11/28/11 Email from Jardim Limoeiro

[Adam's email for this week, our questions are in brackets.]

[How is your toe doing since your procedure?] My toe is doing better.

[I guess you couldn't do any baptisms because of your foot this week, did your companion do them?]

 I had a baptism yesterday too, I didn't perform it, my companion did, and I was a witness.

[Today is Grandpa Crosby's Birthday and your 7 month anniversary, busy day, can you believe it?]  Tell Grandpa Happy birthday for me!  It has been going by really fast, I can't believe that I have been here for 7 months.

[What have you learned about your new companion and roommates since you've been with them for awhile now?]  I am still trying to get to know them, my companion and the other missionaries.

[Have you started seeing any preparations for Christmas in your area yet?]  There are a lot of things for Christmas here, but not like in the US.

[What lessons did you get to teach this week?]  This week was pretty much contacting people to teach them this coming week and helping our baptisms and less active members.

[What was your best experience this week?]  My best experience this week was after my surgery, I think it was Wednesday.  I went to an investigator's house that isn't really progressing.  She keeps saying, "oh, I have faith in Christ and I will be saved by my faith."  I was a little grumpy because of the pain in my toe, but happy that I was able to walk around.  I got there and spoke about faith and shared with her the scriptures in James 2:15-16 and the last one of the chapter, I think it is verse 26.  I knew she wasn't paying attention so I spoke straight to her and basically said show your faith and pray to know if this Church is true or not, if you don't do this, you basically do not have faith in the Lord to ask Him if this is His church here on the earth or not.  I know that it was not just me saying that, that the Spirit was helping me because I said other things that I had never thought of talking with her about.  The Lord does not play games with His Church and with those who are really searching for the truth.

That is pretty much it for the week, I don't really have too much to share this week other than yesterday we had a flash flood in my area and at the church.  It sounds like all of you had a fun thanksgiving!

Elder McBarron

11/21/11 Email from Jardim Limoeiro

[Adam's email for this week, our questions are in brackets.]

 

[I'm assuming there isn't Thanksgiving in Brazil, any other holiday similar to it?]  They don't have Thanksgiving and I don't know if they have a holiday like it.  I know that to eat a big bird, we have to wait until Christmas.  I don't even remember what day Thanksgiving is on.  Sounds like you are going to have a fun Thanksgiving.

[How did the baptism go? Do you still have two more lined up for the next couple of weeks?]  The baptism went well.  We have baptized two people this transfer up to now and we have one lined up for this Sunday.

[What the scoop? the good, the bad and the ugly?]  The ugly news right now is that I got an ingrown toenail, even with me trying all that I could to make sure that I didn't get one.  I go in today to get it removed and will be in the apartment for I think 2 days.  The bad news is that our group of investigators is kind of small, but the good news is that we are still baptizing and the members are starting to help more!

[Have you received our packages that we mailed you?]  I received one box and I am waiting on the other one.

[You said you were using a dumb computer in your last email, where do you go to have access to computers?]  We go to a lan house to use the computers, and some of the computers don't work very well.

[Isn't it summer there? How hot has it been getting?]  Yeah it is summer here, I think it is getting up into the high 80's or low 90's, but summer hasn't really started yet is what all of the Brazilians keep saying.

[What was your best experience this week?]  My best experience this week has to be the baptism that we had where it was a mom being baptized by her son, it was really cool!

I don't really have too much else to say right now so I will close with saying Happy Thanksgiving!

Teu Filho Elder McBarron

11/14/11 Jardim Limoeiro

[Adam's email this week, our questions are in brackets]

 

My week was pretty crazy, we had meetings Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  I had a division with the assistants on Friday.  Monday and Saturday were pretty much just a normal day, and on Sunday I had to give a talk in sacrament meeting.

 

[Are you up for transfer this go round or are you staying for a few more months?]  I am thinking right now that I will be staying in my area until after Christmas, but that is just my thoughts for now, I don't know what will happen on the 13th of December. 

 

[Have you set date for the two pending baptisms?]  We have three dates setup right now, one for this Sunday, one for next Sunday and one for December 10th.  Hopefully we will get all of these people baptized, I am pretty sure that they will be baptized.

 

[Meet any new and interesting people?]  The only new and interesting person that I have met other than my companion is a new guy from the south of Brazil.  He and my companion, who is also from the south, drink an herbal tea (which is not against the Word of Wisdom) called Chimarrão.  I have had it a few times, it tastes kind of like hay.

 

[Are you a senior companion this time?]  My companion has the calling of senior in our dupla, but I am pretty much the senior, he even said that.  He is kind of like a little kid, our dupla is a strange one.

