Week 12 - Ibiúna and Vargem Grande - as milagres continua..

Oí! It was so awesome getting to see everyone, even though it was really chaotic and flew by! I hate that I didn´t get to talk with the whole family or if anyone was offended by having to drop off. So a lot happened this week! First of all, we didn´t get to go to the temple with Nina because she needs her own family names, so instead we started Historia Da Família with her on familysearch.com but was surprisingly really fun! I already told you about Christmas Eve and Christmas, so yeah! But they spend Christmas Eve like we would do on New Years. Once its midnight they scream and have fireworks and scream Feliz Natal, so Sister Covey and I were really confused when that happened. But it was seriously so fun!!!

Saturday was supposed to be the baptism of our investigator… But that fell through. We´re going to continue teaching and visiting and doing everything that we can until she knows without a shadow of a doubt the love that Our Savior has for her. I have a lot of faith in these kids and I´m so grateful for being able to share the light of Christ with them.

Annnnnnd about transfers..... TOMORROW!!!! We found out yesterday about transfers and Sister Mosdesto is being transferred. We all cried when we found out who my new companion is... Seriously Sister Modesto was fantastic and meant so much to me and I didn´t want her to be transferred! My new companion is another Brazilian.. Sister Tesser. She was the trainer of one of the sisters.

ANYWAYS!!!!!! I love you all!!!! Thanks for all the Christmas cards and everything you sent! I go to the mission home tomorrow so I´ll get whatever is there. Happy New Year to you all amigossss! Fica forte!

com amor sempre,

Sister Bido

Week 11 - Ibiúna and Vargem Grande - Feliz Natal

More Pictures From This Week

What..... segunta-feira já?!?!?! This week FLEW BY. A G A I N!  But needless to say, it was a good one and well spent. 

So last Pday, immediately after emailing, my companion and I went to Sao Paulo to pick up my package at the post office. First we stopped by the mission home because I had 26 letters... yáll... that’s a lot. BUT THANK YOU I LOVED THEM ALL!!!!!

Anyways, so I found out I couldn’t use my card at the post office so I had to find an ATM or bank. Luckily, there’s a mall pretty close. So in the mall, after using the ATM, we got ice cream cones from McDonald’s and it was perfect. Seriously, it was perfect. When we got back to our house, Pday was over and it was time to work so I couldn’t open my caixa (package), but when we returned, I opened it and oh my gosh..... thank you Abuela!!!!!!!! Literally the best things in the world, and the Rudolph noses were hilarious.

Tuesday, I started a chocolate fast. An investigator of ours, said she would try going 3 days without coffee and I would go three days without chocolate. It was difficult honestly, but it happened! She expects  to be baptized this Saturday finally :) and in 2 weeks, her two brothers will be baptized as well! So I’m  really excited for their family!

Wednesday was the activity for Natal and it was so much fun! It rained and poured the whole day, but it was awesome. We played volleyball, had a mechanical bull, a trampoline, and a blowup soccer field bouncy house thing with soap. Everyone was soaking wet and was playing and really, it was exactly what I needed! After all this, President and Sister Del Guerso talked and then we received our packages! Mom, I received the one with my Patagonia and the one with the stockings, which by the way THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved everything so much and my companion cried when I opened it and handed her gifts to her. The skirt wasn’t even close to fitting, remember she’s Brasilian hahaha. But we decided we’re giving the skirt to Natalia for Christmas, so it all worked out. And our refrigerator is so cute with all the magnets and nativity scenes!

Friday we received official permission from the parents to baptize our investigators so we celebrated Friday night about that. It was also the hottest day here, I’m sure of it! I felt sick all day, and to make it worse, we missed the only bus for lunch so we walked all the way there and back, so by the end of the day we had walked for more or less 16 miles.  It was awful but still a good day!

Saturday was good as well! I had the best lunch of my life, but I don’t even know what it was. HONESTLY. But it rained and poured Saturday and mom once again, thank you for the goofy rain jackets that fold up really small! I gave one to my companion and it saved us from being completely soaked! Just the bottoms of our skirts were soaked!

And Sunday, we ran out of toilet paper AGAIN!!!!!! So we used the last roll you sent me and it saved our lives again. so THANKS MOM!!!!

