Dear Family and Friends,
I'm not feeling so great today and so this letter might be a bit shorter. Really, not one of my favorite things, but it is part of living in another country, where I don't always know where the water has been, or if the food has been properly prepared. But we will survive...but can you imagine if I didn't? On the front of Church News-"Missionary Dies of Diarrhea in Brazil-We Can't Believe it Either-What an Idiot!"
On other news, this week was better. We are teaching a family that really shows that no force is wasted. More than a month ago, when Elder Terra and I were singing for people, we sang for a family. They said we could pass by, but it never worked out. Last week we passed by, and they were home. The wife (Conceicao) went to church-absolutely loved it and also found a friend of more than 20 years there. When we went by yesterday, she asked "To frequent your church, do I have to be baptized?", which is a Panic Question. Panic Questions are early warning indicators usually that something is not right, so I was already beginning to think, "Oh no...what happened?". Luckily, what she really asked was lost in the translation. When we asked her to repeat the question, she asked what she had to do to be baptized and to continue frequenting the church. We marked a date for February 6 with her and Roberta, her daughter. So if you could pray for them, they are really great people.
Yesterday in District Meeting, Elder Craig and I presented the doctrine of "Receiving Revelation through the Book of Mormon". We had a good time asking questions to the other missionaries about their experiences and then we also taught about the importance of using the Introduction is sharing the Book of Mormon with investigators. The Introduction explains very well, very concisely: 1) what is the Book of Mormon, 2) it's purpose, and 3) how you can know if it is true or not.
I shared Grandpa Bob's conversion story that he gave me and everyone thought that was really amazing how he read without having to be reminded. When I explained the story I didn't share that it was about my grandpa until the end, until when I got to the end where he gives the dates they were baptized and went to the temple. I finished and then explained-"This man's experience with the Book of Mormon changed my life. His decision to stop smoking, and that of his wife to stop drinking coffee, to have an eternal family, decided that I would have the chance to have an eternal family. How? Because when he and his wife went to the Los Angeles Temple to be sealed, they also had a daughter that was sealed to them. That daughter is my mom." And then we asked some of the missionaries who weren't born in the Church to share their experiences.
Funny thing-the phrase "born in the church". I was not born in the church. If I was, that would have been the most memorable Sacrament or Relief Society Meeting anyone has ever been in. Bad joke, I know.
I realized the other day that I am not getting any younger on the mission and the time has come to ask some favors.....could you guys help me get into BYU and transfer my transcripts from Dixie, AP, etc? I think because I went to Dixie my AP credit is part of my diploma. I don't need to know everything, but if I need to decide majors, or any other thing (I've never transferred colleges with a degree before, so I have no idea what they will want), just let me know.
With Love,
Elder Barton
P.S. Transfers will be February 7th.
1 comment:
His bad jokes crack me up! His title is the worst :)
neat way to share dad's story. Would love to read it someday - does he have it printed? Love ya
Post a Comment