Monday, January 18, 2016

Week 15 - Ibiúna and Vargem Grande - Strangers in strange places...



HELLO WORLD (America)!!

So... a lot happened this week but I only have the time to tell you the best parts. I left off last week that we received a call from someone wanting a visit from the missionaries and we made an appointment to visit his family. So our investigators, his family lives very far away in our area. At least we THINK it's our area. But anyways, so Tuesday we had almoço close to Jardim Japao where they live, so we decided to go to his house. The thing about this is that Jardim Japao doesn´t have missionaries working there because of its reputation for being extremely dangerous and not safe. But.. we have a precious family wanting and begging us to teach them. So we did. We had to get special permission from the bishop, our president, and had the elders escort us there and back and remain in the lesson with us. So if that tells you anything about this area... yeah! But it is marvelous! Our investigators aren't married, so we marked a date and invited them to be married and they said yes.. JUST LIKE THAT!!!!!!!!!! Like, what the heck obrigada Senhor!!!!!!!

So we returned back to Jardim Japao Saturday and had another lesson and they already want to be baptized, before we even invited them to be. So this is definitely a miracle. But, now I will rewind and talk about all the weird parts of the week.

Another day, I don't remember which one, Sister Tesser and I were on the bridge near our bairro fazendo contatos e falando com as pessoas lá and a drunk man came up to us yelling that we needed to leave and preach the gospel in places where it was needed, which wasn´t there because he already believes in God! So my companion said sorry eu no entende, (sorry I don't understand) and pretended to be an American that couldn't speak the language very good! and sense she looks American, he believed her and came up to me to translate for her!!!!! it was so funny. But then he tried to give me a hug and grab my hand to kiss it and a literally jumped back and the man fell forward and almost fell off the bridge onto the highway!!!!!!!!! and we didn't exactly want to help him up (sorry that´s mean and unkind, but it was necessary) so we ran as fast as we could! 

Another day, I tried guiaba! a fruit here that's so good. I’ve eaten it before here, but this day was different. Our investigator has a tree of the fruit in the yard of her and invited us to pick some and eat it! just like that.... and it all looked rotten and had black holes and obviously the tree itself was sick. but I picked one, took a bite of it and just ate it. I looked down to take another bite and saw something moving in it.. and closed my eyes and took another bite because our investigator was staring at me! Then I looked down to take another bite and saw the longest skinniest worm I’ve ever seen in my freaking life just swimming its way around in my fruit! with a mouthful of fruit and a sight of what i=I practically almost ate, I swallowed everything in my mouth without chewing, then just told her I didn't like it and threw the rest on the ground. She was fine with it.. so yeah. So I probably ate another worm, I later found out it's normal for this fruit to have worms. They´re called bichos de guiaba.. yay. MAS!

Saturday again, we had almoço com another investigator. They grilled sausage and steak and we ate with them, and the pastor of their church and his missionary wife! Just imagine what that was like guys, please just think of all the things that could happen, because they all happened! The pastor is the pastor of A Assembleia De Deus... one of the 3 biggest churches in all of Brasil!!!!!!! I´m just going to leave it that it was a day I’ll never forget.

And after this, we went to Jardim Japao where one woman in the streets grabbed my arm and starting prophesying my life for me. It was actually really scary! Nothing she said made sense or was true, but it freaked me out. Like what in the world is wrong with this creepy place!! 

Anyways, we have 2 weddings coming up in the next month so that will be amazing! My spiritual thought for this week is just about faith. I preach about faith to everyone who will listen, but it’s something I need to work on too. In Mark chapter 4, the last parable, I think verses 36-41 talk about Christ calming the storms and the people say, who is this, that even the seas listen and calm? He is Christ and He lives and He is here to guide us back to the Kingdom of God. I invite you all to read it and apply it into your lives in whatever way you can.

I've never truly wanted to come home from my mission. In the very beginning when I arrived in the field I was really homesick and discouraged because of the language. My Portuguese vocabulary was limited and I wanted to help these people more. I wanted to be a hero for these people and help them in every possible way, but it was literally always above my head because I just didn't have the words to say everything I wanted to say or to express what they needed to do or even talk about my experiences. Now, my Portuguese is still limited, obviously not as limited, but at times I still feel the same. But this is gift of tongues. The gift that everyone can speak the language of the Holy Ghost through feelings and when I talk and can’t get my entire point across, they will understand and they will receive witness that it is true through the testimony of the spirit of God bearing unto them the truth of my words. And for this, I need to always have my cup filled with faith. I'm understanding this more and more each day, because literally without faith we are nothing. E deixo estas palavras contigo em nome de Jesus Cristo, Amém. 

Oh and Monday night, Sister Moreira had a fever and throwing up in the middle of the night so I put a cold washcloth on her head and a hot one on her feet like I saw in some movie one time to pull the fever down from her head! AND IT WORKED!!!!!! So that explains one of the pictures I sent you if you look closely you can see her head peeking out from the covers. Today is Sister Covey´s birthday so we´re going to Ibiúnato hang out and go shopping with the sisters there!

eu
com amor,
Sister Bido

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