Also, yesterday was Young Women in Excellence here and all 4 of the sisters sang daughter of a king in Portuguese of course and it was awesome, honestly. The Spirit was so strong yesterday! My miracle journal is filling up really fast! Definitely grateful to have started it because going back and reading them is so amazing! 

So last night, we were all on a sugar high from all of our candy and snacks that we pulled all of our mattresses off our beds and into the living room and the 4 of us slept in there together and talked till 1am. So we’ll probably sleep today after we get back to our house. So I hope you all have an awesome week and continue looking for all the miracles God grants you each hour. 

Another thing I forget! Remember my first baptism? Nina? We’re preparing her and hopefully will be going to the temple with her on Wednesday, but we’re not sure yet!

Com Amor, 

Sister Bido!

Week 10 - Ibiúna and Vargem Grande - Enduring with Lehi

Happy is the one who shares what he knows and learns what he teaches

Cora Coralina

Hola meus amigos, how is America? Just kidding I’m a little scared to know honestly after the letter I got from Jordan Pappas hahaha.

This week was really good, and flew by extremely fast WHICH I AM LOVING!!! :) So Segunta feira (Monday), last pday, was normal and whatever. Tuesday was normal too, sorry I know y’all probably don’t know what normal here is.. So basically wake up, run 2 miles with Sister Covey, shower, study, then get to work!!! I forget where we had lunch, but it’s always in the house of a member. Very rarely do we have to eat on our own, which was Thursday. But anyways, after lunch we work work work until 9 at night. I try not to drink a lot because I have a horrible bladder and nowhere to use the bathroom. I found a food here that makes me literally want to throw up. So having 8 missionaries at every meal, we find some interesting things to talk about. We always like to joke with each other eating like, come on elder you don’t want more? You don’t like the comida? Only 2 more scoops, Sister Bido, why not 3? and such. So one day this week, we had jello for desert.. but it was 3 different flavors of jello mixed in and mixed with leite condinsation or whatever, I don’t know he name in English but I think that’s it. Condensed milk, I think! literally, I was about to throw up all over the table. and Elder Albuquerque kept saying, come on eat more!!! but this was realmente no piada. No joke. Literally cannot.. but anyways.

Wednesday was SO FUN!!! I had my first splits, so I went to Cotia with the sister training leader and spent the night there and the next day returned to Vargem Grande to my companion. Cotia was amazing! I learned so much from her and we really did witness milagres aquele dia (miracles that day). We went by one house, and she said it’s impossible to share a message in this house because the women never wants to listen and doesn’t care to hear but here 6 year old daughter always does. So we went by anyways, and I introduced myself and the women said that I talked beautifully, but what place did I come from. I told her the United States and she automatically greeted us into her house with open arms for the very first time because she wanted to hear me talk. After the lesson, we invited her to be baptized and she accepted the invitation. How marvelous!

We went to another house after that and the investigator was drunk. and she cried when she heard me talk.... only because she thought that I was speaking in English and she could understand me so she had the gift of tongues and I was prophesying to her. So that was probably the highlight of the week com certeza (certainly).

Wednesday was back to Vargem Grande and I felt a little down because wanted to be back into Cotia, but I know I’m needed here at this time. And I think I figured out why this week. So there’s a guy named Michael, and he is always on the street Andaraí to get wifi on his phone. Let me tell you something, if there is anyone in this world that knows the Bible, it’s him. He has 24 years of age but that means nothing here. He is the most complicated and interesting person I’ve ever met. He’s also the rudest. He asked deep deep deep doctrinal questions that I don’t have the palavras en Portuguese (words in Portugeuse) and my companion hasn’t even been a member for 2 years yet so we can never answer. And he will never let us start a lesson because he’s too busy preaching and questioning. And he’s extremely rude because my language isn’t perfect and he makes that known. He even told me I shouldn’t be in Brasil if I can’t speak the language. But anyways. We had 7 investigators come to church with us yesterday!! We have 3 baptisms on the 26, but the other before that fell through and we’re not positive about here right now.

I’ve been reading Our Search for Happiness and it is truly remarkable. I’ve started a notebook and every day, and I write the miracles that happened that day. It’s the small things that always go unnoticed. But honestly, when we live our lives day by day with the intent to find and see the milagres (miracles) from God.. minha nossa (oh my).. God truly is wonderful.

