Week 4: September 11, 2017

Hello family!!!!

Awesome week this week! So, starting Monday, I got to go run with Elder Brooks, an awesome elder that went to a military school. He is fun to work out with because he is so disciplined and fun to talk to. I've actually been really getting to know a lot of the elders in our zone, especially in my district. Our previous district leader, Elder Pehrson, is super cool. I feel like he and I really get along well. He is with the missionaries in our zone that are going to Cape Verde though. It's gonna be super hard saying goodbye to everyone when we all have to leave the MTC. I feel like we really are a family! Strange how fast the MTC has gone by. We only have 2 more weeks and then it's out to the mission field. We also got to teach Miguel, our atheist "investigator." It was awesome! I bore my testimony of the atonement and felt the spirit really strong.

Awesome news, Tuesday, Elder Oaks spoke to us!! So crazy!!! When we have an apostle coming to the MTC, everyone gets so excited! The talk was broadcasted to the other MTCs. It was the real deal! We also got to sing in choir and get some screen time. Apparently, from what Elder Birchall told me, Elder Flores saw me a bunch singing on the broadcast from the Mexico MTC! The blessings of singing in choir!!!! haha!!!!! Elder Oak's talk was awesome though! He talked a lot about the resurrection and how temples are a testament of the resurrection, which I never really thought of.

The next day, I had an awesome experience with my teacher Sister Schill. I was struggling with something on the mission, and I asked her about it. She was happy I talked to her and tried to help me answer it on the spot. It helped a lot, but not as much as what she did later. She left a note on my desk with a scripture trying to answer my question. She answered it perfectly and gave me the scripture Ether 12:27. What a great scripture. She said that since I was drawing closer to Christ, he was showing me my weaknesses and making me stronger. I really liked that. That night, I wrote her a letter back telling her how nice she was and telling her how great of a teacher she is. I also realized a little why everyone in my zone feels like so much like my family!!! They are literally just like my family!!! I've figured out who a bunch of the people in my zone are just like, but I'm still trying to figure out some of the others.

Thursday, We got a new teacher, who we had had as a sub once before. His name is Brother Davis; he is soooooo funny!!! He told us a story about his worst sacrament ever while he was serving a mission in Brazil. It was so funny, and he had the funniest facial expressions. Later we went with Sister Schill to practice teaching to each other in Portuguese. Elder White and Elder Rogers both said they could feel the spirit when I taught. It made me feel sooo good! They are going to be great missionaries. I've also been fasting a little bit. I'm starting to realize why it is so important, and I want to make it a bigger part of my life. I got to talk to Elder Birchall during lunch. It sounds like he is doing really well. He is so awesome! I cant believe he only has a week left!!! When he and I were talking, I got a little homesick. But, I'm so excited that we are serving and that I was able to have him as an example in my life! Later that day, I got a PACKAGE!!!! It was from home and it was full of some pretty awesome goods!!! I got some bars, truffles, tootsie rolls, hi-chew, and dark fudge peanut butter Indiana popcorn. That popcorn was heaven! We almost finished it in one night!!!! Love the packages!!!! So much fun to receive!!! It really cheered me up that day! We also had to say goodbye to Brother Jones. It was very sad. He got really teary eyes when he bore his testimony to us. I'm really gonna miss him.

Friday, I woke up and my voice was gone. I don't know if I was sick or something, but it was gone. I actually had a lot of fun with it. While we were getting dressed in the morning, I just sang with whatever I had (I sounded like I was going through puberty again). It was terrible. Sister Millar also gave me a Kangaroo key chain. I guess her friends gave her a bunch of Australian key chains to give out to people she met, so that was pretty awesome! Sister Jackson also gave me some of this mint oil stuff to put in my water bottle. It was super strong, stronger than Altoids!!!! But, it cleared my nose right up, and my breath was super fresh!!! We have so many nice people in our zone!!!! We taught Alda, Sister Schill, today, and we commit her to baptism! It was awesome!!! My voice was all over the place though, so whenever I talked, it seemed like I squeaked the spirit away!!! haha, but it still went great. When Elder White and Elder Mortensen bore their testimonies, I felt the spirit soooo strong!!! They are honestly going to be such great missionaries. Later that night, I learned a little bit about my purpose here when I was talking to Elder Robinson and Elder Ellingson. They started telling me about how they came here to serve others and not for themselves. They told me that when they start to think of themselves, the missionary work gets really hard and suddenly, it feels unbearable. I want to be selfless while I am out here. I want to seek out every opportunity I can while I am here to serve and uplift someone. Also, I got another PACKAGE!!!!!! It was from Aunt Darci and Uncle Chuck!!!! It was super nice of them so send it!!! I got hichews, bars, tootsie rolls, and (you wouldnt believe) another bag of dark fudge peanut butter Indiana popcorn!!! Oh, and I forgot to mention, limited edition! We almost ate that whole bag that night too!!!! I got a letter from Darci too!!! She talked about Beau getting a job at the jewelry store (savin up for a discount for the lucky lady I see), Beau and Ryan hittin the books, Demi and Maci missin Chloe, and her kindergarden class. She is so funny when she writes, I loved it.

