6/25/12 Email From São Mateus

So you were right this last week about my companion leaving, but he was not going home, he got transfered to another area for his last 2 weeks.  We still have one more week until we find out if we are staying or going, but probably I will be staying here. 

So this week was pretty much a week full of randomness.  Out of the blue last  Monday night we recieved a call from the secretaries of the mission and they told Elder Costa that he had to be in Vitoria the following day before 4:00 because he was being transfered to a new area.  Then I found out that I was to be the new District Leader.  That was completely random and out of the blue.  Then 3 days after that we got a call from the Traveling Assistants that said that they would be here the next day and that they would be working with us that day.  My mind is full of new information and new things to do this week and it has kind of driven me a little crazy because now I have to look out for my companionship and also the other companionships in the District, but it is pretty cool at the same time.

Our baptisms have not happened yet, but they will. We have one baptism for this  Saturday the 30th and one for the 7th of July.

My best experience this week was when I was working with the assistants.  I  visited a less active member with one of them and when I was there during part of the lesson I could feel how sad and the longing that our Heavenly Father is feeling for her not being at church and wanting her to come back to him and have the joy again in her life that she is longing for.

I am getting ready to want a massage, I have a lot of sore muscles and yeah that just sounds really good right now.  Oh, I am learning how to draw, my companion Elder Litchfield is teaching me how. I am trying to figure out what I want to do after the mission for my studies.  I have been thinking about beeing a teacher or an architect, and some other things but these are my main thoughts right now.  Well, I will live the motto this week and you have to too so make it fun!

Elder McBarron

 

6/18/12 email from São Mateus

[How are things going?]  We are finding a lot of good people.  We have 2 more baptisms marked for the 30th, they are both really good.  One is a guy and he has a hard time with reading but he really wants to follow Christ and the other is a young girl.  The guy we have been teaching for the past 2 weeks.  We have been trying to help him build a testimony, he has a lot of faith, he wants to serve Christ and do all he can.  Yesterday he walked about a mile to 2 miles just to come to church and he got there before many of the members including many of the leaders.

[Did you find anything about transfers yet?]  My companion does not go home this week, he has this week and the next and then he goes home.  I still do not know what I want here because I want to stay, but I also wouldn't mind going.  I have been feeling like this is my area, but also that it is not.  I am still in a triple and it will stay that way until the transfers.

[Who would you consider your "golden contacts?"]   Our last baptism, he is awesome, he was one of my Golden Contacts, and also Michelle, these were and are my Golden Contacts.

[What are you thinking you want to do when you first get home?]  I would like to just get home and meet you guys at the airport.  I was thinking that if there is time after I get back that I would like to go and do a session in the temple.  I also want to go and eat some good old American food and watch some movies.

Something I have been thinking about is that it is hard for us members to remember what we are really doing, there are many times that we will just go to church and sit there and listen, we forget that we are there to learn and grow and help others.  We need to help others and we need to help the missionaries if we can and be humble.  We can help the missionaries by sitting with their investigators or inviting their investigators to sit with us.  We need the missionaries, we need to be humble enough to see this.  We also need to get to church early no matter what, by doing this we are showing our respect for our Father in Heaven.  We need to do all that we can to help the Lord´s work move along, as we do this we will be able to help more our brothers and sisters.  We will also receive more of the help that we need for ourselves.  I have to say that here on the mission we not only learn how to help others, but also what we need to do to help the church grow so that when we get back we can help with this. 

I am trying to give it all I have and I want to do that until the end.

Elder McBarron

 

6/11/12 Email From São Mateus

[How was your week, did your baptism happen?]  This week was pretty good.  We had our baptism, the baptismal day was just a hectic day, pretty much everything that could go wrong went wrong. But we had the baptism and that is all that matters.  He also got to recieve the Aaronic Priesthood and he went to the dedication of the Temple in Manaus, Brazil. That was pretty cool and big for him.  I was not able to go and see the dedication of the Manaus temple, but i had some really good spiritual experiences with the people that we were teaching yesterday because of that.

[You said something that the construction is different there, how is it different?]  Well Brazilian construction is pretty much just rebar, bricks and concrete, that is all that they use and they use sand in the concrete.

[How is your companion doing?  Do you know what you are going to do when he goes home?]  My companion has another 2 weeks here with us and then he will be going home.  We have no idea what will happen.  We don't know if we will be companions or if President will send us new ones.  We are trying to go crazy every day but this week we started off the week with us 3 getting sick.  That was not fun.

[Your sister's graduation went well other than a major down pour in the middle of it.  Gram, Uncle Dave, Tiffany and Mia were all able to come.]  Sounds like it was a fun graduation!  Everything here was dry all week until last night and then it just poured like crazy.  When  I get back home I will be able to talk with Mia right, she is starting to talk isn't she?

[Are you starting to look forward to coming home and what you are going to do?]  Yeah, I am starting to look forward to the end, but not because I want to leave, but because I am missing working with my hands.  I am just going to work hard so that the time flies by and so I can help people.

I know that there is not too much here this time, we were pretty much just getting things ready for the baptims this week so that he would be ready. here is a picture.  Miss you mom and hope all is well.

Seu Filho

Elder McBarron

6/4/12 Email from São Mateus

Life is going well, my companion is trunky.  We found out this week that we are going to be in a triple.  That is going to be a fun experience.

I worked this whole week with my companion and Elder Litchfield, one of them one day and the other the next.  I didn't have any breaks this week, but that was fine with me after what happened with me yesterday.  Yesterday was testimony meeting, and I had the impression to go up and to bear my testimony.  I went up and pretty much had no idea of what I was going to say and then I got a feeling to just start with this and so I said it and then everything just came rolling out.  I bore my testimony about our Savior Jesus Christ and I could feel that it was my thoughts, my words, but it was with the help of the Spirit that I said everything that I said.  Afterwards one of the members said to me that after I had finished talking that she and one of the other members said to each other, "who is this missionary?" and a few other things that I don't remember, but I know that it was all because of the Spirit that they were saying that because I am just a mouth piece for the Lord to help others.

We are going to have a baptism this Saturday!  He had his interview yesterday and he passed!!!!!!!!!

Okay, so the funniest thing that happened this week was that we were playing Monopoly Deal and all of us missionaries started farting and, well, you can imagine.  All of us busted out laughing because it smelled so bad.

The best thing this week was working with Elder Litchfield in part of his area that is going to be our area.  I felt the Spirit there when we stepped foot there, and then a member was showing us around and well she gave us a lot of references, 13 in just that night. 
I got a new adapter and I have photos for you, most that I mentioned last week about the motorcycle show we saw a little of.  I also have a picture for you that is just outside my window that I took this morning.  I don't really have too much more to write.  Love you and miss you!

Elder McBarron