"...it really doesn't seem like it is coming to an end."

A river

The last time I will see o gaucho Sehn

Well, we didn't really have a great week but I feel good about it just the same.
We had a solid zone conference on Thursday. President had the missionaries who are finishing their mission go up to the front and bear our "last testimony", it was pretty awkward.
There are some dang good elders going home next month, I really like my group.
I got the two year package you sent with all the candy in it, thanks a ton! Should I wait to eat it at the end or can I chip away at it little by little?
Joao was gone almost all last week,but he was confirmed on Sunday. He is really stoked to help out at church in whatever form possible.
Our mission is going forward at a good pace. We have 109 baptisms so far this month, which is the most of the Tavares reign. Hopefully we finish above 130, that will be classic.
We adventured through a lot of forests this week to find shortcuts. I almost fell off this dang slippery bridge made of broken wood into a dirty little stream (or for the Utah readers, crick), but recovered and jumped to the land. We found some pretty cool little places with a lot of fruits and stuff. I'll send a photo of one place we crossed.
I don't have a lot to say. It's really weird the way time is passing, it really doesn't seem like it is coming to an end. I hope these last few weeks are the best of my mission.
Love you,
Joey

Pikachu

Bone saw is ready

ELDER J. P. BURT

CLASSIC 435 STYLE

"Joao...was baptized yesterday..."

It was great to be able to just do my work this week. Elder Sander and I get along pretty well and are having success.
I don't even remember if I told you about Joao last week. but he is this old guy that unexpectedly went to church. Anyway, he was baptized yesterday, it was pretty sick. He is just way stoked to keep the commandments. So that was the bomb.
Nothing else really notable has happened. I just wanted to share with you the funniest service project ever.
The relief society president asked us to help her put together some booths at the church for a party. We carried some logs to build the booths about two kilometers, then she told us her plan: pull four of the cobblestones out of the parking lot and dig holes deep enough to hold the logs up. The logs would all be nailed together, so really no holes were necessary.
As she was laying down digging a hole with a nail, I told her there was a better way to do it. But she said to me, "Elder, you may have the priesthood, but I have intelligence." I never thought someone would ever call me mentally inferior while digging a hole in a church parking lot with a nail. It was a good day.
Love you all
Joey

ELDER J. P. BURT

CLASSIC 435 STYLE

"...people received him well and he got really happy about that."

I am now in Alvorada, a super small branch in Apucarana. My companion is named Elder Sander, from São Paulo. So Elder Proulx was my last American comp, like a year and two months ago. There were 40 people in the sacrament meeting this Sunday. In these places where the church is poorly established, the classes are not very good, the talks usually don't make sense, and people don't go to the temple.
It used to really bother me. Now I have pretty much a different attitude about it. These people don't know how the church should function. The branch president has been a member for three years, branch president for one.
Almost nobody has cars, I believe no one has gone to college. It is a different situation than my last few areas, but I'm stoked. It's basically a blank canvas to paint.
I'm focusing on finding people who are a little more educated and ready to receive the fullness of the blessings of the fullness of the gospel. Here is a district, so really the leadership is thin all across the map. But really it's a better opportunity for us to exercise the priesthood.
We taught this guy named João on Wednesday, but he showed like zero potential so we didn't even mark to go back. We invited him to go to church, like always, and like always, he said he would go with us. So we were passing by people's houses on Sunday morning and stopped at his house. He was ready to go, so we took him to church. He loved the meeting, he lives here but his whole family lives in São Paulo. He felt good in the church, people received him well and he got really happy about that.
Things are going well here. It's good to not be zone leader or district leader, I can just focus on making myself more Christlike and helping everyone in my area.
Well, what do you guys want me to buy as far as souvenirs go? In these last few weeks I can start grabbing stuff. So far I have Napolean Dynamite in Portuguese and a shirt and drawing that Wagner gave me.
Love you all, have a great week
Joey

ELDER J. P. BURT

CLASSIC 435 STYLE

"...a little disappointed to leave Bauru..."

As the title suggests, I am headed to my last area. It will be a city called Apucarana, close to Londrina. I was a little disappointed to leave Bauru, but not that much. I'm kinda just down for whatever at this point. It's just going to be really weird going to a new place knowing that in six weeks I will be leaving. It doesn't give a whole lot of motivation to get to know the people, the area, etc. I don't know who my comp will be or if I will still be zone leader.
It's really weird that I am now the oldest on the mission. I still feel like a noob, it's so weird. It's something I dont think will really register until I am on the plane. Hopefully I can maintain good focus for these last few weeks.