I also have a scripture of the week and this week’s was 1 Nephi 17:13. So my Spiritual thought this week is about Lehi’s vision of the Tree of Life. In the grand and spacious building, did Lehi see you? Or did he see you at the end of the rod of iron with shame and slowly letting go, being lost into the darkness? Or did he see you there with him, paying no attention to the mockers and rejoicing of the fruit? Endure to the end. The end of today, the end of tomorrow, the end of this trial, the end of this life. Whatever it is, endure through it. 

Much love to you all,
Sister Bido

]

Week 9 - Ibiúna and Vargem Grande - Standing for Testimonies

Just an FYI, HAPPY 2 MONTHS TO ME! This week absolutely flew by and I loved it. The only awful day was Sunday but I just expect Sundays to be bad, so that´s okay. Monday, we didn't do anything but go grocery shopping, and then we put a blanket on the floor in the main room and all napped and ate this weird Brazilian-Chinese-type food. oh and I got stung by a bee while walking, remained calm, used my tweezers to pull out the stinger, and BAM. My arm inflated to the size of my thigh from above my elbow to my wrist. Sister Modesto wanted me to go to the ER and I told her that she was just being dramatic, that my mom would give me a bandaid and say it just looked like a tiny mosquito bite! So three days later..... it started to unswell and look semi normal. Now, it´s almost better so that´s really good. An awesome thing is that literally we live across the street from a Saúde. Kind of like a health department/mini hospital if we ever do have a serious thing.

Tuesday we had multi-zone, and that was not fun either because I know no one and it´s awkward and I didn't understand all of the talks. But lunch was good and I had wifi there, so yeah! I did meet a lot of fun people and got all my letters! YES I AM RECEIVING MISSION TIES LETTERS. I opened them on the bus back (it was a private charter for all the missionaries) and I opened one from Tristan, and Lucky´s hair fell out of it and literally there was so much hair everywhere!!!!!! IT WAS HILARIOUS! Literally and it was awesome, everyone else thought it was so funny and cool and everyone was taking pictures of this crazy American girl who opened a letter full of dog hair. I had some Brazilians convinced that my dog sent me a letter with some help and it was just so great.

Thank you everyone for the letters by the way.  Seriously, I needed them.

Saturday we had a baptism!!!!!! Nina was baptized this week instead of next, so seriously it was such a great and special experience.  My first baptism! And the week after this, we´re expecting 2 more! Nina was Sister Modesto´s first baptism as well.

So two things that were really cool things that were really cool this week.

One- Wednesday was Sister Covey´s 6 month anniversary so we had a fiesta and I used the decorations you sent with me!! It was so cute. We also ordered a pizza and of course, I bought more ice cream!! :) The pizza was great, definitely different than the US. Here, the pizza hardly has any tomato sauce and the crust isn't as fluffy and fresh, but it´s still good. Especially since I don´t like a lot of tomato sauce.

The second cool thing that happened- Saturday night we ran out of toilet paper and it was after 9 so we couldn’t go buy any and couldn't buy any on Sunday. but guess what?? YOU SENT ME TOILET PAPER and again, our lives were saved. So Mom this is a thank you for the emergency toilet paper, I honestly can´t express my gratitude enough for that one. And the tuna, the other sisters are sarcastically thanking you for that ;) They don´t like the smell either!! But that is okay! I have a picture of the outside of the house that I’ll send, but not the inside yet. It´s nothing fancy or weird except the bathroom. Sister Covey’s mom sent a lot of decorations for Natal and even a mini Christmas tree so we´re still decorating!

Answers

We always drink juice at people’s houses, but for lunch if the person is a little fancier, we have soda. I always go for the juice cause it´s better. In house, I only drink water. I don't like drinking while we´re working because we have nowhere to pee unless it´s in someone´s house, and depending on who or where, we normally try our hardest not to see stranger's bathrooms.

