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! 

-- 

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 :)