[What was your best experience this week?]  My best experience this week was the division I had with one of the assistants to the President and I was with the assistant that was my zone leader when I first got into the field, Elder Thompson.  I spent the day in Vitória.  I will pass a photo for you all of a part that I took next week, the computer that I am using is being a pain for the photos.  Also when I was giving a talk in sacrament meeting here.  I had many people telling me it was a good talk, even the bishop of the ward said that he thought that the people really understood what I was talking about.  My talk was on missionary work and I focused on the missionary work of members.

 

Seu Filho Elder McBarron

11/7/11 Email from Jardim Limoeiro

[Adam's email for this week, our questions are in brackets, the first part is from part of his email last week that didn't make it to us so he had to resend.]

[When are the next transfers?]  The next transfers after this will be December 13.

[Did you have your baptism this week?]  No, but we have one scheduled for this next Sunday with another lady, we finally marked a date with her, we have been trying to do that with her since the beginning of the transfer, she is the one that her pastor said good things about us.

[What has been your funniest experience so far?]  My funniest thing that has happened was jumping on a trampoline for little kids, and seeing my companion do this because he had never jumped on a trampoline before.

[What was your best experience this week?]  My best experience this week was marking the date for the baptism.  Oh and I have now worked in a thunder and lightning storm, missionary work does not stop for a storm.

This week was pretty crazy, but it was really good as well.  We had the baptism and I got to baptize her!

[Since you were the only one left in the district after the last transfer are you now a senior companion?  Who is your new companion and what is he like?]  I am not a senior yet because I still have to work on speaking the language a little more, but I am pretty much doing the things that a senior would be doing, my new companion has one transfer more than me.  My new companion is Elder Pithan, he is a  Brazilian from the southern part of Brazil.  He likes food a lot and he likes to mess around.

[Who are your new roommates and what are they like?]  There are two new missionaries, one is a Brazilian from Recife, and the other is a newbie American which is fun.  We are all helping him with learning Portuguese.  Their names are Elder Pombeiro and Elder Perdue.  We all goof around a lot in the house, it is really fun.

[What do you do when you all meet up for transfers at the mission home, how does all that work?]  We meet up for transfers in a giant bus station, and we sing the mission´s hymn and then we find out who is going where and what is going on, we get our letters and packages too.

[Have you meet any new contacts that look promising?]  We have marked for 2 other baptisms for the 20th of this month.

[How many lessons did you teach?]  I taught 19 lessons this past week.

[How is the ward, are they treating you well? Do you have a favorite family in the ward?]  The ward is awesome, we are working on helping them with improving their missionary efforts as a ward.  I have a few favorite families in the ward that I like.

[What was the most fun that you had this week?  What made you Laugh?]  The most fun that I had this week was goofing off with my companion and the other missionaries, and eating at a members house.  What made me laugh this week is the other missionaries.

[What was your best experience this week?]  The most spiritual would have to have been the baptism.

I hope that all is going well for you and that you are having fun with life.  The only thing that I would ask for right now is a good massage from Vicki [our favorite massage therapist] and Zebra Pens.  But the massage will have to wait until after the mission, and the pens can be sent whenever you want to send them.  Oh I  almost forgot to tell you that they opened up a new zone here, zone Serra.  I am one of the first missionaries in the new zone and I also had the first baptism in the zone of Serra!!!!!!!!

Seu Filho Elder McBarron

10/31/11 Email from Jardim Limoeiro

[This week's email from Adam, our questions are in brackets]

[Do you go on splits with ward members?]  When we have splits we always have an appointment scheduled, and when someone blows us off we are pretty much in the toilet because we don't have anyone to help us with both appointments and we have to choose between each which one we think is most important. its not fun.

[Did you baptize the women who's brother had the accident?]  No we did not baptize her, she didn't want to wake her daughter up so that she could go to church.

[How about the family who is not married yet?]  The couple is not married yet and has not come to church yet either.

[What did you do that was fun?]  This past Sunday we had a training with the youth in the ward.  We trained them to be receptionists for our investigators so that the ward will help us with them.  We had a practice and I was the "investigator" and I had fun with that.  And pretty much just goofing off with the other missionaries.

[What was the most spiritual?]  The most spiritual thing for me this week was marking a date with the investigator that said that her pastor spoke good things about us, we had been waiting a long time for this and when she accepted I felt so much peace and love for her that it was so cool!

[How are the living conditions?]  The living conditions are good, they are different.  They are "good" standards here, but "ok" standards in the US.

[How are you getting along with your companion?] My companion is really cool, I am getting along pretty well with him, but he is being transferred tomorrow to another area along with the other missionaries here.  I am the only one that is going to be staying, I have to admit that it is kind of scary knowing this.  Please pray for me to have the strength to be able to do what needs to be done here and also to remember where everything is.

Here are more photos.  Megan I took these photos of the monkeys just for you :) cause I know how much you like monkeys .

Elder McBarron