Sobradinho Sunsets
Painted curbs for World Cup in Paranoa
Dear Family and Friends,
Happy D-Day! It was really hard to not be home to watch all of my movies and read and think, but it was still a good day. We had 5 people in church! And that was with a holiday here! Paranoa is a really great area. We are having some really great success with keeping the work that was already here and finding new people.
I received the package, thanks a lot. It was really nice to have new razors. I am trying to find a muffin pan (I don't think they have muffins here in Brasil), but if I can't find one, I'll just make muffin cake. The Mike and Ikes are already long gone...they were so good. Tell the Primary thanks for the card, that was really cool. I think the best part was the Ensign. I think I am the 1st American to get the Ensign in English, so I am very popular these days at district study. Conference was such a blur and I didn't get to see Priesthood session, so it is really nice to get to read the talks. And it's in color! Holy cow! That is a lot of exclamation points, from this point on, I'll try to take it cool.
The members here in Paranoa are really great. The bishop and his family are really amazing and we're making plans to help reactivate. On the computer, the ward here has around 900-1000 records, but the attendance is around 140-160. So we are going to help spearhead a massive project to find out who lives here, who moved and try to bring back as many as we can. The city that is next to us, Itapoa, the branch that is there just became a ward. They need the two wards to get frequencies of around 220-250 and then they can split the stake of Brasilia Norte into stake Brasilia Norte and stake Paranoa. Presidente shared some of his plans with us and right now we have 6 stakes in the DF (Distrito Federal) and 1 in Tocantins. We need roughly 8 stakes in the DF and then we can talk seriously about having a temple. Presidente has this really amazing plan to divide Brasilia Norte, Brasilia and Alvorada and out of 3 stakes make stakes Alvorada and Valpariso (split the two and combine from Brasilia), combine Brasilia Norte and Brasilia to make stake Plano Piloto and then have stake Paranoa. It's pretty cool.
This week begins the World Cup! I am really excited but I think we'll just be sent home to keep us out of trouble. USA plays England 1st, so I am really hoping they play well. I sent a picture of how they are painting the streets here. I'll try to take a few more to show you how crazy awesome it is getting here.
Sounds like life is crazy and summer if definitely here. It is weird to think that it is summer there. I still feel like it should be winter, when I left. So crazy.
Love,
Elder Barton
P.S. Elder Hamilton is writing, so I guess I'll write a little bit more. We had interviews with Presidente and Sister this week. I have only had 1 interview before this because with 150 missionaries, it doesn't happen very often. It was really great. We had a good talk with Sister too, about our health and condition of our house. She showed us a picture that one of the sisters that had served here had sent her. It was a wedding picture and Sis. McCarty and Sis. Canfield were in it. It was pretty cool. She didn't know that I'm from the same ward and she was excited to hear that Sis. Ortalano (hahahaha) is from the ward as well.
The Bompels are working really well. I think that they just happened to be the victim on my feet when the ingrown toe nails happened. As the other shoes deteriorate, it is so nice to have a pair of shoes that have at least 5-6 months of life in them.
Here are some more pictures. The sunsets are from Sobradinho and the other one is another roof shot from Paranoa. Our house is the tallest in the quadra and so we have a really great view of everything. I went on a trade to Itapoa, and I am so grateful to work in Paranoa right now. Paranoa is really nice compared to Itapoa. Saying that now, I will expect an emergency transfer or serve there next transfer for my words. But that is life.
I am really running out of things to say right now. That seems to happen every week, where I feel I have 10,000 things to say and then I forget them all.
I guess I'll actually answer questions for once.
1. Ideally we have lunch every day with the members (except for day of preparation). Ideally, because at least 2x a week we usually end up without lunch. Thank goodness for the bakeries. But in Sobradinho it was about 4x a week they forgot. So we're improving. Elder S. Fierera told me how in Tocantins they had such huge problems that for one week straight when lunch was forgotten they headed to the Soc Soc Pres. (Relief Society or Sociadade de Socorro but that is quite a mouthful, so we just say Soc Soc). She hated it so much that she had a lesson of brimstone and hellfire prepared for Sunday on the duty of the Soc Soc and how that includes feeding the missionaries. After that, the ward never had any problems. I laughed pretty hard, I really hope it never comes to that here.
2. My new belt is amazing. I don't know if I will, but maybe I will ask around the ward if they have a seamstress.
Congrats to Kwub and Fano for their Eagle projects (they're both working on their projects). That is really great that they are getting those done. I was so grateful for my Eagle project.
Only 3 days to the Cup! Everyone here is worried that Brasil's teams won't get it this year, but they are all hoping. Kaka will wear number 10 (which means you're the best here) and so I am really glad for him, because he has been really constant for years, but Ronaldinho has gotten a lot more publicity. Go Brasil! And after Brasil, go USA!
Love,
Elder Barton
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