Season 5 Episode 11: Gagaifoilevao

Well, last Wednesday we had just finished talking with one of our investigators, Kayla, who was telling us that she and her family want to get baptized and will be attending the Church that Sunday, when we got a call from the Zone Leaders telling me that I will be getting transferred on Thursday. Let's just say that there were a lot of mixed emotions. You would think after 6 transfers I would be use to this stuff. Nope. Anyway, the following day I got transferred and now I am here in gagaifoilevao! I would love to hear you all try and pronounce that haha!  My new companion is Elder Vaivai from Aussie Mate! He has been out for 10 months and he is a really humble Elder and I am really excited to work with him. We cover two wards. Matautu and Saraimila-Zarahemla. We are right by the beach and we have this really nice resort next to us called Return To Paradise. So, we see white people all the time haha.

There is a lot of work that needs to be done here. There hasn't been a set of missionaries in here for about two months. So, a lot of the the members are excited and willing to help! Currently we have 17 investigators. My comp has been here two weeks longer than me so it was really nice to walk into a situation with current investigators.

One of our investigators name is Taikarise. I just call her Take it Easy. Anyway, she is 14 years old and I have never met someone who wants to be baptized so bad. She comes to church, Seminary, and mutual. Her family has all been baptized but, they are all attending another church because of some really weak reason and her dad has Fa'asa her from being baptized. It really is so sad to see. But, my comp and I are planning to go and talk with her dad this week and see if we can get his permission to baptize his daughter. We are planning to talk to him about the time he was baptized and the feelings he had and hopefully that will soften his heart and he will let his daughter be baptized.

Another one of our investigators name is Mercy. She is like 28 or somewhere around there. She is living with a member family and she has one kid with her boy friend ioua. We went and talked to them earlier this week about getting married and they told us that they were going to put it off until February of next year! We were pretty shocked and didn't really understand why. We went back to there house last night and we really focused on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ himself and the blessings that come from being married and you'll never guess what happened. They agreed to be married and baptized on the 23rd of this month! The spirit was so strong and I was so humbled and so grateful to my Heavenly Father for that small miracle I was able to be apart of!

One other investigators name is Pueata. She is a Mom. We went and talked to her yesterday and she started asking about the Book of Mormon and saying how that was our Bible and that we use a different bible from everyone else. She was pretty shocked when we pulled out the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon. So, we kept talking and were explaining to her the importance of the Book of Mormon and then she kind of interrupted us and told us how her pastor came to her house and was asking her why she was accepting us and all that. Then she started crying and was telling us how she will always except us because we are bringing a message about Jesus Christ. It was a really cool moment to share with her and we set Thursday to go back to her and teach her more about the Book of Mormon. Because I think once she understands that, she will see the difference.

This week was pretty crazy! It was full of a lot of powerful experiences. I have really seen that no matter what teaching situation we are put in, whatever the problem as we focus on The Atonement of Jesus Christ, people begin to feel and to change. I have seen it happen this week so many times. The spirit changes when the Atonement of Christ is introduced. I am so grateful to have this chance to be a missionary and share to the Samoan people about the Gift of the Atonement. We truly are so blessed to have this Infinite Gift. I am also grateful for the Book of Mormon that teaches us about the Plan of Salvation and our Savior Jesus Christ. Just like D. Todd. Christopherson said "The Book of Mormon Re-thrones Jesus Christ." We are so blessed to live in this day and age. I know that this Gospel is true. I know God lives and he loves us and his arms are always open to receive us. It doesn't matter how many times we wander off the path or how far off the path we go. This is the exact reason for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love you all so much and I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Barton

Season 5 Episode 10: Grindin' On!

Wow, this was a pretty crazy week! We worked so hard with all of our investigators this week and we just didn't see the progression we wanted to see in them! It is always a bummer not seeing these people progress but, really all we can do is continue to pray for them and try and help them understand what blessings are in store for them if they accept this gospel! We are really hoping that this week we can see some progression in a few our investigators and hopefully set some baptismal dates!

We have been working with Takierise this week but, the only hard part with her is that her dad won't allow her to be baptized. We had the chance to talk with him the other day and we set up a Family Home Evening with there family this week. So, hopefully we can see a miracle this week and her dad will soften his heart and let her be baptized.

We have also been teaching Ierimia and Rose and there 5 kids this week! They are such an awesome family! I love teaching them and I love them as well. We have been noticing that it has been pretty hard for us to feel the spirit when we are teaching lessons because there youngest kid is always running around making a bunch of noise. So we are trying to set up a day with them that we can take them to the Visitors Center! I really hope we can see this family progress together and hopefully one day enter into the waters of baptism! 

