Waiting on the Road to Damascus

The weeks pass by so slow and so fast at the same time! Well, this week was especially crazy because my comp has been having knee problems and a sister in the other dupla (companionship) has been sick a lot this week. So, I’ve gone on a lot of exchanges with different Sisters this week. It’s really great to do exchanges though. I love talking with missionaries! I am so thankful for my health! You don’t know how good you have it until its gone, or until you see someone without it. So, if you can keep my companion in your prayers! 

Some good news for the week: we found THE BEST place with açaí ever! It is so delicious! So now we go there all the time, it’s great. 

We have been talking a lot with Diéron still, and his family. He is so special, and he has such a strong desire to get baptized, but the problem is his family. Everyone keeps telling him that he's too young to get baptized and he doesn’t know what he's doing. But Diéron is coming to Church with his grandma and he's reading the Book of Mormon. He really just wants to follow Christ. We are going to talk to his Dad about it tonight. (His dad lives in a different house not too far away, but works a lot), and help him realize that this is a good thing to do.

I am so excited for general conference this weekend! We have the amazing opportunity to hear from the prophet and apostles of the Lord! I read some old conference talks this week from April 2011 that were really good. One was 'Waiting on the Road to Damascus" by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf. He talked about how sometimes we just wait for a huge sign from God before doing the things that we are supposed to do. Instead of moving forward doing the little things, like reading the scriptures, saying prayers, and going to church, we think that an angel needs to come down and tell us to do those things. Most of the time our “angels” are the people around us. The Lord works through other people to answer prayers. Don’t wait to do the right thing. Just keep moving forward, and the Lord will bless you with what you need. Good stuff. 

Turn to the Lord in all that you do. Pray always, and be strong.

Love ya,
Sister Berry

Frisbee in the Rain

Aloha everyone! (I feel like mixing it up today).

The weeks are going by so fast now! I don’t even know what’s happening. But so much stuff happened this week. Last p-day we went on an adventure to the mall to eat Subway (one of the sisters loves it, it’s almost the same thing but with a twist). Then we played Frisbee at the church in the pouring rain with some Elders in our district. It was fun :). 

We had stake conference this week, and it was really exciting because my comps dad is an Area Seventy and came here to speak at the conference. So we (me, my comp, and the 2 other sisters in our area) got some perks this week, which included: eating a fancy lunch with Elder Fernandes (the Area Seventy), getting to ride in the mission president’s car, and taking a picture with the Mission President, his wife and the Stake President.

We had some amazing lessons with Deiron this week, which I don’t have time to talk about. But I want you all to know that you are children of God. You are a child of God!! That is so amazing to know! You have a FATHER in Heaven who loves you and knows your name! Remember that.

With love, Sister Berry

It's Time for Transfers

My last picture with Sister Beazer

Note: Sister Berry and the missionaries in Brazil are safe in the midst of the protests. They were told to stay inside during this time. In a personal email sent to me (Beth),  Sister Berry mentioned that they "had to come home straight after lunch because of a protest thing all over Brazil, I think." She is not up to speed with the politics of Brazil as missionaries don't watch television or read the newspapers while they are serving the Lord. She is an obedient missionary and will listen to the guidance of the Mission President as he helps them remain safe during the turbulence.

Well this has been a crazy, crazy week, but isn’t it always. First, I have a new companion!! Sister Fernandes is awesome! She is from Fortaleza, Brazil, and she knows a lot of English, which helps. So far things are going fantastic and I am excited for this transfer! With transfers and all we didn’t really do a lot this week. Oh yeah… it was super fun to have all her suitcases on the train and on the bus on the way home from the Mission office. It was super stressful and super crowded, but we got home safely! Sister Fernandes also knows how to cook (hallelujah)!  She made Tapioca (she taught me how too, its super easy!) and made some other stuff. She's teaching me how to cook, so I am really excited.

One highlight of the week: We had a lunch without rice and beans! It was strange, but awesome! The sister made us pasta, with white sauce and a red sauce, and chicken on the side. I felt like I was in Italy it was so good! I love rice and beans, but that was just amazing.

Well, the work is moving forward. We are talking to anyone and everyone about the joy the gospel brings to our lives. I really loved church yesterday. The lesson in Relief Society was about how we know that Jesus Christ lives and that He is our Savior. Also, it was about how we know that there is a God. How do I know? I know because I can feel it in my heart. I know it when I look at a beautiful sky full of clouds, when I look at a tree, animals, people, at the beauty of the earth- I can feel it. Like it says in Alma 30:44 "All things denote there is a God." If you don’t know that you have a loving Father in Heaven, or that there is a Savior, even Jesus Christ, you can find out through prayer and reading the scriptures. Come unto Christ and feel His love! I find comfort every day in knowing that God loves me and will help me in all that I do if I ask Him. I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ; even though I have never seen them, I know that they are there and are cheering me on and pushing me forward.

