Dear Family and Friends,
Transfer day is also P-Day, so I am writing a day early. I was transferred today to Paranoa (there's an accent over the last a, but I can't do that on my keyboard). It is directly across Lake Paranoa from Plano Piloto. It is so crazy to be transferred! I had almost forgotten, because I was so comfortable in Sobradinho I. It was hard saying goodbye yesterday to a lot of the members that have taken such good care of me. Abdia, one of our investigators that we hope is baptized this next transfer with his wife, gave us a ride to Paranoa. Elder Hamilton and I will continue as companions. Elder Hamilton already served here, so it will be interesting how this all works out. They switched the area of the zone leaders from Paranoa to Sobradinho I, so we switched with them. They were so nice and even scheduled appointments for us during P-Day. So thoughtful. Oh well, at least I get to email.
The house here is huge and has a bunch of balconies. It is really cool and has a lot of space. It is one of the mission "storage houses" where everything and anything that the mission might use is stored there. So there is a lot of junk that missionaries leave that makes it there and the previous missionaries didn't want to clean it looks like. There will be some very in-depth cleaning this next few weeks. It is really, really gross. There are pizza boxes all over and overflowing trash cans. And the fridge is a death trap of smells. But I know that this is a battle I will win. I will not live in a messy house. (big period!)
This morning when I woke up to clean house and get ready to leave, the Winston Churchill quote at the end of the Battle of Britain came to mind. "This is not the end, this is not even the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning." With 7 months of the mission under my belt (and that's about the only thing, I spend half of the day fixing my belt and pants), I guess the beginning is ending. It really is crazy how fast this last transfer went. It was a good group that lived in the house and I am hoping that this transfer will also be a good one. The last transfer was so hard, actually all of my transfers in Sobradinho I were hard. It was a combination of Stalingrad and Valley Forge. But I felt I learned so much and I hope I can take those lessons and have even more lessons as we continue the work.
The dry season is starting to really kick in. It is getting pretty hot and very dusty. They have the same red dirt of southern Utah, so it is a constant battle to keep garments and white shirts white and not pinkish or dirty. I am really grateful for my handkerchiefs. Even thought I have been here for a while, I still sweat so much. Maybe it really is just hot.
Oh, I have a fever today. I have actually had it for some months now and it doesn't seem to go away. A whole lot of people here have been getting it too and it probably won't end until end of July. The scientific name is fifaworldcupitis but everyone calls it World Cup Fever or WCF. It's really bad. In Brasil you break out in green and yellow and yell goooooooooooooooaaalllllllllllllllll! for hours on end. The only cure is to watch the final. I can't believe it's only 12 days! They have yellow/green streamers all over and they are painting their houses and the curb. Everyone here is getting really excited. They don't think Brasil will win, but they will all stick by them. I am really hoping USA beats England. And I am so proud of RSL! Way to Go!
That is about all the news today. I'll send pictures and stuff next week.
Love you all,
Elder Barton
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