2nd Email - 11/25/08

From: Bryan Barney
Date: Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 7:33 AM
Subject: 1st week em Brasil

Well, here I am in Brazil, it is almost the end of my first whole week here. I apologize for any errors which may occur. This is a Brazillian keyboard and is sticky and different from an American one. I hope this letter reaches you both now. I hope so.

I had a bit of an emotional crash when I first got here, as I find myself actually missing Provo. Oh the irony, huh? I never even wanted to go there, and now I find that that was perhaps the happiest two weeks of my life. It was nothing short of a miracle I grew so close to that district, and I have decided I will write them for the rest of my mission. I miss them all a lot. Surely the Lord knew better than I where I needed to go, and now I regret praying for my Visa, for I was given it, and it was a cause of much heartache those first few days.

But I carry on. I have found the things which I will live to, the things which will sustain me. I live from letter to letter and from Sunday to Sunday, for Sundays are wonderful days. Perhaps I shall use P-Days to keep me going the rest of the way. Not sure, this is an abnormal P-Day, but we have devotional tonight, and I am excited. It isn't as amazing as in Provo, but I like them nonetheless. The Spirit is harder to feel in this district than the last, so I keep myself going from chance to feel it to chance to feel it.

I am actually out in the City! We get to explore a small area of it on P-day, and I..m excited to do so. There are slums, yes, but the prisons have turned out to be SOCCER FIELDS. Hah. I'm well, though.

I apologize ahead of time for my letters. I wrote them thinking Matt and Miranda were coming up to the house for Thanksgiving. I realized halfway through a letter that it was wrong. So that should be very entertaining. VERY entertaining.

I have, ready to mail, letters for Matt, the Family, Grampa, and my district, I'll send those today. As for the letters to my friends, those are ready, too, but I can't really send those until I get their addresses. I really only need Jessica and Sharelle's, which are posted on the wall in my room, I think. To be sure, maybe Colin should call them and confirm.

I have 40 Reis for the next few weeks, but I intend to conserve those for e-mail, mail, and a few things I feel I need to buy. Speaking of which, I am not sure if I will be able to purchase a Sao Paulo thimble here, it depends on what kind of shops I can reach in my area. I will certainly try to bring back at least a Goiania thimble for Mom, though, optimally, I will be able to get one for the state of Goias as well.

I have a few quarters, state quarters, to mail home, but I don..t know how. I have my film camera with enough film to finish my stay here in Sao Paulo, so yes, around Christmas, if you could send the old digital camera to my mission office, that'd be appreciated. I get out of Sao Paulo on the 6th of January. I don't know if you have the address, so I'll include it in my next letter.

On the subject of A youthful Matt, I'm not sure how best to define it, only that Elder Linduist reminded of you in your earlier college years ish. It helped that he looked sort of like you, with the frames and the blonde hair. OH my! I just realized, Elders Lindquist and Craig leave today. Poor Elder Lewis, no more Irma Vega to shout at him at dinner. Haha.

I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving. I have no idea how ours will be. I'll try and talk to our Brazillian Roomates and ask them if they know about it. So far, its been a strange time talking to them. But they are very nice. I have heard there is no Sarcasm here in Brazil, I pray I heard wrong. Right now my companions, Elders Ulbrich and Scadden are doing a blues-scat-thing, and the shop owners are recording it. Oh boy.

In any case, I have to wrap things up. I can..t afford to waste Reis. Oh, I memorized the 1st Vision in Portugese this week, and by Saturday I must learn the 1st Lesson in Port. as well! Why? We go proselyting in the City on Friday! ACK! Haha. I hear it's good, though. The people of Brazil are apparently very warm, and very receptive of the gospel. So much so, in fact, that American Missionaries in Brazil have been called a Dying Breed.

Well, I go now to the post office. Letters mail a little differently in Brazil, but I'll get the hang of it. I am sure I will. I think you and my friends can all write me American style, and I will simply have to learn the Brazilian way.

One last thing: The Brazilian National Anthem? CRAZY STUFF. SUPER HARD.

Tchau!

with love,

Elder Bryan Jay Barney