Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Week 53 - Camaragibe

Hello everyone!
I am loving my new area, companion, investigators, everything! My area is called Camaragibe.  It’s huge! It’s not like a city like Pina was but we have to take vans as our way of transportation because it’s too big to walk. We are still pretty lost and don’t know our way around very well buts lots of members have been teaching with us and helping us out a lot. My ward is big again and the members are so welcoming and excited! So many people have been asking us if we can teach their friends and family! And once again the bishop is awesome!!
My companion is Sister Vasquez from Peru. She is tiny and I feel like a giant with her but she is the cutest little thing ever and is a sweetheart. She has almost 9 months on her mission. I hope we stay together a long time, we get along really well. I live in a house with 6 missionaries and one bathroom. It’s a little crazy but I actually like it. It’s a lot of fun and all of us are laid back and I don’t think there will be any drama. 
I am learning how to be a Sister Trainer. There are six of us in the mission. My comp isn’t one but a sister that I live with is also.  We had a mission leadership meeting with Pres and the zone leaders this week and he gives us training and then we have to do divisions or splits (idk how you call it in English) but with the other sisters and teach them what he taught us. And also if there is drama or someone isn’t being obedient we have to help them. And just be an example in everything! It’s awesome!  I’m learning so much. I had to talk to someone about obedience this week and I was so nervous but it actually went really well and she thanked me at the end
Ok now the miracles that have been happening....we have 2 baptisms this week. On Sunday, an investigator is going to be baptized. He is 90 years old!!! And he is soooooo cute!!! He has been living in the interior where there isn’t a church but moved here to live with his daughter who is a member and started going to church with her and loves it. He is the cutest thing in the world!! Seriously when we teach him we are just like awwwww the whole lesson. He is nervous that he isn’t gonna know enough and someone is going to ask him a question and he won’t remember. He reminds us every day that he doesn’t hear very well and he can’t see very good! But he always remembers the Prophet Joseph Smith. José is what he says. We are super excited and we love him!
The other is a young woman. Ok she is the most prepared person in the world. The sisters before us have been teaching her for like a month and they invited her to pray about what they were teaching and she did and that night she had a dream. She dreamed about the Salt Lake temple (which she’s never seen it before) and she heard a voice say "this is my house and the path to follow" and then she turned around and saw the sacred grove and the same voice said that this is where I called my servant Joseph Smith to restore the gospel. Is that not amazing?! I about cried when she told us. She pretty much teaches us every time we meet with her. She understands the restoration better than anyone I’ve ever taught! She shares her testimony with everyone, isn’t too shy to pray in front of us, she looks like she’s been a member for her whole life. She’s 22 and I know that God has huge plans for her. And she is just the happiest person ever. It is a huge privilege to get to teach her. And actually she is teaching us.
This week was great and I’m so happy to be here. I miss Pina and everyone there but I’m so excited about this new area. I’m going to the temple today. On the week that we go to the temple our P-day is on Wednesday and we have to work normal on Monday. I got a few emails from my friends on the mission that went home last week. I can’t believe how fast time is going by. Sister Jeffery just went home now too!

I have lots of pictures to send you guys. I hope you all have a great week! Love you all!

Love,

Sister Bedke

 Recife with Sister Vasquez


Our neighbors
Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Week 52 - Camaragibe

Well....I was transferred again!!! Ok I’ll start with the bad but then I have so much good stuff to tell you guys. So last night I was almost 100 percent sure I would stay in Pina because I just barely got there and we opened the area so I thought for sure I would stay there at least another transfer. But when we got the call and he said Sister Bedke was transferred I was so sad that I forgot all how to speak Portuguese! I was like what the freak whyyyyyyyyy?!!! I don’t want to leave this area!!! I didn’t know that I was emotional until I have to keep leaving my areas after just one transfer! It’s the worst thing in the world to say goodbye. We were out of credits on our phone so I couldn’t call and say bye to anyone but I wrote notes for a few people that I got close with. I’m gonna miss Perla and Daniel and especially Bishop Heleno. I learned sooooo much from him. And also Sister Cariola. She is the best and I learned a lot from her too. Last transfer was for sure the best yet of my mission. I love love love the members and everything about Pina. But I’m learning to trust in the Lord and that I’m needed in a different area.

Ok so the good things. First of all Perla was baptized on Saturday!!! It was the best. She is so happy and was glowing and it was the best day. Her and Daniel both were confirmed on Sunday. Also at the last minute Bishop asked me to give a talk and I actually kinda like giving talks now and it was good because I got to talk one last time before I left the area. Daniel is also super happy and some of the members from the ward are gonna take him to institute this week.