Lunch here is a thanksgiving meal, every day.  I eat dinner too almost every night with Irma Josafina. By the way she came to church this Sunday for the first time in 2 years AND bore her testimony!!!!! Usually we have rice and beans and a salad, and then 2 different types of meat like sausage, or beef, or chicken.  I love the chicken! I don´t really snack that much because after lunch I’m not hungry.  But at night when we're planning I eat whatever we have in the house or ice-cream. Skype on Christmas DAY.  And yes there is a McDonalds in Sao Paulo, 2 hours away.

Oh another thing really quick!!!!!!  Yesterday was fast and testimony and as soon as time was turned over for testimonies half the ward got up and sat on the stand and there was a line of people to share! Freaking awesome.  Okay for real this time, I love you and goodbye!!

Love you all for eternity!!

Week 8 - Ibiúna and Vargem Grande - Giving Everything - Sister Bido

Cada Semana e sempre melhor! So this week was a lot better.  I decided that I don´t really like Sundays yet because I´m not too sure how to communicate with everyone and I have a lot harder time conversing about things that aren´t of the gospel because I don´t know too many of the words.  Mom, have no fear! I have another mom here.  More like grandma but mom.  So we have a woman we visit every night at 8:30 because she´s non active and was just baptized 3 years ago.  Her name is Josefina and she is precious! She´s around 60 years old.  Everything we need, she takes care of for us if we´re starving, she´ll make Jantar for us.  My companion, if she needs anything, usually Josefina buys it for her.  We never leave her house without a bag of food with us, either bread or eggs.  We don´t ask for it, but it´s inevitable.  Also, so we have 4 missionaries in our house.  One of them is American so it´s nice whenever I really need something or can’t understand something important, she helps me out.  We also decided that we´ll vent to each other in English only on PDays because it’s extremely hard to express our feelings and tell stories in Portuguese. 

So Tuesday, we have a new investigator named Fatima.  We first met her in the street her house is on, and while we were standing there talking to her, this dog comes up behind me and pees on my feet.  Literally lifts his leg and pees all over my feet.  No one else noticed so I tried not to make a big deal and acted like nothing happened, because it was HER dog!!!!!! Lucky I was wearing my crocs because it was a rainy day.  But literally the rest of the day dogs kept coming up to me and sniffing my feet and I was so paranoid another dog was going to try to mark me.  So yes, I now have a new fear.  But back to Fatima.  She´s a really humbling person.  Her house is 1 room, with a couch, a bed, a set of bunkbeds and a stove.  She has a husband, 2 daughters, and a son and 6 dogs and 3 cats.  She has 1 outfit, and it doesn´t fit her.  She wants to be baptized and that’s our plan for her, but she has health issues with her heart and didn´t make it to church this Sunday.  We visited her another day for another lesson and after we asked if there was anything we could do to help her, she cried because she feels that her youngest daughter who is 15 is ashamed of her so Fatima wants us to find more clothes for her daughters, if we´re able.  So we´re working on a project now in the ward to start a donation to clean out closets since summer is coming.  If not, I already know which clothes I´m going to give her. 

We marked 4 other people for baptisms this past week, so it´s going to be a white Christmas here! (because the field will be clean) so I’m actually really excited for this month.  Natal is huge here and even all the other churches go crazy over board with decorations and stuff.  So a thing I´ve noticed, no one hangs pictures on their walls or decorates the insides of their house.  Probably because it’s all concrete.  And another thing, everyone always wears jeans!!!! At fist I thought it was crazy, but now I understand.  It gets extremely freezing after 7 at night.  and also, if people only have pants, they don’t need to have different clothes for the winter.  So really nothing else awesome happened this week.  Except that we have a family of investigators, and remember the homeless guy that I helped last week and gave my cake too? Cidney is not homeless.. he lives with this family.  So that was awkward and surprising, but cool none the less. 

I really am so very grateful to be serving the Lord at this time.  It’s frustrating and it’s hard but I don´t want to be doing anything else.  The Lord sacrificed His Son and Christ gave his LIFE so that we can return to The Lord.  So I will sacrifice these next 16 months and give everything I have. 

And mom, I don’t know when we Skype yet.  We have a zone conference tomorrow so I´ll try to find out.  We haven’t gone to the temple or worked outside the temple, we’re too far away! I need my black skirt that I was going to take but didn’t, and my blue and white polka dot skirt! My clothes are ugly on me now.. OH.  eventually I’ll need more deodorant, but I’m fine for now for sure.  I’m good on everything else.  I would like the mint chocolate covered Oreos, Tristan will know what I’m talking about!!! Thanks for the sour patch kids, they saved my life.  And about Aunt Dot, that´s really cool and really awesome because I had a really strong feeling about that.  

