Week 19 - Jardim Celeste - Planted Seeds Sprouting

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ONE MORE BATISMO DOWN!!!

The rest of São Paulo to go ;) Andre was baptized Sunday finally and I was so happy! I didn’t get to go because my new area is far from there, but he and Sister Tesser called me and thanked me as he was crying. It was such an awesome feeling, I really wish I could’ve been there!!

BUT HAPPY BELATED VALENTINE’S DAY!!

I’m still trying to get used to my new area and the city. It’s such a crazy different life! So yesterday at church was the best Sunday of my mission! The ward here is amazing and so spiritually strong! The members are crazy helpful and nice and welcoming, and the ward here is huge! We attend the stake center in our city so the building is absolutely enormous and beautiful!!

Yesterday we had two investigators in the church that I saw in the street and talked with on Friday and invited to church. They actually came and loveddddd it!! I’m still lost here and don’t know my way around, but I’m learning!! My district here isn’t quite as great as it was in Vargem Grande, but the zone of Taboão is pretty great too.

I’m so happy here and excited to meet more of the people! We’re teaching 2 different families right now and they’re both really interested and smart. We just need to get them to come to church! Here in this area we work more with the less-active members because there are a ton!!!

I think I’m going to gain weight in this area because we’re always in the house of members and they always feed us. So pray that we have one day where no one offers us food, we need it!! But I absolutely love my companion, Sister Oliveira. It’s just us in our 3 story house here but we’re already super close. She’s the perfect companion, really! I’m so happy and excited to be serving in this area, I really have such great feelings about being here. Until next week, tchau!!

Com Grande Amor,
Sister Bido

Week 18 - Jardim Celeste - Transfer

Welllllllp, sorry about the Panthers.. we even threw a super bowl party in our house for them!! BUT I was transferred to JARDIM CELESTE! Vargem Grande sure was good, and waaaaay different. It was as far from the city you could get.. and now i'm as close to the city you can get without being in the actual city! So basically I'm being forced to accustom to city life! Our house here is 3 stories and it's just me and my new companion, Sister Oliveira! She has almost 10 months in the mission and is 21yrs old. But she's so nice and funny!

How was my last week in Vargem? Let's just say, Carnival here was a success. With the rule to return into house by 8 o'clock, it was great. Except for the fact that we could never follow the rule... I learned something really good Saturday. When the Spirit is trying to tell you something, do it. Don't wait and don't question it, just do it.
So Saturday we went to Jardim Japao after lunch. I don't remember if I said this before but it's not the safest area and the elders used to have to escort us there and back. Well we had permission to go alone without them! So we got there, one man in the rua was selling Venus fly traps and I invited him to church sunday. He thought it was the nicest thing in the world so he gave me and Sister Tesser a little baby Venus fly trap plant! FOFO DEMAIS!!!!! Anyways, so we asked around what time the last bus leaves so we'd know and be able to return on time. The last bus leaves at 7:15 and its 30 minutes from our house by bus so we'd return in house at 7:45. Perfect, right? So 6:30 we're in the middle of the lesson and it starts raining. Pouring as if Heavenly Father was about to flood the earth again. And I just could not sit still. I was really unpatient and remained with the feeling that we needed to end the lesson and leave. But the woman talked our heads off and everything we said she went off on a tangent! I stopped and kicked sister Tesser so she'd get the hint but instead the woman saw me and everyone stopped and asked what was wrong. Well here, you can't just say you need to leave or anything because that's extremely offensive. So finally we left her house after the lesson at 7:05 and ran to the bus in the rain. I was so annoyed and upset and I asked my companion why she wasn't trying to hurry along too. She said she had forgotten we needed to return home early and kept feeling like we needed to leave but she pushed it aside too. So here's what happened next. We arrived at the bus stop which is in the very center of the town, and its pouring down rain and we have Venus fly traps in our hands. We see the bus, but he just passes us.. so we chase it. Bad idea. Bus is gone. There wasn't another bus coming until 11:25pm and we have to arrive in house in 45 minutos. Its already pitch black dark, in Jardim Japao (where were not allowed to work after dark) and the festas of carnival have begun. Long story short, we found our way to the entrance of the town and waited for a member to come and get us.. and arrived in house at 9:45. Moral of the story.. listen to the spirit, it's our protection.

If you've never seen an elder freak out before, you don't want too. The elders were freaking out over the phone worried about us because they couldn't do anything to help and I'm pretty sure they were more scared than we were!!! It's actually crazy how worried they were about us, I felt weird that I wasn't more worried about myself. But it all ended good, we ended up safe, my plant is still alive and eating flies, and now I' drinking city water from the faucet! 

OH!!!! I forgot, and we have a baptism Sunday for someone who I started teaching with Sister Modesto. After 3 months he's going to be baptized finally and I won't be there to see! I asked for permission to return but Vargem Grande is 2 hours from my area now so I won't get to.

That's all I have for now, hope you all have a fantastic week as well :)

com grande amor,
Sister Bido

Week 17 - Ibiúna and Vargem Grande - Remember the Power of Prayer

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Well this week was H O T !!!!!! And just so you all I know, I need to say something very important and obvious. The Lord does truly bless the lives of missionaries and the place in which they came from. We can all testify of this thanks to the Panthers.. :)

Pday was good! Everyone slept last pday so I just read my scriptures. I don’t like sleeping my pday away, it’s pointless. Today Sister covey and I are going to start packing and next pday we’re going shopping.