Other good things...my new area is Camarajibi. I don’t know if that’s how you spell it but it’s something like that. My new comp is Sister Vasquez.  Idk if that’s how you spell her name but she was with Sister Andrade before this!!! She is a cute little Latina from Peru. She seems awesome and Sister Andrade loved her and said that we will be awesome together. Also I’m in the same zone as Andrade so we can do things together on P-day!!! Yay!!! Also I’m gonna open up an area again which means that we both are new and don’t have a clue what’s going on, but we will figure it out. I’m still in Recife right now but I think Camarajibi is like 1 hour away from here. Also EVERYONE talks so good about this area. Like that it is the best area in the mission. I’ve always wanted to come here because seriously everyone talks about it. And another cool thing is I was called as a Sister Training Leader so I’ll get to work a lot with the other girls here and get to know lots of people so that will be fun. Oh and also the missionaries that were there before us said that they have so many awesome people that they were teaching. Soooo I’m super excited even though I was super sad. I hope I can stay in this area the rest of my mission!! I don’t like changing so much. But the good thing is I’m seriously a professional packer now. I was so proud of myself at how fast I packed and how I fit so much stuff into just two bags.

Next week we are going to the temple so I won’t have P-day until Wednesday. So I’ll let you know everything about my new area. I’m lucky to get to meet so many people on my mission. When we come back we have so many people to visit.

I have lots of pictures to send to you guys. I hope you all have a great week. Love you and thank you for everything!

Love,

Sister Bedke










Monday, January 12, 2015

Week 51 - Boa Viagem

Dear Family,

This has been a great week! This morning we went to a tourist area with Jamerson and Ana. It was on the ocean and had a lot of sculpture things. It was so pretty!! I forgot my connecter for my camera so I’ll send all the pictures next week. To answer your questions mom I am doing good. I’m not sick anymore and I’m feeling great!

Yesterday Daniel was baptized!! It was the best. A lot of members were there and made him feel super special and welcome. The Bishop gave a great talk and few other members as well. It was perfect. Afterwards we passed by Daniel’s house to see what he thought about it and he was so happy!! He has changed so much. It’s the coolest thing to be able to see the huge difference that the Gospel makes in our lives. He told us how good and happy he felt and how he’s so excited to be a home teacher! I’ll send the pictures next week too.

Also another investigator went to his baptism and got super excited for hers this Saturday. She has been inviting all her friends and people from the ward and every time we see her she tells us how excited she is for Saturday. She is another that has changed soooo much! When we first met her she was super quiet and kinda seemed like she was trying to find things that were wrong about what we taught. And now she’s talking about going on a mission!!! I would love that! She’s only 24 so she could totally go. That would be the coolest thing ever.

This week we had a FHE with a recent convert family with a mom and two teenage daughters. We talked about the Book of Mormon and at the end shared our testimonies and scriptures that made a difference in our lives. I talked about why I chose to go on a mission and I read a little from 2 Nephi 4 where it talks about trusting in the arm of God and not in the arm of man. This Sunday the 17 year old daughter sat by me and started to cry and thanked me for sharing that scripture and experience with her. She said that this week some of her friends were giving her a hard time for getting baptized and how it really bothered her but she remembered the scripture and remembered why she was baptized. Experiences like these are why I love being a missionary. It is the most rewarding thing. I am so grateful to be here and help other people be closer to Christ.

I hope you all have a great week. Thanks for the pictures and enjoy the snow. Love you all!

Love,

Sister Bedke

Week 50 - Boa Viagem

Hello family!

This has been a great week. We have been so busy and it’s the best. We are teaching lots of people! Three of them decided they want to be baptized--Perla, Manaseis, and Daniel. We made goals with all of them and they are super excited as are we! Daniel is planning for this Sunday!

Yesterday one of our investigators brought his mom--who is super, super, super faithful to her church. I don’t think her church exists in the United States at least. They have to wear jean skirts and can’t use make-up or dance or cut their hair. And lots of people here are from this church. Anyways she decided that she wanted to get to know our church and came yesterday. And she loved it!! Her son wanted to leave after sacrament meeting but she made him stay for all three hours with her. Sacrament meeting was the best. I love testimony meeting here because everyone loves to bear their testimony. After the Bishop gets done talking like 20 people rush the pulpit and sit in a line waiting for their turn to share their testimony. It is the coolest thing ever to see so many people so proud and happy to share with everyone what they believe. There is never the awkward silence in between testimonies.

We had the best lesson with another investigator. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and he felt the Spirit and decided he needed to change. The last visit we marked Alma 5 and wrote in the book “what changes do I need to make to prepare myself to live with God again?”  He said that after he read that he knew he wanted to be baptized and make the Gospel a part of his life. It was awesome! He has changed so much from the first time we met him.

This week on New Year’s Eve we had to go to the house early because of all the people that were partying on the streets. President Bigelow sent us a talk to print off and study that night. It talked about how to be better teachers. I learned so much! Mom maybe it would be something you would like and dad too! It’s called To Learn and To Teach More Effectively by Elder Scott. Anyways after I read it I decided to write down everything I learned in 2014. The list was big! I realized again how thankful I am for my mission! It is really rewarding to see the change that has happened. I am just super grateful!

Thank you guys for everything you do for me! Have a great week. Love you!

Love,

Sister Bedke