7/25/11 Email from Ancheita

Here is Adam's email for this week, my questions are in brackets.

I am doing great, my Portuguese is coming along.   It is crazy that i have been out for 3 months, it seems shorter and yet longer at the same time.  Hey tell grandma and grandpa that they can email me now, the new president said that it is ok.

[Did you teach anyone new this week?]  We taught this lady named Angela this week, and we have marked a date with her for the 13th of August.

[Did the man and his daughter accept to be baptized?]  Michelle accepted to be baptized on the 6th of August, but her dad Miguel didn't.  He is still trying to figure things out, but we are continuing to work with him.  Oh we marked a date with Leticia´s sister Rafaela for the 6th of August too.  We are teaching a cousin of Michelle too, his name is Victor, he is really intelligent.

[What all do you have in your apartment, do you have a fridge (I sent chocolate in your packages and they will probably be melted and need to be cooled up again and I wasn't sure if you even had a fridge), washer and dryer (just wondering how you are getting your laundry done), stove or microwave (are you cooking food)?]  We have a fridge, a stove and a washer type thing. We wash our laundry and then hang it up to dry.  We don't really cook, we get food that is simple to prepare.  We eat a lot of fruit and sandwiches.

[What was your best experience this week?]  My best experience this week was having fun with the group at an activity on the beach.  I am including some pictures, the picture with the three ladies is a picture of (from left to right) Irmá (sister) Luiza Irmá Marcia (she is really cool!) and Michelle.  I have also included a picture of me that I would also like for you to take to Fleet Feet for me.  Oh and a picture of my first mango of the mission.

I am glad for everything that you all have done for me and for the help that you have given me.  I miss you all.  I am glad that I am here though cause it is really fun.  Miss you all and hope you are doing well. seu filho Elder Adam McBarron

7/18/11 Email from Ancheita

Adam's email for this week, my questions are in brackets:

This past week was pretty good, it was pretty hectic though. We had a zone meeting and a district meeting, and the the busses weren't cooperating with us.

[Any new contacts this week?]  We have 2 new contacts this week, their names are Miguel and Michelle, we contacted Miguel in the street and Michelle is his daughter.  We have taught them the 1st and 2nd lessons and we are going to be inviting them to be baptised this week, with a date of August 6th.

[How are the lesson's going with the guy who is supposed to be baptized soon?]  We had to cut Adias because he was not progressing and not getting the things that we were teaching, he would hear them and then do parts of the things.

[What kind of responsibilities do you have in your member group?]  We pretty much just do whatever needs to be done, we are teachers for the gospel principles class pretty much all of the time.

[Have you done any service projects?]  We have not done any service projects, and I don't think that we will be doing any anytime soon, unfortunately.

[What was your favorite experience this week?]  My favorite experience this last week was that I contacted someone by myself on the bus and got his information and everything.  It kind of helped that he could kind of speak English.  My Portuguese is coming along a little by little each day, I was told the other day by a Brazilian that what I  do know how to speak I say well with out an American accent, that was really cool for me.

Hey look up Paula Fernandes, her music is really popular here.  Oh and Brazilians love American music too, even though they have no idea of what is being said, which is really kind of funny.  Hey I was just wondering, how is the avocado tree doing?

[It's doing well.]

I love you all and miss you all I hope everything is going well with you all.

Elder Adam Michael McBarron

PS  I am including a baptism photo of Leticia, it is me, my companion, Leticia and Leticia´s sister Rafaela.

PSS  I am including a picture for Fleet  Feet of my Vibrams that I brought with me with Brazilian sand on them, could you take it in to Fleet Feet for me?

Letter Received 7/15/11 from Ancheita

We received a letter from Adam today and his companion, here is a little bit of the letter from his companion, Elder Turley:

. . .  The first night here we had a little meeting here at the house and talked about vision and goals and stuff and Elder McBarron looked at me and told me, "I am here just to help people."  Then I saw the moisture fill his eyes and he said, "I just want to help 1 person.  If I can save one person, I'll be happy."  He said it with a smile and I felt the Spirit.  It helped me remember even more how great it is to be a full time missionary of the Lord.  We talked a little bit more about being a missionary and I told him all about my mission so far and how at one point I almost went home and he said, "I'm grateful you didn't," and it made me feel great as his companion and I know we're supposed to be companions.  I felt that he truly cared about me, and thats what makes a great companionship. . . .  I just wanted you to know he is the companion that has the most love and sincere desire that I've had  He is in good hands out here. . . .  Sincerely, Elder Turley

Thank you Elder Turley for your kind words and for being a good companion to Elder McBarron!  It takes two to make a good companionship!

