Pictures from last week.

 Benjamin Went to an aquarium type park in Brazil. Here's the turtle he saw.

 Another missionary and Benjamin.

Not sure where this is, but it's near the beach.

An open house, but nobody came!

Its funny, so much happens during the week, lots of work, but when I come and sit down to write I cant remember anything to say. We had the wards first open house last saturday and it was a bust :( we worked all day to make sure everyone had their parts ready, cleaned up the chapel, asked all the memebrs to come and bring someone, plus the 100 people me and my companion were able to contact on the street and invite and no one came except for a few members. We were working with a few young men to get this all ready and they were really disapointed. I was sad too but I´m just calling it a practice round for next month; and bishop said he is going to get more involvement from the members for next time to so we will see. We have a transfer next tuesday and I wont be transfered probably but my companion might, which I hope he doesnt because I still dont know this area enough to teach someone else where everything is, plus I love Elder B. Costa and don´t want him to go. I got questions about letters and packages and I have answers. Everything can be sent to the address at the end of this email, letters and packages, and they are sent to the mission office (like an actual secure office) and they deliver them to the zone leader who brings all the packages to zone conferences (once a month) and I pick it up there.

As for the portuguese it is really picking up! We do splits with the young men everyweek and one time we had the opportunity to teach the restoration, and I did it! in portuguese! it was so satisfying being able to confidently teach something in the language. Also just speaking in general is way better, I do really well talking with members because I can understand them when they speak. But most poeple here have the Baiha accent which is very low, fast, and garbely. So I cant undertand that yet, so I suppose I´m working on it. Everything is good, trying new fruits as always, I tried jambo which grows on our chapel grounds and it looks and kinda tastes like a pear mixed with a cherry. When I first heard the name of the fruit I thought of jamba juice, but it guess its slightly different name. :) Have another good week everybody!

The picture attatched is of the table we set up for the open house, looks good right?!

Address:

Av. Antônio C. Magalhães, 3247
Ed. Empresarial Delta-Sala 402
Pituba
41830-355 Salvador - BA
Brazil

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Elder Benjamin Barton

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Another Good week (Four Weeks in Field)

Last week we went sandboarding for P-day, and this P-day we went to Praia Do Forte and saw some sharks and lots of turtles at an "zoo/aquarium/turtle place" and it was really cool, got to touch sting-rays and high five turtles! I got some awesome pictures too but I can upload them on the computer I´m on right now because I´m not at the usual LAN house and they have different rules... But another great week of walking and teaching, and I think I´m over my fear of talking with new people, so thats good. We have about 5 people that we want to baptize this and next week so we are working with them but its a little difficult to visit them everyday because we have to take buses to get to their houses. Nevertheless we are going strong! My companion was feeling sick yesterday so I have both parts of a blessing of health in portuguese; it was difficult but really cool to accomplish, when we give blessings to people I usually do the first part (in portuguese) because it is easier but now I can say I can do both :P I really like talking with the members they are so cheerful and feed me well :) Also with some of our investigators, if we come at "the right times" they feed us snacks and sometimes meals, I especially like then they have juice because there are so many flavors and they are all so good. My favorite type of juice is maracujá which I guess is passionfruit in english but it tastes nothing like passionfruit is the US, because it is SOO GOOD! Loving it here, miss everyone; also I use our family pictures that we took to show everyone and they like to see the family behind the great missionary! Até próxima semana! 

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Elder Benjamin Barton

(I had written him a letter asking him about the neighborhood and his companion. Details, I need details to try to imagine what his life is like.   Here is his reply to that)

 Neighborhood depends on the smells, sometimes really good bread from the bakery and other times burning garbage because I guess they are pyros and also pile their trash here in one big pile until the trash people come once every other week. people play their music really loud, like matthew loud, all through the night because they dont have the same laws that the US has, and even if a complaint was filed they wouldnt come until the next day or several days after so its pointless to do. My companion is a very social brazillian that loves to talk and loves converting people to the gospel. He loves to sing american songs and especially loves Adele and Mariah Carey. He has been a member for 2 years and is the only member of his family to be a member, he has a cousin that is but no more than that; but thats the deal here, most brasil missionaries are like that and its cool and sad at the same time that they are so committed in so short a time and leave a semi-unsupporting family to go and serve for 2 years. This isnt always the case, but usually. he is very "frugal" which is good, and he is very smart and speaks very good english but he speaks portuguese to teach me better. He likes to cook and to have clean things so we get along :) He says we are rich and I try to explain how we arent, but to brazil´s regular standards, we live in a mansion. So it makes me feel bad when i have so much and want to share it but he doesnt want to accept it because then he feels like he has to pay me back and dosent have the means to comfortably do that. Its the same in the US but its a little more extreme here with the exchange rate. But we get along great and all is good :)

Two Months on Mission

I only have 5min to write today because we got to the computer place late because we went sand boarding this morning for P-day! It was really fun, we went as a district and had fun with it for a couple of hours. I uploaded pictures to parents, so if you want to see they will have to put them up on the site :) No baptism this week but we have a bunch that are close. I will have to talk more next week but I want to say that I love coconut juice, I had some or the first time today and it was great! Love you guys!