Questions Answered-

Our church is a concrete building like you find on St Simon's. The ward is bigger than ours, and more people come!! Yesterday all 8 of us missionaries sang in sacrament and it was way cool!

Most days start out rough but they always end great! I bought us ice cream this week, that helped it get better!

I've truly been blessed, the language is going great for me! At the first I was like is this the language I learned in the CTM?

On p-day we just hang out around the house, we made a cake and talked. We're in a mountainy rural area with nothing to do.We bought groceries but there is no market here or shops. 

I don't eat breakfast, I eat a banana every morning. I'm starting to like the food! and my feet are Marvelous!!! HaHa!!!

P.S. I found out my companion's family hasn't sent or emailed her anything, I'm happy to share with her. She loves lemon heads as much as me and peanut butter!!

Justine's Pictures (New at the Bottom)

Week 7 - Ibiúna and Vargem Grande - Be Grateful - Sister Bido

You better fall in love with this email because I just walked 3 miles to write it.  So everything’s been a blur and all the days ran in together.  

Tuesday we left the CTM at 7am and arrived at the mission home.  We had interviews with the president and then we went to the church beside and had lunch and after we were introduced to our companions.  My companion is Sister Modesto and she is 23.  After, we waited 2 hours for a bus to take us from Sao Paulo to our area.  Our area is Ibuona and Jardim Grande.  It’s not rich but it’s not the poorest it could be.  There are quite a few wealthy people here but also a lot of poor.  It’s a huge area!!!! Anyways, after we got here, there are 4 of us in our little house.  A total of 8 missionaries in our ward with 4 elders.  The first day was excruciatingly painful because I was nervous and scared and understood nothing and couldn’t talk.  Our area is the furthest in the mission so the onibus took us 2 hours away.  It sucked.  We didn’t eat dinner.  

It rains every day!! Mostly at night, but usually showers randomly so I always have my umbrella.  I’ve probably walked around 60 miles this week, maybe more.  I’m not really sure.  The area is really hilly too so that’s fun.  Also, no one walks on the sidewalks, it’s weird.  We always walk in the middle of the street and cars just go around us.. how strange.  There are dogs everywhere!!!!! and the dogs are nice but it’s a mission rule to not pet stray dogs.  I never have water so I’m always thirsty.  Yes I use my LifeStraw bottle, but there´s this one dog we pass chained up every day and never has water so I always give him water, and all the other dogs too because its breaks my heart.. 

Also, yesterday we received cake to take home with us after church and on our way home there was a man with crutches and 1 leg going up the biggest hill in our area and I gave him my cake because I’m positive he was homeless.  Thursday night, we met with an investigator and committed her to baptism, so that was awesome.  I made her this cute bookmark with Moroni´s promise on it and she loved it!

So the computer I’m using, we have to pay for every 10 minutes we use.. how freaking crazy, and we only have $130 Reais (pronounced hey-ice) each month to spend.  

We have lunch with a member every day, except Pdays, all 8 of us.  Usually the food is alright, but I just don’t like it that much.  Thursday we had lunch at this woman’s house up on a mountain up a 2 mile giant dirt hill.  It was literally absolutely the worst climb of my life.. imagine Crowder’s but all steep and muddy because it just rained all night long.  Yep.  But on the bright side, we got up there and all was awesome.  Her house was awesome and basically a mansion in Brasil.  Inside her gate, she had a soccer field in her front yard, and a pool, and a huge house.  So every house is guarded with a giant gate or fence.  EVERY.  It doesn´t matter how poor the person is, there are bars and a gate/ whatever around the house, and there are only houses here, no apartments.  Anyways, so this lady literally had a buffet for us, and then a buffet of ice cream after!!! Brasil has the best ice cream in the entire world!!!!

