HELLOOOOOO! weekly report "Dia das crianças" 10/14/15

Hey everybody!!!!!!

Sorry you guys didn't hear  from me last week, it was a holiday on Monday and so everything here was closed!!! We didn't have a chance to email thanks to the little children and their special day! haha just kidding! But it was Child's Day and like everything was closed and all the people were on the street partying haha! Brazilians look for any chance they can get to party! Its funny!

But this week was a pretty awesome week! We are truly being super blessed here in Barnonesa and finding lots of people to baptize! Its awesome, i am loving this area! Rafeala and Joana are soooo close to being baptize we just need to plan their wedding and everything and its gonna be awesome! We also found another young couple just like them who are super awesome! Their names are Raimundo and Andrea and they are just like Rafeal and Joana! They are wanting to get married also and change their lives. We taught them the Restoration and Raimundo said that he stayed up all night reading the restoration pamphlet that we left with him and reading in the bible about prophets and he said how it makes perfect sense that we need to have a prophet today also! They loved general conference and are super stoked! We will also baptize the daughter of a member of the ward this Saturday! Her name is Chayane, and she has been taught many times by missionaries and is always at church cause her mom and younger siblings are members. We started teaching her a couple weeks ago and she is stoked! 

I am truly beginning to see how the Lord is in control of everything and how he leads this work. We are just instruments in his hands and I'm so grateful to see the miracles that happen according to his will and our faith. 

I know this church is true and I am so grateful to be serving my mission! I love ya guys so much and thanks for all of your support!

Elder Barton

D&C 112:10   "Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead theeby the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers."

WEEKLY REPORT 10/5/2015

Olaaa todo mundo!

This week was a solid and uplifting week! Conference was soo awesome!! I loved it soo much! Its crazy as a missionary it like means so much more for me for some reason... Haha I loved it! got those 3 NEW APOSTLES!!!

Wanted to start off talking about an awesome experience we had this week. We have been working alot with a 14 year old kid named Gabriel here in this area... Even before I got here in Baronesa he was being taught... He has always wanted to be baptized super bad but his mom never let him. We started visiting him and his mom more and more, slowly gaining the confidence and friendship of his mom. She used to not even let the missionaries in her home but started to let us in and even made lunch for us a few times!! This last week Elder Ferreira and I made a goal to try and baptize him and get the signature from the Mom. We went there several times just sharing a simple message with her and allowing her to feel the spirit. Slowly she began to open more and more and on Wednesday she AGREED TO LET HIM BE BAPTIZED!!! it was soo awesome! She just said that she feels like its the right thing to do after so much time of waiting! We planned everything super quickly and he was baptized on Friday!!! It was such a blessing! It was amazing to see her heart softened and that she allowed him to be baptized!! She loved the baptism, but is still a little iffy about the church and not wanting to change her lifestyle that shes got goin... But I'm praying that her heart will continue to be softened and we will be able to teach her more!! 

I know that this was all done through faith, and the will of our Heavenly Father. I really liked the talk in Priesthood session by Neil L. Andersen that talked about faith. He talked about how faith is a choice, and how when we choose to exercise that faith in Jesus Christ we will be immensely blessed! I think a lot of the times I doubt things, I choose to not exercise my faith and to not believe. But truly when we just put our total and complete trust in him things WILL happen! Maybe not in the time we want sometimes... But everything WILL work out! If we can just try to be more humble and choose to have faith I know we will be blessed. "We don't have to know everything, but enough to continue on the road of discipleship" Like Elder Andersen said!

I am so grateful for that, to know that Heavenly Father loves me and just wants that I try my best and exercise faith in his son Jesus Christ. I know that this is true and I feel that love that God has for me. I felt it alot during conference as he communicated with us through his chosen servants here on the earth today. I'm so grateful to be a member of Christs church and to be here on my mission! Hope y'all have an awesome week and thanks so much for everything!!!

Stay tactical!!!

Elder Barton

AWESOME PHOTOS!

MY FIRST BORN SON!!!!!!!!! 9/28/2015

Hello hello everyyyyboday! I am coming at you live with some great news to announce the birth of my first SON in the mission field!!! (i had Elder Viera also for about a week) but i am pleased to announce the birth of Elder Ferreira!!!!!!!!!

haha i don't actually have a son, don't worry but everyone on the mission calls the person that they train their son/daughter for those of you that don't know!! We received a call last Monday night saying that i would receive a new comp and train him on Tuesday! His name is Elder Ferriera and he is from Belém, Brazil! He is waiting on his visa to go to Orlando Florida and hasn't even gone to the MTC yet!! I had the opportunity to go to the temple with him also on Tuesday for him to receive his endowments! He is fresh of the vine haha! He is a stud, and I'm super stoked to be with him! It was hard to leave the tactical trio also, but I'm super stoked i have this opportunity to learn with Elder Ferreira! 

