an example. At this Christmas, I'm grateful for His birth and life. I'm also grateful for His death, but more importantly that He rose again. I've been reading Jesus The Christ a second time and in the beginning, Elder Talmage points out that the Savior chose to die. It wasn't the cross, the torture, it was that He chose, when it was all done, to die for me. I love the scripture in John 15:13-14, where the Savior tells us that there is no greater love than laying down your life for your friends and then He tells us, You are my friend. I didn't do it for a random stranger or a person I am acquainted with. I'm doing it for my friend.
I was praying the other night and jumped in my bed and let my mind wander and I came to the conclusion that I'm a pawn in the Lord's hands. I thought that was a good place to be, when another thought came "Pawns become Kings" and I would add Queens. I know that in the official game of chess that doesn't happen, but I think that really is true. We do our best and if we go all the way, no matter how much help we get, we can all be kings and queens.
This past week was a little hard. Without the formal classroom setting, Elder Fuller and myself are teaching a lot more lessons in Portuguese. Elder Fuller is amazing at Portuguese and will be a great help to the mission, but it's really hard to be trying to learn something and to be working with someone who has no problems with the things I'm working on, basic words, conjugations, etc. He's working on his accent, because that's what the teachers have told him that's all he needs. So during one lesson with our old teacher Irmao (Brother) Owen, I had a really hard time and just froze and started breaking down. He pulled me aside after the lesson. He opened up Preach My Gospel to chapter 1 and we talked about how being a successful missionary doesn't mean we're perfect or always right. It's about doing our best and not comparing ourselves to others. And he asked me "Elder Barton, are you doing your best and being obedient?" I answered yes, and he told me "Then just have hope and keep going. The Lord takes care of His tools." And that is what Christmas is about. It's about Hope. It doesn't matter where we've been or what we've done, but what we're going to do now. All we have is hope. It really doesn't matter about our abilities or talents, it's about our desires. In the end we all hear "Come, Follow Me", not "Come follow me if you can speak Portuguese" or "Come follow me if you can speak to people". It's "Come, Follow Me." All we have to do is follow.
Love, Elder Barton
P.S. We were told that the Quorum of the Twelve met on Thursday and discussed our visa problems. We are now the oldest group without visas or reassignments, because they reassigned most of the other Elders temporarily. So it will be very interesting to see what happens next week as we become the oldest missionaries in the delayed group. And when Elder Andersen came he asked if any of us were going to Brasil, so we quickly raised our hands. He then asked us "How are you going to get there? You don't have visas." Funny, but it also shows how well the Twelve know about our situation. So here's to Brasil/Alabama!
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