5-26-15 Email

Elder Barton didn't have time to write a formal email about the week... I did get a few replies from emails that I had sent last week and I copied and pasted them here.  Thank You to all of you who emailed him birthday emails!  He LOVED them!  -darci

My b-day was awesome momma!!! thanks sooo much! i haven't gotten anything yet... :( but its all good! it was super awesome my zone threw a huge party for me in district meeting on Tuesday!! had food, signs and the whole deal!! It was AWESOME!!! My zone leader is gonna send me some pics cause i didn't have my camera! It was a complete surprise!! super awesome! ill send ya the pics once i get em :) we also had a little party with the other elders in our house at night!! ordered a few pizzas :) ya know, the USUAL!!!
BUT gosh sorry i didn't have time to respond to the girls or dad, ryan, gramps and grams and a lot of others!!! haha! and don't worry about the package!!! it will come!!! my bday was AWESOME! i felt your guys love all the way from there! haha man sorry i had like no time today.. this week was crazy! Until next week when i have more time haha! be sure to tell the girls and everyone that i LOVED there emails and am sorry i dint have time to answer!! haha crazy crazy! but love ya sooo much and have an awesome week mom! gotta go! thanks for all the pics and everything! hope ya know how much i loveee ya!!! 

elder b

                                                                 Gecko in da houseee

São Paulo $3LFI3

São Paulo thuggin

fREE birds

The crew from our house

ZONA COTIA

​SOLID lunch today

Weekly REPORT 5-18-15

Whaaaat up yaaaal in the American continent!!!!

This week was killllerr!!!!! It was awesome being soo pumped from the skype call all week... After receiving words of encouragement from my fam and getting to talk to them!! That was so awesome!

I am so grateful for my family!! Truly have the BEST FAMILY IN THE WORLD!!!!

I wanted to share some cool experiences that happened on Saturday with ya guys... Saturday was a super epically planned day... Elder Cabral and I had 7 marked teaching appointments, with some super awesome investigators and plans to do exchanges with 2 members to help teach them!!! We were super stoked!! 

Every single one of those plans that we established fell through haha.... Literally EVERY one of them!! Even the plans with the members... It was crazy and super super frustrating... Everyone that we went to visit was either sick, not home, or having some kind of emergency...

Elder Cabral and I started getting pretty frustrated and wanted to give up. Elder Cabral had an idea to say a quick prayer and attempt to restart the day.. (being about 6:30 at night) We stepped of the road, and said a quick prayer on the sidewalk. We then started heading to our last and final marked appointment that we had for that day... A man named Emmerson, his sister is a member of the church and we talked with him for about an hour one night just visiting... he said he would love to hear our message for another day, super cool guy. When we got there to his house, his sister Maria do Carmo (the member who just started coming back to church after being less active for a little while) answered... She told us that he wasn't there... And had just barely left and wouldn't return until late. I felt super bummed at first cause that was the 7th appointment that fell through that day,

She invited us in, and i could tell something was kinda bothering her... Or that she just needed to talk to someone. We went into her house and ended up talking to her for over an hour.... She really opened up to us and started telling us some difficulties that shes going through... She talked about how shes really having a hard time wanting to lose weight. She said that she really wants to go to the temple, but feels really self conscience when she goes because the chairs are smaller and she feels like she gets stuck... It was super sad. She said she wouldn't go back to the temple until she loses weight. I had studied Ether 12:27 that morning during my study and decided to share it with her... It talks about our weaknesses that heavenly father gives to us so that they can become strengths. I testified that heavenly father will bless her for her efforts to go to the temple and that she will able to lose the weight with heavenly fathers help. It was a super cool experience,i felt the spirit super strongly... And i really felt like that was a huge blessing from heavenly father after a super tough day. Maybe all of those appointments fell through because we needed to talk to her at that very moment and wouldn't have worked out otherwise... I'm so grateful for Heavenly father, and how he knows everything that we go through... No matter what the circumstance... And when we show our efforts, he will bless us. Just like he blessed us after Elder Cabral had the idea to pray... Truly an awesome experience!! It was an awesome week!!!!

Elder Barton

​the newwwww crew other elders that live inour house! celebrating with some pizza

MY FAMILY IS THE BEST!!!!!!!

Whats up whats up my mainnnn crewwwww!!!!!!!!

ohhhhh goshhh you guys are soo dang awesome haha that was SOO good to talk to YALL yesterday!!!

I cant believe we got to talk for so long, haha that was soo awesome! But it felt like 5 minutes at the same time haha!! I could have talked to you guys for the whole day!!! I am soo grateful for ya guys. It is truly such a blessing to have the family that we have... Our family is truly unique... I feel like you guys are all my best friends and a truly mean that! There's nothing else I would rather do than spend time with you guys and eat ourselves a chicken dinna! haha, but seriously my absolute favorite thing in the whole world is to just spend time with you guys... Whether its doing a tactical adventure, our just laying on the carpet in the front room talking! 

