Hey Hey Hey

 What a great week! We were able to work a lot this week and we saw the results. We have been receiving a lot of references lately and it is going fantastic. We are now teaching some good, solid people and i am excited to see where they will go from here. 

We met with an awesome family this week! The mother is actually coming back to church after being less active for more than 10 years. She is married and has 5 kids now and they are all great! Just that the dad doesn't really want anything to do with the church for now, but we will continue visiting with them and help some of her oldest children prepare for baptism.

Sao paulo is super weird. It is scorching hot in the morning and then in the afternoon its cold and it rains. Except this week it hailed one day. It hailed! It was super hot and then it hailed in the afternoon. Crazy. It was funny too because it was the first time that my comp saw hail and she freaked out a little bit haha. I guess it never hails in the northern part of Brazil. My comp also likes to pick strange fruit off of trees on the street and make me eat them. She says that she knows what kind of fruit it is, but it never really works out good. So far I havent died, so everything is fine. 

I wanted to thank my parents for all that they do for me and for my siblings. I have heard so many people here say that after having one kid they don't want anymore or that they could have done so much more in life if they didn't have any kids. But I know that having a family is an essential part of the plan of happiness. I am so grateful for my family, and I know that my parents and so many others, have given all that they have for their children. Thank you for all the love and support!

This week was also great because of Ana and Pat, who came to church this Sunday. Their family life is a little complicated because of their brothers who have problems with drinking and doing drugs. These two women really want to change their lives and feel more peace at home. I know that they can find it in the gospel.
 love Sister Berry 

A Mission Isn't Easy

Oi,

This has been a crazy week, full of ups and downs as always. I just want to say how happy I am to be a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am grateful to have a strong testimony that this is the only true and living church on the earth today. Jesus Christ leads this church through prophets and apostles today! Heavenly Father always answers our prayers and He is always listening. 

So this week was a lot of walking. We have received a lot of references recently from members (which is awesome!) but they all live in a neighborhood super far away. So, we walked a lot. We have found some good people but it has been difficult to get these people to come to church. I am hoping that things will get better because "summer break" has ended so more people will be at home now. Sister Pinheiro has some good ideas for us to have more success here in the area, and we are working at putting them all in place.

 

This week we had an amazing conference with President Silcox and the assistants. I am so grateful for our President, he really is inspired. He talked about being exactly obedient and doing God's will. When we do what God wants us to do, we are happy and we are blessed. When we do only what we want to do, we are sad, frustrated, and cannot receive all the blessings that God wants to give us. They also talked about love. We are nothing without the pure love of Christ in our hearts. I want to love everyone. I want everyone to feel Gods love. So after the conference I felt revigorated and reminded that God trusts in me to teach His children here in this area. He trusts in me and He will give me the help i need to do His work.

A mission isn't easy. Life isn't easy. I have become aware of so many of my weaknesses. I have so much that I need to do better. This week especially God has shown me some of my weaknesses. But now I am grateful for this opportunity to become better, to overcome my weaknesses and turn them into strengths. 

Sorry I dont have any experiences to share. The week goes by so fast and when pday comes I cant remember anything that happened. Next week will be better, I promise. 

With love, Sister Berry

Six Sisters in One House

Olá!

Another week gone by! What a crazy week! I think I forgot to mention last week, but there are now two other missionaries living in our house. That equals 6 sisters in one house. The house is big, but there is only one bathroom. I thought it would be crazy, but it has been working out pretty well. Who knew that hard things were possible? ;) The other sisters are great too. One from Manaus, another from Ecuador, and another from México (wooo hooo I am going to make some mexican food!). I love missionaries!

Things are going great with Sister Pinheiro and I. She is super fun and always makes me laugh. We are ready to work hard this transfer and see some miracles. Something that she and I have started doing is saying Bom dia or Boa tarde or noite to everyone on the street that passes by. People give us weird looks sometimes, but it is pretty awesome. It actually makes me a little happy when I look for people to say Bom dia to. Something small and simple that really makes a difference.

So this weekend is Carnaval- a huge party here in Brazil. But holidays here are some of the worst days for missionaries because everyone here goes to the beach or travels to visit Family. So Sunday at church was a little sad because we had some good people that said they would come to church that didnt show up. So this week we have to work even harder and next Sunday will be a lot better.

Exciting news: i ate a part of a pigs foot! For lunch on Sunday a member made Fejoada, with every part of the pig that you can imagine. A lot of the times people dont add the ears or the tail, just meat and sausage, but sometimes people put it all. So I started eating and then as the member was serving herself she puts a pig foot on her plate along with the rice and beans. Say what?! She offered me a little bit and of course I accepted. Nothing special, but I dont think i need to eat it again. I love Brazil!

So this morning I read a talk in the Liahona from Elder Oaks. He talked about how we can find joy in the  gospel. Members of the church should be the happiest people on Earth. Lately I have been struggling a little with that. So Elder Oaks invites all of us to search for the happiness that comes from obedience and keeping the commandments that God gives us. I know God loves me, and I know that He wants me to be happy. So lets be happy. May we choose to be happy today, tomorrow and forever because God is on our side, and we cannot fail. I love you all and I am so very grateful for all your prayers and support.

With love, Sister Berry

Week as a Trio

Well, we survived our week as a trio! Woo hoo! It actually went really well and I love these two sisters. They are complete opposites but are both adorable because they are both 'greenie' missionaries. It was great to see their light shine this week. We were able to work hard and find some new people to teach, but no one new came to church! Church is the most important and at times the most difficult for the people here that don't like to get up early or dont have a car. We are working hard and trusting in the Lord all the same. 

This week I also had to go to the police station or someplace like that to renew my visa for the year. It was only awesome because I got to talk to some new Elders that had just arrived in Brazil. It was hard to speak only English but I think they understood. They wanted to know about the food and if anything was super gross here. Good thing about Brazil is that everything is delicious! Rice, beans and meat. Yum!

I also made some awesome pancakes this week! Strawberries, bananas and maple syrup equals perfection on top of a pancake. They were not the best ever, but I am going to work on perfecting them a bit. 

Oh, Transfers! This week is transfers and sadly Sister Allred will be leaving tomorrow for a new area. But she is going to be companions with an amazing Brazilian Sister that I know will be perfect. I will be staying here with Sister Pinheiro. One more transfer here in Itaim Paulista. Its a long time, but I know that there are still people waiting for the gospel in this area, and they are waiting for me. 

I know that God answers our prayers, and I believe in miracles. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary here in Brazil. I love this gospel and my testimony grows every single day that I do the work of the Lord. Remember to serve others and look for the little miracles in your life. 

Com amor, Sister Berry