November 15, 2010-Gone Senior

Dear Family and Friends,
Wow, I can't believe CJ is already home. I remember saying goodbye at his house and I told him "See you in two years." He looked at me and said "I better not see you in two years, you better be on your mission when I get home." God truly has blessed me with amazing friends, and seeing where all of us are truly is amazing. I'm glad he loved his mission (Kenya Nairobi). When we explain about missionary work I love telling them that I have friends serving in Taiwan, Kenya, Latvia, The Dominican Republic, Russia and all over the U.S. I love it when President Monson calls us the Missionary Force. When I hear "Called to Serve" I always think-Called to serve HIM. Not called to serve me, my family, my ward, or even the people of Brasil. It's called to serve HIM (I AM). But by serving Him, I serve the others and they are blessed. It's pretty amazing how it all works out. Like Elder Bednar said, it's not about you, get out of the way!
Other news. I was transferred...10 blocks to Gama Leste. I will also serve as senior this transfer. My companion is Elder Terra (pronounced Elder Teha, in Portuguese the double r makes an h sound). He was already in one of my districts and he is a great guy. It will be a very good transfer. It was hard to leave Gama Sul, especially with all of the changes going on there. The ward is really strong with the division and I am really happy to see everything fall into place, they even have a member that plays piano. First thing I am doing when I get home-playing The Lion King and Lord of the Rings. I am so terrible now, with only playing once a week.
Being a missionary is never dull. One of my favorite families that live in Gama Sul is the family of Hellder and Iris Wagner. He served his mission in the south of Brasil. He is the Elder's Quorum president and teaches roller skating. He used to be the champion in Brasil and was going to compete in the X Games when he received his call to serve a mission, so he went on the mission. We worked a lot with him and I gave him the maple extract-because he loves the stuff and because it says it has 7% alcohol so I don't want to have to call President and ask permission to make maple syrup (I honestly had no idea it had alcohol, but I just checked my bottle, and yep, it does). He was ecstatic. Later when we finished our meeting, he asked us if we know about any nearby apartments that are open, because his wife is pregnant (they already have 2 kids) and they want their own house (they live with his dad). He then asked us to keep it to ourselves, because we are the first people they have told-not even his dad knows. Kinda funny, but they really are an amazing family. His wife, Iris, works at a candy store that sells Belgian chocolate to the really rich people and even to the office of the president of Brasil. A couple of times she brought us chocolate that probably costs several hundred dollars, and she gets it for free because after 15 days they throw it away. I ate the same chocolate as the president of Brasil and his guests eat!
Thanks for all the support from back home. I don't think I'll worry about college applications while I am here. I will just wait to get home and apply for Spring of 2012. Between that time I'll get a job, work......watch Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars.
I'm feeling pretty good about going senior, I know it will be hard, but as it says in 1 Nephi 3:7-there is a way, so all we have to do is work hard and be ready for the revelations.
Elder Lima should be there (MTC) for 9-14 weeks. Did you send the music email today? Or will it be coming in the future?
We had 2 talks yesterday about the importance of the manual. They are not joking around with this thing, it sounded like a fairly serious training. But it looks like the stake here is taking it very seriously.
That's about it this week. I need to buy an umbrella and I might use some personal money. I made several purchases of food that was more expensive and did not last as long as I thought, so now I am paying the price. Important mission rule of Elder Barton from now on-Simple and Cheap Food ONLY.
Love,
Elder Barton