This last week has been really crazy, really hard, and really really rewarding. We had our baptismal service on Sunday...and we had 5 baptisms! Selma and her sons, Mycol and Gabriel were baptized, Cecilia went from smoking 20 cigarros a day to 0 in 1 week , and Talita, she is the daughter of Luis, who we baptized last week followed her dad's example and was baptized! It was a really great meeting and a lot of ward members came out. This week we are teaching Liliane, Cecilia's daughter so she can be baptized on Sunday. Selma was attacked by a lot of her friends, but she stayed firm and even though she didn't know for sure Sunday, the minute she came out of the water, she was so excited. It was a great day. What is funny is that the drain to the font doesn't work, so we have to empty it by hand into the toilets, so we spend Sunday night doing that, after the baptism. It's a lot of water, but it is worth it. And this Sunday a bunch of the young men came-Talita is a Mia Maid, so we used them to make a bucket line. They are pretty cool, and they like to follow us around and so we use them when we teach families that have young men/women.
Dad-we clap at the gates here and yell a lot. But the dogs leave us alone, they just bark a lot. A few sneaky ones try to nip at heels, but we notice them too quick.
Routine schedule:
6:30 wake up
7:00-8:00 prep for day/get dressed
8:00-9:00 personal study
9:00-10:00 comp study
10:00-11:00 language study/prep
11:00 hit the road
11:00-9:00 teach, preach, work, do what missionaries do
We have lunch around 12 with a member and then have a 30 minute break for a quick snack at the padorias (I don't know if I spelled that right), or the bakeries, which are amazing. We walk all day and to get to Selma's house we walk about 30 minutes. So we are always moving. I put on sunscreen 2x a day, and it's pretty crazy how hot it gets. But if we are walking, the breeze helps us out. It's pretty windy here and the kids fly kites all day. And in the evening, all the adults fly them too. Way cool, made me think of CJ Thornton.
Oh, speaking of walking. I used a little bit of money to buy some new sandals, my others stay wet all day and that isn't really healthy here. The water collects on the top. And if you could put a little bit in, what is available, I might have to buy shoes. My propets are doing okay, but it is the rainy season and so I only wear them every few days. And my Hush Puppies are beginning to crack. So I might have to buy some.
I am having problems with this computer, so I don't think I will be able to get pictures today. But if my shoes break I'll send you a picture. They are good shoes, I just don't think they had waterproof and my mission in mind. We walk everywhere. My companions have commented on looking a little skinnier. I weighed myself and I am 104 kilos or about 129 lbs. (I think he means 229 lbs., otherwise he weighs less than his mother and that's just not right), so we are down a few already. But it is all good. Everyone here had shoes from the states that either live forever or die quickly.
I am really excited for all of you to go to D.C., that is really fun. I can't believe it has already been almost 3 weeks in Brasil and next week is my 3 month mark, it is really crazy how fast time is going.
But really quick, I need favors-
1. We don't know what happened in Haiti, except there was an earthquake and we saw some pictures in the papers of bodies all over the streets. But how many people died? We have heard everything from 200,000-300,000. I am glad Matt is okay, I was wondering how that affected him. I hope Brother Taylor is okay too as he goes down there.
2. Not as important, but still useful-World Cup. Date it starts and the groups please. Go to fifa.com and it will tell you there. Thank you.
For the snail mail here, if it is priority it should get here in about 2 weeks. But even then I probably won't get it for another 2-4 weeks, because getting mail to us is not a priority for the mission office. So we get them on transfers and when the assistants come. So I don't really need anything, and I already have a lot of stuff. Yeah, kind of a bummer with the mail. Money wise, every week you might see a few dollars go out. That is because I use my card at the post office to send a letter. So it's okay, no one is using my card.
Life is really great. I'm always tired, but always happy. The three things I love the most about Brasil:
1. the people
2. fruit/suco-fruit juice-soooooo good
3. the elders I live with
4. 24/7 footeball-the real thing (soccer)
Sorry about the camera not working. I'm still figuring how to make all of my electronics work, and sometimes it works, and at other times...not so much.
Ceilandia is really pretty. Everything here is green. It is really organized with a quadra (block), conjunto (street) and then house number, so an address written down is 24-C-4. So it is really easy to find people's houses. Whether they are there or not, another story. I guess if you came straight here you would say I live in the ghetto, because every single house has a giant gate, bars on the windows and trash lots on every block where they burn trash. But that is just the way it is here. They have garbage trucks that take away the normal trash and then they burn the other stuff that is too large. And the people are really nice, so even if I actually do live in the ghetto, I don't notice. I went to Braziliandia, another city on a switch on a day that Elder Weatherby went out there to interview and it was about an hour on the bus. We never get to sit down, so I am used to the standing now. And the buses here are crazy! They are rocket buses, that are so crazy, fast and I swear we are going to tip over, but we don't. The grasslands around here are really pretty and it's just rolling hills of grass for miles. It's really cool. I have to head out now, but I love you all. Thanks for your prayers, support and love. Give the ward my best, hope everyone is doing well!
Love, Elder Barton
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