My biggest testimony of this gospel is the power of families, and that I will be able to live with you guys for EVER!!! and that just fills me with absolute joy, I am so grateful for this gospel in our lives, and for the decision Grandpa and Grandma made to be baptized. Because thanks to this wonderful gospel we all have the happiness and relationships that we do! I am so so happy to be a member of this church, and to have the opportunity to share this never ending happiness with others for these two years! Because that's what its all about, having an awesome family with the happiness that we have!! Haha, i totally lost it yesterday... Seeing all of you guys there on the computer screen rooting me on and feeling your love even through a computer screen millions of miles away! I cant thank each and every one of you enough for your AMAZING support and examples to me... You guys give me the strength and excitement to participate in this amazing work!! and I love you all SOOO much... Truly with all of my heart. Thanks for your amazing examples!!! I hope you all have an awesome week!!!! Get yoself a CHICKEN DINNA and have a TACTICAL WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Love your favorite furry friend,

Elder (tactical insertion) Barton

                                                         6 month PIZZA

                                               pics of the NEW AREA!!! tactial jungle....

Trekin to dat teachin appt yo

THE LONE SOLDIER

6 MONTH TIE BURNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST WEEK IN COTIA!!!!!!!!!!

Whats uppp whats up everybody!! Big b reporting live from my new area in the FARM LANDSSSS! Live in Cotia!!!! Man, this area is sooo different than my last area holy cow!!! Its like in the middle of no where here... There are sooo many trees and jungle everywhere its soo legit!!! I feel like i am in a whole other country again haha because i don't know where anything is and its super different! Especially cause i am opening the area with Elder Cabral.... 

We both got here the same day after the area had been closed for about a month... Sisters used to be serving in our area, so our house is superrrr sick haha!! Its soo big compared to my last apartment holy cow!! We got to our new house and there were all these little pink welcome signs and decorations of all kind that they left haha... SISTERS pshhhh.... we need to man up the place a little bit... But my new companion is super cool, Elder Cabral. He is a Brazilian from Recife. He is the district leader and has almost the exact same amount of time on the mission as me!! He hit is 6 month mark this last week... Super crazy! Two noobs as companions opening the area!! haha, it has been pretty tough this week just trying to find people to teach and getting to know the area... But super awesome at the same time! We found a couple families to start teaching which we are super excited about!!! We just have to work super hard these first couple weeks to get the area going again! Gonna be sweet!

Oh my gosh and the best part of this week was by far on Friday.... When Elder D TODD CHRISTOFFERSON spoke to us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! holy cowwww soooo sweet!!! That was such an awesome experience to hear him speak... He was also accompanied by Elder Mazzagardi who is from the area presidency of Brazil! SO sick!! Got to shake their hands in the beginning, and then they both spoke to us. In the beginning of Elder Christofferson's talk he just did a Question and Answer session for all the missionaries and then talked about our purpose as missionaries and used some really cool scriptures and thoughts to explain... I forgot my notes at home that i took from his talk, but One part that really stuck out to me was when he bore his testimony at the end... He said "I want you guys to remember me say this, that I am someone who knows for absolute certain that God and his Son Jesus Christ live. This is not something i believe,but know for absolute certain." When he said that, the spirit was soo strong, and i truly realized the power of this man, that he is truly an apostle of Jesus Christ and a special witness of his life... It was so cool to hear that and feel the spirit he carried as a true apostle of Jesus Christ... It was an awesome experience! Soo grateful i had that opportunity... And for all the awesome experiences i continue to have on my mission. I cant thank you all enough for your support. I am so grateful for you all! And especially my AWESOME MOM DARCI who i get to Skype this Sunday!!!!!!!!! sooo stoked! thanks so much everyone and have an awesome week!!!

Elder Barton

​goodbyes from Jardim Conceição :(

Leondro and his wife Jeane! They are soo awesome!

Grande Iranice and Nice!!!!!

Leondro and his wife Jeane! 

Chicken torta that the greatLeaondro prepared

Maria and Marcos!!!! Marcos is the blind man that i told the story about when we ate luch at his house and he cryed during the prayer... sucha stud 

Goodbye Selfie with Rafeal and Cleber!!

This family is awesome!!!! Eliane (far right) is the sister of Edinilsa (Clebers girlfriend, they are nonmembers) With Elianes kids Rafeal and Lysa. And the older woman on the far left is Joana (Eliane and Edinilsas mom) with ana Beatriz who is Cleber and Ednilisas daughter... hope that made sense haha

Ana Beatriz!!!!

Raimunda!!!! she is the best cook ever!!! Very first lunch in the mission was at her house! She is AWESOME!!

João and Luzia and the fam!!!! He is in the bishoprick... such an awesome family

President Ceilo!!!! (was the branch president before it turned into a ward)

NEW AREA COTIA

The WELCOMING into our humble abode

BRASIL LYFE

FOUND ELDER JOHNS my comp from the MTC!!!! he is here!!!!!!!!!!!! so stoked!!!

MIDNIGHT SNACK with elder Cabral