Thank you all for your amazing examples! Love you all! 

Love,

Sister Berry

 

Our Zone at the last transfer-- I just love them!

My new companion on the very steep hill that is a bear to climb. It's worse in 

Locked Gates and Churros

Hello Everyone!!

Well, it has been a crazy week full of ups and downs. Some of the BEST stuff happened this week, but also the worst. I guess the sad part first: we had a baptism fall through this Sunday. Diéron is 9 years old and Rosangela´s grandson. He was super excited to be baptized and listened to all of the lessons. He doesn’t live with his parents, but he visited his Dad on Saturday and his dad told him that he was too young to be baptized. So after spending time with his father, Diéron didn’t want to be baptized anymore. He told us this Sunday at church when the baptism was scheduled to be immediately after. Even worse, his whole family showed up- uncles and even his dad! We had to tell them that he didn’t want to get baptized anymore. We could not believe it. Sister Beazer and I were so sad after that. Dieron had such a strong desire to be baptized and then he didn’t follow through with it. I know that he´ll keep coming to church with Rosangela and one day he’ll decide to be baptized for real.

More news… I’m getting a new companion! I’m staying here in Nova Cidade with the same other sisters that are in the ward, but Sister Beazer is getting transferred. I won’t find out who I’m with until tomorrow, so we´ll see if they put me with a Brazilian! I’m excited for the change but I’m sad that Sister Beazer is leaving. She is an amazing missionary and I learned so much from her! 

Good news: I finally got to eat a churro (pronounced shoohoo) and it was DELICIOUS. Sadly, I might have to say that they are better than the ones at Disneyland. It was really good :) 

For our English class this week we went to a legit school with a Sister from the ward that teaches English and talked to all the students. Everyone loves Americans here! People love our accents too. I´ll be talking about Jesus Christ, ask them a question ( or sometimes they just interrupt) and they’ll ask me where I’m from.  It’s a good way to talk to people sometimes. People are really nice here but I hope I can lose my American accent a little more. With time, who knows?

We found some great people to teach this week, with some great stories to go with it ;). We were trying to meet with a girl at her house, but she wasn’t answering, and after a little bit, a man comes to the gate. So we ask him about the girl, but he couldn’t really understand what we were saying (our lovely accents) but in the end he lets us in and tells us something about his sister in the back. So we start walking down this hallway and my comp turns back to ask him if we could go up…and we see him locking the gate and leaving! We were like- wait what? So I start laughing hysterically and my comp just has the funniest look on her face-- like 'What do we do?" We decided to walk up the stairs and explain to this other lady that her brother let us in and he left, but could we share a message about Jesus Christ with you? ;) He eventually came back and we all laughed about the situation afterwards. He is super cool though. We´ve been visiting them all week and he told us that since we came he can tell that there is something different about us. He said that we have a 'good energy' and feeling about us—to the point where he forgets about all the wrong things in his life when we visit. The Holy Ghost is a powerful thing, and I am so grateful to have it with me always. We are teaching him, his sister, and a friend of theirs at the same time, and they are all great. Elieudo and Edivan were at church yesterday and really loved it. I am so happy that I am a missionary!

Real quick: my comp made an awesome discovery this week. You cannot gain eternal life if you do not read/listen to the scriptures. John 17:3, John 5:39, and 2 Nephi 31:20. Eternal life is to know the Savior and our Heavenly Father, and how do we get to know them? Through the scriptures and feasting upon the words of Christ. So read the scriptures, and get to know your Savior and Redeemer. Get to know the Ones who love you more than you could imagine. Doing that will bring happiness and joy, and eternal life. 

Com amor, Sister Berry

Rosangela

Whoa what a week! I get exhausted just thinking about it! But it was good, we are working hard. Good news: Rosangela got baptized!! She completely quit smoking and wanted to get baptized! She is absolutely amazing! I know that she was prepared by the Lord before we came to hear our message. Thank you so much for your prayers- they helped more than you know.  Now we just need find more people to teach and more people to baptize! This gospel is AMAZING and it changes lives. I cannot tell you how much Rosangela has changed this past 3 weeks. She is so much happier.

And Happy Birthday Malachi!! Have a great day tomorrow!! 

A crazy thing that happened this week was the rain. It rained sooo much! (We are still praying for rain in the reserve place- apparently that’s where it’s not getting rain so that’s why no one has water in their houses, but outside we're getting buckets full- oh the irony). We had the Elders with us to go to our appointments and of course they didn’t have their umbrellas, so they were soaked and freezing. We stopped to wait it out for a bit but it didn’t really stop. My shoes were soaked and they dyed my feet black- so that was fun ;)

 I love this, even though it’s hard. I know that Heavenly Father is watching over us and helping us along our way. I miss you all and love you! 

Love, Sister Berry