Week 21: January 8, 2018

Hey there good lookin family!!!!

Sounds like you all are doing well. Man, back to school already!!!! Crazy!!!! Chandler getting married too!!!! What happened!!!! Sounds like things are really going well though. Love hearing that Carter and Ellie did the snowboarding trip!!! Sounds like a blast!!!! Keep it up!!!! Although, Ellie better work on her direction skills. I seriously still stink at directions and wish I were better at it! hahaha! Chloe sounds like she is having a blast with the neighbors, partying hard!!! Mom, glad you are doing well!!! You always sound so good in your letters!!! Also, the office elders called me and said that gma zinn´s package arrived and for me to send her email to them because they had to send her an email because the package is waiting in the customs area. I sent them the one on the paper I have that dad printed out for me with everyone´s emails in our family. Dad, you sound super good!!! But, a bunch of trips sounds terrible for the next 4 weeks!!! sorry about that!!! You're just so awesome that they need you everywhere!!!!

We had a pretty sweet week! There were a bunch of cool miracles. Tuesday, after buying food because the stores were closed Monday, we realized we didn't have food for one day this week. We sort of prayed in our hearts that we would have someone feed us this week, then literally right after, the phone rang and someone offered to feed us. I sort of looked up and said, wow, that was fast! hahaha! Then, we got to go with a member to someones house to eat. The member payed for a taxi to take us there. Im not sure, but I think that was my first time riding in a taxi! My companion was a mechanic before the mission and the taxi car was speeding up and going super fast, had good start stop speed, and he kept telling me, wow, you feel that, thats turbo! And he just kept making an impressed face at how fast the car could go. It was pretty funny, he loves cars!!!! Later that day, we went to go teach a family the law of tithing. This family is seriously elect!!!! Its a Brazilian family and they live pretty far from us. We took the bus there and then had to take the bus back, but we only had bigger bills, hehe, and we were actually tight on money because of how much we spent on transportation. the bus driver told us to pay at the end, so we waited. We got to the end and he said we didn't have to worry about it. What!?!?!?! Elder Barrios told him that we would find him someday and teach him about the gospel! hahaha! He laughed and we were off, just like that. Super cool!!!!

Elder Barrios also got the flu this week. We went to the pharmacy and he stepped right up and said, give me the strongest stuff you got!!! hahaha! We got back to our house and I gave him a blessing. Right after, he was practically healed!!! it was super neat!!! We got to bear testimony of it a bunch of times that day too. One thing I really noticed is how when I feel super strong about my testimony of something, Elder Barrios and I get to teach about it a ton and I feel the spirit enrich our teaching! Its super neat!!! Imagine if I felt super strong about everything every day!!!! But Im human and super forgetful!!!!!

We also had something called workshop this week. We got to meet with some of our leaders individually and talk about how we can be better. Elder Barrios and I got set up with Elder Egbert, one of our APs. He is such a great elder!!! He told us how many elders look for elect investigators but think they aren't going to have any problems. He said that that is so false and that we need to be engaged and find those challenges of faith and have an attitude of fixing it and finding a solution rather than freaking out. I felt super good about his answer and feel like that can be applied to anything. Always have an attitude of finding solutions rather than adding to the problem. He also told us about the story of Brigham Young and Joseph Smith and how because of all the bad things happening around them, the 12 apostles were starting to doubt Joseph, sort of an apostasy, but Brigham young always defended him. Then Joseph called out all the people including Brigham and started pretty much roasting them for doubting him. Brigham could have gotten furious and telling Joseph how he had always defended him, but he didn't. He said, What would you have me do? Later Joseph told him that he was sorry and that he had passed a test. It took a lot of humility to do that. He told us that when we have other elders assigned to be our leaders, its not because they are better than us and we have to worship them or anything, we have to respect the calling and be humble. The mission is a great learning opportunity to be a great leader and also a great follower. Some of the greatest leaders are the greatest followers. 

We also visited the Reis family, one of them is Afonso, and did a little family night with them. It was super fun. Elder Barrios placed a bunch of cups full of water on the ground. I don't know how the mom went along with this, but she was blind folded and she had to follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost, one of the kids, and resist the Devil, One of the other kids. The mom had to pass through all the cups without touching them. When she was blindfolded, my companion kept talking and took out all the cups filled with water and used an empty plastic one as a dummy to move around and make the mom think she was walking through all the cups filled with water. The kids were shouting and getting into it. It was pretty funny. we related it to Nephi 3:7 how the Lord will always provide a way.

Also, I asked Elder Barrios how I could stay strong as a missionary and not let other influences bring me down. He told me to think of my purpose. I thought that was a pretty good method. I think it can also be applied to everything. Know your purpose.

Love you all so much!!!!! Your the best family ever!!!!

Love,

Elder Barton