Love you all

Joey

ELDER J. P. BURT

CLASSIC 435 STYLE

"He lives right next to this house that sells drugs day and night..."

Looking back on this week, I have been less stressed I think. Our zone had a good week as far as baptisms go, so that probably contributed to the positive feelings.
Anderson didn't go to church yesterday, and we haven't been able to talk to him since Friday. We made a goal with him to stop smoking cigarettes by tomorrow, hopefully that didn't spark a crack relapse. He lives right next to this house that sells drugs day and night, so that is a rough temptation. He got a job, but somehow lost all his identification and worker card, so he has to redo all those docs. That might take a while.
The ward had the June party on Thursday. I think it is pretty weird that the church in Brazil doesn't see any problem with a holiday commemorating Saint John. I think the whole saint thing will take a couple generations to wear off. That is if any current members make it beyond this generation.
Anyway the party was cool, a lot of inactive members from other wards found out about the party and went. Also a ton of members brought their friends who liked the party a lot. We have started teaching a few of them, they seem like good prospects. Unfortunately I was doing a two hour baptismal interview with Augusto during most of the party. I wish I could tell you what went down. He got baptized in the end, so its fine.
Yesterday in sacrament meeting, a member was speaking and said that Freud (that perverted psychologist) was one of the greatest scientists of the last 200 years, up there with Einstein and Marx (who he talked a lot about during the talk.) That was a good laugh for me and Elder Stinocher. I don't think anyone else knew who those three are, so it went mostly unnoticed.
Well the week was pretty much a big rush with divisions, baptismal interviews, problems with a companionship, and all that. But it was solid.
Love you all
Joey

ELDER J. P. BURT

CLASSIC 435 STYLE

"He didn't smoke marijuana all week and only smoked crack once."

Well this was a disappointing week. We had a lot of baptisms lined up in the zone, but three interviews fell through or didn't pass. Paloma was one of them, she said she would go to the interview, but in the end just didn't. Later that day (Saturday) she had her son Felipe tell us that she didn't want to continue her studies with us anymore. Pretty disappointing, but whatever. In the end it's her loss.
We keep teaching Anderson. He didn't smoke marijuana all week and only smoked crack once. He has cut in half the number of cigarettes he smokes per day, he is doing great. He is really dedicated, and we have seen him changing a lot in the last few days. He also hasn't been drinking. We are going to try to get him more independent to maybe baptize him this weekend, but baptizing him early (before he is totally good) would be suicide.
Things are pretty good, really not a lot to report this week. Elder Stinocher and Sherwood are talking a lot about how soon I will be home (for example, yesterday we were eating sweet rice, and I was like "this tastes like horchata." Then Elder Sherwood just says "you will be drinking horchata again like eight weeks from now" it was kinda a surprise.) But it hasn't been too distracting.
Love you all, have a great week
Joey

ELDER J. P. BURT

CLASSIC 435 STYLE

"We fasted with her on Friday..."

We had a pretty good zone leader conference at the mission home in Londrina, it was good. We talked a lot about beginning teaching and asking good inspired questions. It was a productive conference.
Things are a little down in the mission at this point, basically a lot of the good zone leaders and a good assistant went home, so there is like a huge leadership lack in the mission. There are like 10 people in their first or second transfer as zone leader, kinda ineffective at this point, but probably the noobs will pick it up.
We have this investigator named Paloma. She went to church two weeks ago, and we have been visiting her frequently. She stopped smoking and keeps all the things we leave for her to do, but she didn't feel like she was ready to be baptized, but had no motive aside from wanting to wait. We fasted with her on Friday so she could know if God wanted her to be baptized, and she got the answer that yes, he does, but she still feels insecure. We marked her baptism for Wednesday and an interview on Tuesday. Hopefully we and the interviewer can get her confident and stoked.
That's about all I have as far as work goes. We got some hilarious new "Preach My Gospel" dvds, they show missionaries teaching before and after the new fundamental principles system. Dang hilarious.
Love you all
Joseph

ELDER J. P. BURT

CLASSIC 435 STYLE