New Area, New Companion, New Adventures

Things are fantastic here in Sao Paulo Brazil! So here's the big news: I am now in Boa Vista! Mogi das Cruzes. Basically it means that it's super far away from where I used to be! And my WONDERFUL new companion is Sister Larissa. She's Brazilian from Rio Grande do Sul, and is super sweet. She only has 3 months left of her mission, and she's engaged! Her fiancé is serving his mission in Brazil right now too. I love her!

Transfers! I love transfers. I had the chance to see a bunch of missionaries all in the same place. I got to talk to my trainer Sister Beazer! That was awesome!! And I got to see my MTC companion, Sister Kormylo whom I love! So that was great. We found out who we were paired with and where we were going and we got our bags and went. We had a ride back to our area which was super nice because it was an hour away by car; I can’t even imagine how long it would be by bus or train.

We are in a little house behind the bishop’s house, and the family is amazing. We have a nice little apartment, and everything was all set up for us. OH, I forgot to mention that we are opening up the area. Sister Larissa wasn’t in this area before; we are both new. So we are super lost, but the work moves forward anyway. The bishop has a huge 'backyard' and has banana trees and oranges and I think tangerines too. So we have a lot of delicious fruit in the house now, yum!

So much happened this week! To sum it all up-

1) There was a GIANT SPIDER in our bathroom one morning. The picture cannot capture how huge it was. It was ginormous! The bishop wasn’t home so Nilva, his wife, came over with bug killing spray. When she first saw it she jumped back and ran almost out the front door again. After using all of the can of spray, we were able to get it out of the house. 

2)  We ate a nasty, nasty (double nasty) drink/soup called Mocató, which is a drink/soup made from the inside of a cow’s hoof. It was warm, salty, and the consistency of snot. I drank the whole cup; the lady was super insistent.

3) We had the best Churrasco (BBQ) ever at a member’s house this week. It was soooo good. There was so much meat! There was also garlic bread and cheese too that was amazing! It was really, really good.

We already did some cool things this morning with the Elders in our area. We saw some super cute monkeys, just hanging in the trees, and a cool Buddhist temple. My camera died halfway through but Elder Pott’s took some good pictures on his camera--I´ll try to send them next week.

I love this new area and I am so excited for all the new adventures that are coming my way!

Just remember that God loves you and he hears and answers your prayers. I cannot say that enough. I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers; probably not the way that we thought, but the way that is best for us to grow. Just keep on keepin’ on, and do your best.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY! I LOVE YOU! Have a fantastic day, I’ll be thinking of you!

Jessie and Francesca Wall--EMAIL ME! I love you...maybe. I’ll have to think about it ;)

Love, Sister Berry

Goodbye to Nova Cidade

Hello! Hello!

First some news…TRANSFERS. All four of the Sisters here in Nova Cidade are getting transferred! It’s kinda crazy but true. I’m a little sad to leave this area and all the amazing people that I have met here, but I’m excited to go to a new area and meet new people.  A lot of great things happened this week, some funny stories that I would like to tell, but I don’t have the time. (I spent my time emailing my Aunt back and forth). 

One thing that happened was when my comp and I were leaving the açaí place with some Elders in our district… I totally slipped and fell. Yup, just like me to fall in front of the whole world. I messed up my knee but mostly it was my pride that got bruised.

We have been teaching some amazing people here but no one is married to the person they live with! We were teaching the second lesson with this lady who is living with her dad to help him and she is fantastic. We found out that she’s been living with this other guy for 20 years and is still not married. People that are living together have to be married first in order to get baptized. We are working hard to find people that are prepared to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Church was really good yesterday. A recent convert invited me and my companion to go see the new Avengers on our next P day! If only! I had to tell him that we don’t watch movies on our missions and he got a little sad. But I am excited for all of you back in America to see Avengers!

