Monday, January 20, 2014

Dear Family,

This week was hectic, which is normal. When Monday comes I can´t even believe another week has passed by. The Lord´s work is non stop. 

 Sounds like Bridger had a good learning experience for the mission. It´s good to always have a talk ready to go, because one day he´ll be on the mission and the bishop will show up and say, Èlder, the last speaker didn´t show up, can you fill in? And he´ll have to pull of a 15 minute talk. 

 Closed the Riverton Office? Has it been a good thing or a bad thing so far? Sounds like a lot of work for you mom.

 Where is Jemini going? I´m proud of him. And I can´t believe Jack will be getting home this week. 2 years is really a short amount of time. And it´s only 2 seconds in God´s time. I´m so grateful for the opportunity to serve. 

 Congrats for the missionary work, keep it up! You guys are awesome. I returned to Cipó on an exchange last week. It is really strange to go back, but we had a really cool experience. The Elders there are teaching a family that is passing summer break here. The Husband is doing some work and the wife and son just came along. It was a last second thing that they didn´t even plan. They didn´t even pack bags because it was so fast. Anyway, it wasn´t for nothing that they ended up here for the break. They stayed in the house of a member, who invited them to church. They had always heard bad things about Mormons, but they decided to go. They loved the church and went the next sunday, too. And it just so happens that they were batpized and confirmed this last weekend. They said that it was the most gratifying month of their lives´and that they´ll return home with something greater than they had ever imagined from this trip. 

 It was a testament to me that God has a great plan for all of us. Coincidences don´t exist, and if we´re worthy and diligent He´ll put us where we need to be.

Love you all, and hope you have a great week!

Elder Barker

Monday, January 13, 2014

Dear Family,

Sounds like a full week! Thanks for the report, Mom. Good Luck and be safe with alll those snowy roads. It´s been so hot here these last few days, you wouldn´t believe it. 

Busy, busy, busy. I feel like I ran non-stop the whole week. The new sisters arrived in Parelheiros. Sister Thornhill and Sister M. Silva. They both have less than two months here in São Paulo. We had a hectic day of moving into our new house and moving the Sisters into theirs on the same day. We arranged for some members to help them in these first few days before the get to know the area. I had a meeting in Santo Amaro and we had another meeting in Cipó with Pres. Pinho, so I feel like I didn´t even get to work in my area this week, but I really learned a lot. I´m seeing the importance of true conversion in missionary work. That this mission is really meant to change my life as well as my investigators. 

 I can´t believe Jack will be getting home next week. That is so crazy. And Ben Smith had told me about Brayden, that´s too bad. Hope he makes it back out.

I still haven´t gotten any packages, maybe Pres. Pinho is holding them.... No, just kidding. They´ll get here some day ;) But all is good. Love you all, and I bear my testimony that Christ lives and that the Atonement and His grace is sufficient for every one of us. Satan promised to destroy the world and he is fulfilling his promise, but we don´t have to worry, because Christ is on our side. We can have peace in a world of turmoil and sin, because He is the Prince of Peace. He will return and this world will receive it´s paradisiacal glory. Sou muito grato por este evangelho na minha vida.

Love, Elder Barker

 

P.S.- I heard Pres. Dalton lives in California and he graduated from Harvard.

 

Monday, January 6, 2014

Dear Family,

How´s everyone doing? Thank you for the pictures and everthing. I didn´t get the packages yet, but I´m anxiously waiting! I didn´t get transfered, but I received a new companion named Elder Loredo. He´s from Nicaragua and he´s the first missionary from Nicaragua to serve in Brasil. He´s awesome, and he´s been here six weeks, so I´ll finish his training. I also live with a new Elder named E. Castro, he´s from Ecuador. So my spanish is going to get good. The ward here is going to have us 4 Elders and 2 Sisters now. It should be good. The ward is excited. We´re just waiting to move this week so that the Sisters can move into our house.

Happy Birthday Mia! I can´t believe she´s going to turn ten. I sent a letter for her, so hope she gets it soon. I remember saying happy birthday to her from the MTC and that seems like yesterday. 

Oh Big News!

Elder Dean made it down to Brasil! He was Elder Steadman´s companion in the MTC, but went home for a while. And he made it back on the mission! He´s from Alaska.

Pres. Pinho also said that our new mission president already received the call to serve here. All I know is that his name is Pres. Dalton and I think he´ll be coming in June or July.

The new year was good, I was exhausted and didn´t even wake up for the fireworks. But they partied pretty hard here.

We are in the Cipó Zone now. The zone was divided so now I´ll be doing exchanges in Cipó again. It´ll be cool to go back every once in a while.

Love you all, have a great week!

Elder Barker

1 Corinthians 9:24- show this scripture to Jesse. It´s about winning!