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Elder Benjamin Barton

 Sand boarding with the Elders on P. Day. This is the reason for the very short letter!

 Sand so white it looks like snow! Nice view from the top of the dunes.

 The Chapel where Benjamin is right now. No walls, probably to catch the breezes.

 The beach.

Second week in the mission field

Brasil is great! We do a lot of walking, I dont know how much but I know its quite a bit, and its a little annoying when we walk to someones house and they are not home but its not anything that gets me upset. I think I´m acclimated to the climate because sure I sweat here because its never gets below about 75F and I think I´ve gotten used to it so its no big deal. No baptisms this week but we are still meeting with a lot of people and will probably have people ready for next week but dont hold me to it! :) There are so many little things that make this place to great, for example yesterday we saw a little family of monkeys on the telephone poles. We saw a whole group of kids with mangos in both of their hands. There are so many fruits I didnt know existed in the world and everyone here is just like ...eh...its just another fruit we have... I tried coconut water for the first time today and its way better than in the US, first off its way cheaper, its about $1 US for 36oz or more, its has no perservatives and is so fresh that they harvested the coconuts that day and cut them infront of us, buts its just a different climate and thats just what they have here. I killed a cockroach in our apartment, I´ve never even seen one before I got to brasil I dont think.The culture is so different here! (specifically meals) They eat hardly any breakfast, dinner is a meh sized meal, and lunch is a feast fit for kings! The ward does a good job at always having us at some members house for lunch and they always feed us all too well. I dont´t even kow how to describe my feelings about lunch because its always so good and I want to eat a regular amount but them the members ALWAYS say "come mais Elder!" or "eat more elder" after already eating enough to be full. So I eat more because its just what you do here, and if you dont they ask you why you dont like it, and then they offer you to make something else because you dont like their food when really you do but literally cant eat any more; its a daily battle.So I´ve had to really not eat breakfast and dinner to make room for lunch. And then (because lunch is the main meal of the day) we are supposed to share a gospel message after lunch, which I´ve done everyother day these past too weeks. And yesterday was funnyily unbeliveable because after forcing 3 helpings of lunch down my throat and at the point of absolute thanksgiving fullness, they bring out dessert which included like 4 cakes! we ate 3.25 at their house and they gave us a take home of 1.75 cakes and leftovers of lunch and a big bag of mangos. I thought I was going to to into a food coma. Lunch is a rollercoaster; but I love it, the members are so nice, its nice to sit, and we sit for almost 3hrs sometimes because they love to eat and talk, and by the time we share a message its been a few hrs since we started. My compaion Elder B. Costa says my portuguese is really coming along and that we cant believe sometimes that I can speak so well, but I dont think that it is this way, but if he thinks I´m progressing then maybe I am. I´m not worried about it though I´m just going to keep going and do the best I can and thats all I need to do. I don´t know what else to include other than I might go sand boarding later today or maybe next week. But I´m doing great and will write next week and hopefully have more to say :)

The picture is of the cake and mangos and oreos we ate for breakfast, So healthy :)

Also another thing, their milk comes in boxes and is not refridgerated! Its kinda gross and different but I still drink it when offered, and my companion bought chocolate milk powder mix so that makes it a little better :)

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Elder Benjamin Barton

After all the pictures got sent

I think I sent all the pictures. Also I wanted to say that we walk a lot, like a lot, I impress myself how much. Also the chapel is interesting, i´ll have to take fotos, but the chapel is outdoors and is under a paviallon like the one at the building at home, and thats just what they have, they have a little building for the classes like young woman and primary and the bishops office but the chapel is outside nd I love it cuz is very tropical. Also on the grounds they have mango, lime, and banana trees. the bananas and mangos are not ready yet but we collected  bunch of limes for our house and when they finally ripen I can tell they will be fantastic. :) amo vocês!

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Elder Benjamin Barton

First Week in the Field

Its been such a busy week that  I dont know even where to begin. My companion Elder B. Costa is a super fun and energetic brazillian that knows some english so we can communiate somewhat well. I´ve been in a lot of poeples houses teaching lessons and I mostly just listen because I dont know most of what people are saying but sometimes I do; Ive decided to not be frustrated with the language and ecause of it I´m just happier in general. It can be difficult at times when I dont understand what my compaion is saying to me so he has to repeat in 3 times but its all good. Last week my companion and his other companion baptized this lady and this week we taught her 2 sons we got to baptize them! Baptism first week in field! My comp. baptized one and I baptized the other; I had to memorize the prayer in portuguese 20 min before and it was a little unnerving but it was so fantastic, I was so happy that this whole family was baptized. Our appartment is a little sub-par being permanantly dirty in some parts but upon visiting some peoples houses here I start to count my blessings and it doesnt bother me anymore. Even when the water went out for almost 3 whole days and had to shower with several 2 liters filled with water for this purpose; but like I said, I love it here. The people are so nice generally, even nonmenbers. We had testimony meeting yesterday and I got up and did my best portuguese it was nerving at first but I got over it and it was great. I need a lot of work to become fluent or even to get around but I can tell when I do I will be able to do much good here. I can finally send pictures so I need to figure that out here. Feliz ano novo!

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Elder Benjamin Barton