This week was a super awesome week, we cut our whole teaching pool in half because of the tactical trio split up (i took one half and Hurd and Rodriguez took the other) and its been going pretty well! One of our investigators João that we were teaching was baptized on Saturday by our bishop! And it was super super cool, a very spiritual service! I don't think I had ever mentioned him, but he is such a special man! He is an older guy, and was super catholic but really liked the messages we shared with him and joined the church! It was incredible to see the Lords hand work in his life because he was super addicted to smoking and coffee but was able to quit within a week!! We are also going to begin teaching his daughter and grand kids! Super stoked!!! He always says he wants to be the next bishop haha its so funny! He is a stud!!! Also Rafeal and Joana (the couple I mentioned last week) are progressing super well!! They went to church again and loved it and we will bring them to a family night with some members tonight also! They are super excited to get married and feel the spirit at church! I feel so blessed to be able to meet these people are in need of the Gospel. I can see more and more each day how everyone is need of the restored Gospel and truly how it blesses and changes lives. I know that this is the only church on the face of the earth that has the complete, and restored gospel with everything that Jesus Christ established in his church. I know that he is the head of this church and not any man. I am so grateful for that and am so happy to be serving my mission and sharing this good news with others, that that same church Christ established is here on the earth in these last days.

I am so excited for conference next week to hear the words of the living prophet and apostles! I'm so happy and grateful for all of you guys and the support you send each week! Hope y'all have an awesome week and until next time!!!

FALOU!

Elder Barton

Weekly Report BIG JAMES BALLIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 9-21-2015

Heyyyyy everybody!!!!

Hows everyone up there in civilization??! Haha, this week was super awesome... had some really cool stuff happen and Heavenly Father is truly blessing the tactical trio down here in Baronesa!!

We had our multi zone conference this week and it was super good to see all the ol pals on the mish! We also had some super awesome trainings given by our President and mission leaders INCLUDING my two homeboys elder hurd and Rodriguez!!! They gave a training and it was super super good! KILLED IT!

One of the days when they went to give the training (to the other half of the mission where our zone wasn't participating) I had the opportunity to take our man James to the temple and do baptisms!!!! Man, that was such a neat experience... It was his first time to the temple and he absolutely loved it!! He is so firm i the gospel already and is just absolutely loving it... After the temple haha, we went to the chapel next door where the zone conference was being held to eat lunch and have him meet President Del Guerso... As part of one of the trainings they did an activity where we shot 3 pointers, and James (being a BALLER) was invited by president to take some shots, and in front of everyone he DRAINED two perfect 3 pointers haha with soo much swaaaggg haha it was the sickest thing I've ever seen everyone was cheering so loud and soo stoked for him haha! It was the coolest thing ever hes such a stud...

Other than big James, wanted to talk about an awesome couple we found this week named Rafeal and Joana. They were a referral we received from a member of one of the wards in our stake and are such awesome people!! They are super young, 20 and 19 years old and moved here from the North East of Brazil from a place called Piaui. They are here looking to start a family and have God in their lives... They went to church yesterday and loved it!! We have taught them the Restoration and asked them if they have a desire to get married. They said YES and want our help to get married. We went over last night after church with the member who gave us the referral and he testified to them about how marriage is a blessing and a commandment of God. The member Roney had close to the same situation as them and so it was perfect how he helped them to realize how marriage will bless their lives. They agreed and Rafeal asked Joana to marry him in front of us haha it was so cool! Its so cool to see how much they love each other and want to start a family. We are going to go to the government place this eek to help them pick out a date to get married. SO stoked. They are seriously so awesome and we are so blessed to be teaching them! I know the gospel will bless their lives so much and will one day be sealed together forever in the Temple! 

I am feeling soo grateful to be here serving my mission and witness miracles each and every day. I know that Heavenly Father truly puts these people in need in our paths when we work our hardest to serve him. I am learning so much in the tactical trio with my comps elder Hurd and Rodrigues and am loving my mission and this area soo much! I'm so grateful for all you guys and your support! Hope ya know how much I love you all and thanks for everything!!! 

This church is true and Jesus Christ is the one who leads and directs it!