We take the onibus at least 2 times a day because of how huge our area is, but that’s okay.  So we have 2 baptisms in December.  One on the 5th and another on the 12th.  Christmas is huge here, it´s awesome.  Basically my days consist of waking up, jogging around our neighborhood with another sister, studying, then working, then lunch, then working and working and walking and walking until 9 at night.  The bugs are not crazy or exotic yet, in fact the only thing annoying about them is the mosquitoes.  I did get eaten alive yesterday in this one neighborhood.  

So a really interesting thing is that at night when it’s not raining, people start fires on the sidewalk and everyone just drops their trash there and burns it.  

Mom, I did get the package with ramen and stuff and the battery.  Nothing was opened and all is well.  Thank you very much for it all! My health is fine.  I’ve now lost 9 kilos since I’ve been in Brasil...  so all of my clothes are huge and my skirts look weird on me now.  Sleeping is fine, air conditioning does not exist.  My heart is sad a lot but its works fine.  I’ve become very humbled.  We have a washer for our clothes and then we have to hang them to dry them.  My companion is really awesome, she talks and talks and is totally okay that I don’t completely understand every story she’s telling me.  All in all, this week was really good.  Tough, but good! 

OH! another interesting thing, so in our bathroom, we have a shower.... KIND OF. There's like a shower faucet and head but no actual shower.. so legit we shower and the water goes directly all over the bathroom floor and toilet and sink because I guess you could say theres a sink and toilet in our shower? totally weird

So another cool thing that happened, the night before we left the MTC, all the sisters in our district recieved priesthood blessings from one of our Elders. Elder Davis gave me a blessing of comfort that I´ll always know you're thinking of me and reminded how much support I have lifting me up.  It was really awesome blessing and his first one! So if he forgets to tell his mom that, you can!

The church is in a building like you would see on the strip at Myrtle Beach.. no computers.  And no.  I need one of the thumb drives I can insert my sd card in and transfer.

Sister Bido

Sister Bido

Brazil Sao Paulo West Mission

Rua Doutor Rui Batista Pereira, 165

Jardim Caxingui- Sao Paulo- SP

CEP: 05517-080

Brasil

Sister Bido's Picture Album.

Week 5 - CTM - Ye Must Build Your Foundation - Sister Bido

This week was also a hard one. I’m really used to the food here in the CTM, so it doesn’t sketch me out anymore. I forgot all the questions anyone asked me this week, sorry! I listened to the devotional this week without using headphones to listen to the English translation, so that was quite an accomplishment. Sunday night devotional was given by my mission presidente e his wife. After, I got to meet them and talk with them. Sister Del Guerso said I’ll be fluent by my second transfer… that’s in 12 weeks!

Nothing totally exciting happened this week, sorry to disappoint. Tuesday night, we went to see one of our investigators, but met with her neighbor. We introduced prayer, showed him how to pray, and we introduced the Book of Mormon. He was extremely interested and continued to thank us for being there. It was a really powerful and spiritual lição. At the end, I invited him to be baptized. I wasn’t shocked at all when he said that he would.

We had a new topic in TRC this week – “How to receive answers to your prayers.” There are 3 main ways we decided to teach about. Personal revelation, scripture study, and through attending church. In the end, we chose to really expound on the how part. You have to prepare yourself to be spoken to by the Lord. So what can you do to prepare yourself to receive the answers to your prayers from the Lord? All over the scriptures it says that God will do His part, IF you do yours. Also, I memorized Romans 8:36-39 in Português. I love the book of Romans. Actually I just love the scriptures so much.

Friday, our district shared our testimonies with a new district in Português about a dom da linguas – which was AWESOME! So our district is really close and it’s been a sad week. We have to leave each other. Tomorrow we say bye to all our instructors and that’s going to be really sad. I’m going to be so nervous and wrecked and stressed on Monday. It’s like leaving my family all over again for my mission. Totally not prepared for this. But I’m so excited and ready to be in the field! I love you guys and am so grateful for your support and love!

I found out today that one day a week the missionaries in my mission get to go to the temple and greet people from the street and talk about the temple and tour the waiting room and discuss the meaning of the pictures!

Our focus this week was on Helaman 5:12, another one of my favorites! And Ether 12:27!

Paz e bênçãos com amor!

Sister Bido

Sister Bido's Picture Album

Question wrap up..
1) They do not give us water filters.
2) They have not taught us about safety or cultural differences.
3) We do our own laundry. Each district is assigned a time each week.