Saturday rolled around. I got some letters from Mom (thanks for the gum!!!!) and Grandma Z. I love getting the letters they are so nice!!! I've also been getting emails from friends and family too which I love to read!!!! Thanks so much for your support and love!!! I feel it every day!!!! We taught Brother Davis as an investigator that day. He was awesome; he told us right after what we could work on. One thing I've really been focusing on is teaching to the needs of people rather than teaching to a list. I feel that teaching to a list takes away my purpose of helping others. That day was also the day BYU played against Utah (but who cares about Utah right???). haha, my companion Elder Mortensen was giving me a rough time about that game. It was so funny. Carter, Chloe, and Dad which is cool!!! I felt like I could feel their presence. Weird, but awesome!!! Heard Ellie was having a party at home with mom which sounds like fun!!! I was actually getting a little nervous that I would see them through the building we were studying in(the new T4 building). We went up to the 6th floor so we could see the stadium really quick, then we started studying. Seeing you guys would have destroyed me!!!!! Dad, I've still been doing the 50 pushups every night except Sunday!!!! Keepin the fire burnin!!! I've also been reading Dad's "Walk with a Purpose" almost every night. I feel a lot closer to him and like I am following his footsteps when I read it. Right now, it is probably one of my favorite things I look forward to every night.

Sunday!!!!! Woke up extra early for Zone council that morning. I thought it went super well! I actually really like being zone leader! I feel more involved and I like the extra responsibility. I also got to brag about how awesome my district is!!! haha!!! We also had an awesome sacrament meeting about the atonement! The spirit was super strong! When the music started playing, I was sitting next to my companion and flipped open the Portuguese hymn book to the song we were singing. I sat there like there was no problem. My companion leaned over to me and said, "arent you gonna get up?" Apparently, I was supposed to conduct the music that morning, but I forgot from last Sunday. I froze. Then my our zone leader got up and started leading the music. In my head, I felt so bad. I was actually really inspired by the way he took leadership like that. I want to be more like that. Good thing I'm on a mission so I can learn things like that!!!!!

My companions and I later taught the lesson in district meeting. We taught about effective study; we all thought it went pretty well. Later, I conducted a priesthood meeting. Afterwards, we walked around the temple as a district. There was a little boy with his parents walking around. The boy was so happy and was so excited to shake our hands! We was an awesome kid! He made my day that much better! I realized what I thought when I looked at the missionaries as a younger kid. It made me want to be the best missionary I could possibly be! Later that day, we had a devotional from Brother Chad Lewis! Dad, you probably know who that is. He told about some really awesome things he had the opportunity to do in his life and some really neat experiences he had. He got me really fired up for my mission. There was one thing that I really liked that he said: "You werent born with silver spoons in your mouth, but you were given the golden plates, so go feed the people!" It made laugh when he said that; just thought it was awesome! Afterwards, for our film, we chose to watch "Meet the Mormons." It was awesome! I felt the spirit really strong when the people in it bore testimony concerning family. Eternal families are awesome!!!!

And now here we are today. I got to go to the temple this morning and feel the spirit super strong. I'm really appreciating all of the artwork in the temple and in the MTC. It is just so neat to look at. I also got a missionary haircut; looks fabulous!!!!! And, ya. Love you guys so much, and I think about you every day!!!! Thanks so much for the emails and the thoughts every day!!!!!

Love,

Elder Barton

getting some chow time on the popcorn!!!!

more popcorn from Darci and Chuck = more chow time!!!!

6th floor of T4 building with BYU stadium in background on game day!!! You guys literally drove by and took a picture of near where we are at, crazy how close we were!!!!