I learned something this week during our lunch yesterday with the Stake President. We were talking about the Savior and when he was tempted by Satan to turn stone into bread, have angels save him from death, and all the riches of the world that Satan could offer. But Jesus Christ denied everything and told Satan, “get thee hence”. And the way I understand it, the Savior was able to do that because He knew who He was. He knew that he was a Child of God, and that He had a grand and marvelous work to do here on the earth. When we know who we are and why we are here, we can do amazing things. You are a child of God, and you are here on this earth to be happy. The only way that we can be truly happy is through the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love you all. Remember who you are, and that you can do hard things!

Love Sister Berry

Freia!

Hello everyone!!

This week went by incredibly slow. Or fast. I can’t really tell. All I know is that last Monday seems like an eternity away. So much has happened this week.

Some good news, it’s getting colder! One day this week was just a wonderful kind of cold that made me feel like it was Christmas. It was marvelous.

Also, I learned the word for "brake" this week in Portuguese. Like the brakes on a car. You want to know how? A member drove the four of us missionaries back to our area after lunch one day. The problem is he is still learning how to drive his stick shift car. I have never been so scared or prayed harder in my life! My comp was just sitting in the front yelling "Freia!" every 10 seconds. He stalled the car countless times, almost crashed, but we got home safely, and that’s all that matters. It was an experience to say the least!

I don’t have a lot of time, but I just want to say that I know that my Savior lives, and He loves me and each one of you! I listened to general conference this week in English and it was cool to see how much I understood in the Portuguese one. I know we have a living prophet on the earth today. Find out for yourself!

I love you! 

Sister Berry

I Know That My Redeemer Lives

Ola Todo Mundo!

This has been a great week! Mostly because we all got to listen to the words of the Prophet and Apostles during General Conference! I am so grateful that we have a living prophet on the earth today. So grateful! We had the opportunity to watch it live at our chapel, which was a huge blessing.  I watched the whole thing in Portuguese. My last companion told me that watching conference is hard in Portuguese because they use a lot of words we don’t know and the translators are difficult to understand sometimes. So I took all that and before conference I prayed really hard that I wouldn’t be freaked out by all the Portuguese, that I would be able to feel the Spirit and feel peace. It was a really powerful experience. Of course, I didn’t understand everything (probably not even half), but I know that my Heavenly Father was talking to me during Conference. I understood what I needed to and I am grateful for this amazing opportunity to hear conference in a different language. Now I’m even more excited to read all the talks in the Liahona next month! I can’t think of anything else to write about besides how awesome General Conference was. Go on lds.org and watch it! Listen to the talks again and again.

Oh! We went on exchanges this week! I went to a different area with a different companion for a day and Sister Fernandes stayed here with a different companion. It was a really good experience! I was with Sister Alves (from Fortaleza Brazil) and she is amazing!! She is such a hard worker and such a good example to me. Funny thing, lunch in their area that day was SUPER far, we basically climbed a mountain to get there, but the view was amazing! São Paulo is beautiful!

Brazil Easter traditions: Chocolate eggs. Chocolate eggs are a HUGE deal here. It’s a hollow egg made of chocolate and it has more little chocolate on the inside. It’s pretty cool, but also super expensive. The missionaries were lucky though and a sister in the ward made us one.  It’s super cool , and it was delicious.

Don’t worry; I didn’t forget that yesterday was Easter. I read the last few chapters of Mark this week, about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it was really powerful. I just want to steal the words to the hymn I know that my Redeemer lives!

"What comfort this sweet sentence gives, He lives, He lives who once was dead, He lives my ever living head. He lives all glory to His name, He lives my Savior still the same. Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: I know that my Redeemer lives!"

 I am eternally grateful for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He loves us SO much that He died for us, and 3 days later rose again.

 'Oh it is wonderful that He should care for me enough to die for me. Oh it is wonderful to me!'

Make sure to watch the short clip Because He lives on Lds.org, I love it. I love Jesus Christ and I love this gospel. Don’t ever forget the love that Jesus Christ has for you! Remember to show the love you have for Him in your life too. We obey the commandments because we love Him!

I love you all and I pray that you all have a fantastic week! Pray always and stay strong!

Love Sister Berry

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