HAVE AN AWESOME WEEK!!!!!

Elder Barton

Weekly Report TACTICAL TRIO..... BARONESA - 9/14/15

Whaaats up everyyybody!!!

Elder Barton coming in for dat weekly report!!! Sorry I didn't have a chance to talk to any of you guys last week! It was Brazil's day of independence and everything was closed on Monday! And didn't get the chance to do email another day... 

But these past two weeks were truly awesome!!! I ended up never receiving a new companion as promised... haha he ended up going to the São Paulo Interlagos mission haha! So I am going to stay in a TACTICAL TRIO with my homeboys elder hurd and elder rodrigues!!! Stoked that I get to be with these guys, they are such awesome missionaries and I have already learned so much with them!! 

So grateful to be here in Baronesa, I am loving this area so much!! We are doing splits with the members every day to go visit investigators and they are all so stoked and willing to help us out with the work here in this area!! We are having the privilege to teach so many great people in this area whom have been prepared to receive this gospel. Wanted to talk about a man named James real quick... He is a recent convert that was baptized 4 weeks ago by Elder Hurd. He is an American from New York and moved here because of some problems he was having in the states. He came here with nothing, and didn't speak a lick of Portuguese. He was sitting on the side of the road one day when Elder Hurd passed by and decided to talk with him, they went directly to his house and shared the restoration with him and was baptized 9 days after. He is such a special guy, and was willing to do whatever it took to follow Jesus Christ. He is a man with soo much faith and has already received the Aaronic Priesthood and has been wanting to visits with us everyday to share the gospel haha! He is such a stud!!!! When we teach, he bears his testimony and says prayers in broken Portuguese but brings the spirit sooo strongly its incredible! The people understand him, and are so moved by what he has to say. Hes been in Brazil for 4 months and plans to try and get married here and start a family. Just so grateful for this opportunity I have had to meet Big James, he is such a special guy and I know that he will help so many people find the gospel here. I wanted to talk about him just because I am so grateful for his humble and obedient example to follow Christ. I want to be more like him, and I know there are more people just like him waiting to receive this gospel! 

I know that Heavenly Father will put more people like him in our paths when we pray for opportunities to share the gospel and are obedient. I love ya guys SO much, and want to talk about everything incredible that happened in these 2 weeks but I will write a short novel if I do! haha, so ill just keep it at this for now, but thank you guys all soo much for the support you give me. I am so grateful to be serving my mission and absolutely love what I am doing! Hope y'all have an AWESOME week!!!!

Love,

Elder Barton

PS I went on an epppppic adventure to the highest mountain (its more like a hill) in São Paulo last pday called "Pico de Jaguará" and saw sooo many monkeys and exotic furry creatures!! it was sooo sick!!! ill attach some pics!

*elder b was bummed that his pictures wouldn't send from the computer he was using... maybe photos next week!?

Weekly Report BOA TARDE from BARONESA 8/31/15

Hey hey hey everybody!!!! I'm comin atcha live from my new area Baronesa!!!! Its super awesome here, I truly loved my first week!

So this last week I was with an Elder named Elder Viera, who was a new missionary waiting for his visa to the NEW YORK NEW YORK NORTH MISSION!!! the same mission as my main man BIG RYFRY ALPHA!! His visa arrived, so he headed out yesterday.. I will miss him, truly learned a lot with that kid in just one week! He learned so quickly and is already such a powerful missionary!

I'm currently in trio with my Zone Leaders Elder Hurd and Elder Rodriguez... They are studs. We live in the same house and I will go to the mission home tomorrow to grab my new comp! He will be a short time missionary I think, so it should be awesome to be able to show him what its like to serve a mission! I'm stoked!! Its gonna be a little crazy cause I don't know the area too well yet, but just gotta charge it haha I know Heavenly Father will help me out!

I have really loved this area and the ward that I am serving in so far! (its a smaller ward with about 90-100 people) And the people here are soo humble, and the members are all always soo pumped to help the missionaries and participate in this awesome work! We gave a training in the ward yesterday also about missionary work and how the members can be more involved, they were all STOKED! I already have made some awesome friends here, and know that I will learn A TON in this area!! This is gonna be a shorter email his week, but just wanted to let you all know that I am doing awesome and am so grateful for all of you guys and your support!!! Every day i am coming to love my Savior more and more and am so grateful to be here. Love y'all sooo much and hope you have an awesome week!!!

Love,

Elder Barton                                





                              Elder Barton LOVES Food!  We get photos of his meals each week! 
                                               He is one blessed Elder!