Week 34 - Gravatá

I can’t even believe how fast time flies. As of yesterday I have 10 months left on my mission. What the heck?!! Thank you for all the pictures and emails. Now that Jess has announced her news I just wanted to say that I’M SO EXCITED!!! I hope it’s born on my birthday.  That would be the best birthday present in the world! Ahhh I’m so excited!

We had a great week this week. The first few days were hard....it is so hard to walk in the sun all day and try to stay positive and excited when you are frying! But it motivates us to teach people so we can be under a roof haha. If I had a penny for every time someone says "wow you are red. Are you using sun screen?" I would be rich!!! But don’t worry I am using it! At first I didn’t want to but I’ve decided that I want good skin in the future so I’m using it. My shoulders still have those ugly sun spots though. I hope they go away some day when I’m not always in the sun!

The coolest thing that happened this week, and on my whole mission actually, last p-day at night time we went to go teach Erica and Hiade. I started teaching them way back with Sister Fortes. We taught them everything and they really liked having us in their house but didn’t have a desire to act on anything or go to church so we stopped passing by there. Anyways one day with Sister Andrade we saw them on the street and they were like we miss you guys.  Come visit us sometime! So we went there and we watched the restoration video with them. After the movie we were talking about how the same church that Jesus established when he was on the earth was restored through a prophet and how that same church is on the earth today. And then the coolest thing happened! I just opened my mouth to talk a little bit about the priesthood and authority to baptize and seriously it was like it says is the scriptures to open your mouth and it will be filled. I don’t remember everything exactly that I said but they are on date to be baptized the 28th of September! Ahh it was the coolest experience ever.  I don’t really know how to describe it. Missionaries always talk about these kind of experiences but I didn’t really think it would happen to me or that it was that real! It has really motivated me this week to be exactly obedient and study diligently so that I can always be guided by the spirit so strongly. I know that Erica and Hiade don’t feel prepared to be baptized-they are both really timid and shy- and before I didn’t even think they would ever progress. But now I know that Heavenly Father knows that they are prepared and we just have to do everything we can to help them feel that way too. We taught them three times this week and I can see progress. Just a little but it’s something. I’ve always felt guided on my mission, but never anything that strong. It was the coolest experience ever to truly be an instrument in God’s hands to communicate with His children.

We had another ward activity this week. I wish I could film how crazy they get and send it to you guys. It’s so funny but a little too crazy. We are always in charge of the game at the end and everyone LOVES the games we teach them. This time we played pictionary kind of. There were two teams and we divided the chalkboard in half and thought of a whole bunch of different things they could draw. So two people would draw something similar like piano and guitar and whichever team guessed first got a point. It got intense. We made rules that everyone has to stay seated but that lasted for like two seconds. Everyone crowded the chalkboard trying to guess what they were drawing hahaha.  I just laughed the whole time. There were shoes, chalk, erasers, bread and I’m sure other things too thrown at people when they drew bad. And then when it was a tie everyone looks at us "Sisters who gets the point?! We guessed first!!!!!" It got crazy!! I remembered the phrase that you guys always said trying to get everyone out the door "it’s like herding cats." This phrase never applied more strongly for a group of people. I love my ward though :)

Ok one more story. Yesterday we had lunch with Suzanna and Israel. They are the cutest couple and they just had their first baby son my first transfer here. I sent a picture a few weeks ago with them and the baby in front of a brick house so you know who I’m talking about. But anyways we were talking about how on the airplane they have such strict rules about what you can and can’t take. And how when I go home I wanted to bring some food from here but I won’t be allowed. But it reminded of that box and I told them how I have to pay 100 reais to get that box. Suzanna went and grabbed 100 reais and comes back and gives me the money! I kept refusing and refusing and I told her that my mom would pay for it. She said that money isn’t everything and that everything she has was given to her by God and that she wanted to help. And she said that she knows if she helps me other people will help her son when he is a missionary and that God will bless her. And she was like 100% willing and wanted to give it to me! It was like 100 reais was just $1 that’s how willing she was. I have never talked to two people before with such an eternal perspective. Sister Andrade and I left their house feeling uplifted. 

A lot of other cool things happened but I don’t have time to type them all out. I have a few pictures to send from Sister Andrade’s camera so be sure to save all these! Thanks for everything. Love you guys!

Love,

Sister Bedke