This Friday night starts Carnival here, so Brasil is about to get WILD!!!!!!!! This week was really easy going, not much to talk about. Sorry about the delay of pictures, I’ve been leaving my camera in the house because any extra weight in my bag counts after walking 9 hours.

So Tuesday was the hottest day I’ve ever experienced in my life! My companion passed out from heat in the middle of the road so I had to deal with that. But she’s fine and everything ended good!

Wednesday it rained a monsoon and we looked like we went swimming.. or more like the world tilted a little bit and the ocean was dumped on our heads!!!!

We went to the temple Saturday to watch a sealing, then after ate McDonalds! And McDonalds here is expensive oh my gosh!!!!!!! It’s 24 reais here for a McChicken and small fry! How crazy.

But then Saturday night, we had stake conference and Elder Gral from the 70’s spoke. He asked for all the missionaries to come up to the pulpit that were there and he spoke about us being the generation of the "spoken generation" and we are whom the Lord is pleased with today. He then asked for us to sing Called To Serve and then the congregation sang the second verse with us. It was so awesome. He basically spoke about how members of the church have a commandment to help the missionaries serving in their ward. We literally cannot succeed without the help of the members and that it so true. At times I know it’s really annoying, but the salvation of the people of the area depend on every member in the area. The missionaries are here to do the part we have to do, but there’s a part just for the members.

This week was a slow week, our investigators were not home, and it was so hot that everyone else we tried to find were too busy sleeping or in bars with air conditioning! We don’t have any serious investigators right now. Just Jucimar and Aline, mas everyone continue to pray for Jucimar please. He’s still struggling to find faith in what we teach and faith in general. We’ve fasted, prayed, fasted again, and prayed out our souls for him. One day he will, absolutely, find the faith.

So my invitation for you guys this week is to be a missionary and help your missionaries. When they come to your house and ask if there is anything they can do to help, they answer is usually always a no. but try turning the question around and ask them what you can do to help THEM. I love you all and hope you have a great week! Remember the power of prayer always.

com amor,

Sister Bido

Rua Doutor Rui Batista Pereira, 165
Jardim Caxingui
Sao Paulo, SP - 05517-080
BRASIL

Week 16 - Ibiúna and Vargem Grande - Every Member a Missionary

OLA AMIGOSSSSSSSS!!!!! 

Então desculpe, mas eu não quero falar muito sobre esta semana porque foi horrível!!!!!! Na verdade, foi muito bom.. quase.

Translation: So sorry, but I do not want to talk much about this week because it was horrible!!!!!! In fact, it was very nice .. almost.

So we went to Ibiuna Monday and shopped in the central of the city. We returned and had a birthday party/ family home evening at Irma Ana´s house for sister Covey.

Wednesday we had a broadcast from Provo CTM for all missionaries and it was kind of cool. It was really repetitive but good! BUT, before the broadcast, my zone got to pass through the temple finally and it was so great! The feeling of being in the Celestial Room is a feeling I want to always return to in my life. 

Thursday was my companion´s 1 year aniversario na missão, so we kind of had a party all day while working! Then we had family home evening with a family that is less active, and they made us dinner! I have no idea what it was, some kind of rice with stuff and burrito pancake with stuff. Whatever, it was good! Except for the fact that it´s a 34 minute walk/jog back to our house and they didn't finish cooking until 9:12pm.  So we returned to our house at 10:21pm.. which is one of the biggest no´s in the mission rule book. I felt so horrible but we literally tried our best. I rather return late than offend a family and not eat the food they bought and slaved to make.

But Friday morning, we had interviews with the president! Mine was really short because I had nothing to talk about! I've only been here 3 months, I don´t have any requests or problems!! But he did tell me that I´ll be changing areas this coming transfer when I finish my training!

ASK THE MISSIONARIES IN THE WARD ABOUT 12 SEMANAS (weeks)! It´s the most annoying thing in the freaking world. So I'm excited to only have 2 more weeks of it! I´m hoping he opens the area around the CTM for sisters, because right now it's closed but I have an obsessing hope that he will, so por favor pray with me that he will!!!!!!

Anyways Friday, sucked. No one opened there door for us or was too busy for us. We visited 21 people and no one.. literally NO ONE. We even had 3 hours of service planned and that fell through too.

Saturday was better, except that we missed the bus for Jardim Japao and walk 2 and a half hours there!!! So we didn't get much done. This week was a week, but nothing special!

I relearned in greater detail something I already knew.. members are missionaries too. We're all missionaries, and I think this may be one of the greatest commandments we have. Think of every one you love that doesn't have the gospel in their life right now. When the last day comes, and they're not saved with you.. how does that make you feel? and how will you feel when they ask you "Why didn't you teach me, why didn't you help me?" This is actually something that breaks my heart and makes me cringe inside. Our investigator Jucimar told us he is really interested in our church because of the faith the members have. He doesn't have faith. He literally doesn't have the faith that if he prays, He´ll receive an answer. He wants to have that faith, but it's just not there. Right now my companion and i are fasting for him, but it tears me apart that if we can´t teach him to have faith.. it's just scary! So my message for you all this week- be a missionary. Save those you love and bring them unto Christ.

com amor,
Sister Bido