We are working with a few other people who have a lot of similar problems. Meaning, a lot of them aren't divorced with there first spouse so we can't do their baptisms Se'i (Forgot the English word) we get them divorced and married. When we did our weekly planning we really had to focus on who we think is most likely to progress this week and what they need in order to progress. We are really focusing on finding new people as well who have been prepared to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So, we just keep praying that God will lead us to his Children.

I noticed this week as well that no matter how the week goes, whether we have a super successful week or not I am always so happy. I just love being able to spread this gospel to these people. Not only that but, to testify to them of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I have seen it change so many lives. It has blessed me so much as well. I am just so surprised at how fast time is going by. Next month is General Conference. Man, we truly are so lucky to be living in a day and age like this. We are so blessed with all the knowledge we have pertaining to the Gospel. I really hope and pray we are taking advantage of it every day. I know it is so easy to take for granted. Especially because our lives are so busy. But, we live in a day and age like no other. We should always make time in our day to search the scriptures and we should be continually strengthening our testimonies. I know that these last days are going to get any easier but, I know as we are always fortifying our spiritual "Cities" we will be able to withstand all the weapons of the Devil. I know this Gospel is true and I am so grateful for the light it brings into my life each day. I know the Book of Mormon is the best book in this entire world. I love reading it each day! It is so powerful! I love you all so much and hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Barton

Season 5 Episode 9: Companion Trials

Hello my peeps!

Well, this week was pretty crazy! So, I am just going to get started! I will address the main issue first. The Neck boil is gone. But, it was quite the experience. The mission nurse ended up taking me to the doctor's last Thursday and they started out by giving me some Antibiotic that is supposed to kill whatever infection is going on inside of me. They told me that if it didn't pop by itself I would have to come back on Monday and they would just cut it open and pop it. So, guess what happened? Monday rolled around and my boil still hadn't popped. So we went to the Doctor he numbed it, cut it open and went to town. Let's just say the numbing didn't do much! I also wasn't able to record which I am actually so sad about! I am sure mom would pass out if she were to see it! So, right now I am in no pain, I just have a big hole in my neck! Don't worry the nurse has been coming every day and been cleaning it out really well and bandaging it up! I have a good feeling that this is the end Barton's Boils. Thanks for the prayers fam haha!

Things are going well in our area! We were able to set a baptismal date with Joe this week for the 16th of September! We are really excited for that! We are also working with a 10 year old named Junior and we will be setting a baptismal date with him tomorrow! We will also be setting a baptismal date with another one of our investigators this week, Naomi! Things seem to be picking up in the area! It just feels good to be back out there and getting full days of work in with no pain! This week was pretty interesting with my comp. We had our district meeting on Monday as well and the Ap's attended and I ended up talking to them about my comp and some of things that have been going on. They ended up talking with my comp and after that they left. So, I asked my comp if we could go inside and talk. I was half-expecting a rock to be thrown at the back of my head when we were going inside but, luckily nothing happened. We ended up having a really good talk and I pretty much just told him how I was feeling and how important the work is for both of us and how much I love him. He was actually really humble and accepting and told me that he still wants to be companions. The Ap's told us we had to call President though just so he could know what was going on and so he could help us a little more. So we did. President was really awesome and really helpful. Things haven't been perfect with me and my comp since then but, things are so much better than what they were before! Each and every day we are working to get better and better!

I am just really grateful for this week though and all the things I learned! Especially that we are back to our normal routine! I noticed over this past week how much I truly love this work and how some times I may have taken it for Granted. But, I am recharged and just loving every second being out here talking with these Samoan's. I also love being able to read the Book of Mormon every single morning for one hour. I have really seen a big change in how I feel day to day and just my overall testimony of the Book of Mormon and the power that it brings into my life! I loved Thomas S. Monsons talk this past general conference regarding the Book of Mormon! I know you are all very busy but, I hope that you all can find some time in your day to read from the Book of Mormon! I promise it will change your day! I love you guys so much and am really grateful to have heard from all of you today! Sorry, Trevor, Nichole and Mason for not being able to respond to you guys today but, I am glad to read that all is well with you three! Sounds like there will be a lot of changes among the three of you from now through the end of this year! I am always praying for you guys! Hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Barton

P.S. This computer won't let us upload pictures! So just wait till next week to see pictures of the hole in my neck!