Here is Adam's letter:

Minha Familia, Eu sou muito grato por todos voces.  Eu amo todos voces.  Eu estou com saudades de todos voces.  Eu quero compartilhar meu testemunho com voces em portugues.  Eu sei que Deus e nosso amoroso Pui Celestial.  Eu sei que Jesus Cristo es meu Salvador e Redentor.  Eu seique eu sou um filho de Deus.  Eu sei que Evangelho e verdudeiro.  Eu sei que O Livro de Mormom e verdadeiro e contem as palavros de Deus.  Eu sei que Joseph Smith foi um profeta e tambem Thomas S. Monson e um profeta.  Eun nome de Jesus Cristo Amem.

I'm not sure I got that all typed up right, hopefully it is close.

I just wanted to share that with you and say that I really like my first area so far, Anchieta is really awesome, its right on the beach, we are pretty much opening the area here.  There isn't even a branch here, it is a member group.  There is a president of the member group, relief society president, young women's president and a gospel principles teacher and those are all of the callings.  We have to pretty much do everything by ourselves for our missionary work.  It's probably good though that I am starting off here as my first area.  The people here are awesome!  And I have heard that this is the only area in the mission that still does ocean baptisms, and that is because we don't have a font here, which I think is really cool!  I love and miss you all.  I hope all is going well for you.  Elder Adam McBarron

7/11/11 Email from Ancheita

This is Adam's email from Monday, sorry I'm a little slow posting.  My questions are in brackets.

I am doing really well.  Hey, when you can could you serve the missionaries a meal, it is very important for the missionaries to get to know the members, it really helps with the work and it is just really nice for the missionaries to have a good home cooked meal.

[How many people are you and your companion teaching right now?]  Right now we only really have 2 people we are teaching, one is Leticia who we baptized on Saturday.  We have to teach the lessons again after baptism to the converts.  And we are teaching an old guy named Adias, he is really cool, but we have a lot of work to do with him before his baptism on the 30th.  We are always looking for more investigators, and trying to get referrals from members.  Oh just to let you know I didn't perform the baptism, because Leticia wanted Elder Turley to perform it, but that is ok.  I get to perform the next one.

[What was your most interesting experience this week?]  My most interesting experience this week after getting ready for the baptism, was that same night as the baptism, the power went out in the whole city of Anchieta for about an hour.

[What is your favorite lesson so far?]  My favorite lesson so far is the restoration.

[How big is the ward/branch you are in?]  My group is really small, we have about 40 people come each week to church, and a lot of those are younger people, like 16 and below.

[What did you learn about your mission president when you met/heard him?]  I don't really remember other than thinking that he was a really cool guy.

I hope that that helped you with some of the stuff that you wanted to know.  I got a card adaptor, and I will try to send some pictures next week, because I don't have too much time left for emailing and I still have to send an email to the mission president in Portuguese.  Hey I miss you all and hope all is going well for you all back home.   Seu filho Elder Adão (Adam) McBarron

4th of July Email from Ancheita

Adam's email today, my questions are in brackets.

Happy 4th of July!

[So you don't have a mailing address there in Ancheita?]  I don't have a mailing address, just the mission home address.

[Did you get to perform the baptism?]  No we haven't done the baptism yet, that will be this week.

[Did you get to teach anyone this week?]  I am mostly just learning how to say the lessons right now so what I am doing is bearing my testimony of what is being said in the lessons that are taught.

[What area of Utah is your companion from?]  He is from Herriman.

[What have you been eating lately?]  I have been eating a lot of beans and rice, and a bunch of different kinds of meat that are really good, I think that I ate some kind of stomach the other day.

[How much do you walk each day?]  We probably walk pretty much everywhere, so probably anywhere from 3 to 10 miles a day.

[What was your best experience this last week?]  My best experience this past week was being at the zone conference with my new mission president and listening to him speak, and then afterwards bearing my testimony in Portuguese, even though I had to write it down before I went up.  I almost couldn't finish it, the spirit was there that strongly.  I am glad that I did that.

I miss you all and am looking forward to the package.  Tell everyone that I say hi and that I miss them. I will have to send pictures through the regular mail cause I brought the wrong connector.  I am going to try and find an adaptor to read my card here, and then I will be able to send you pics over email.  I miss you all.  Love you all.