day one in brazil

My name, Ricchio they pronounce Rico which means ``Rich`` in Portugues, and since i am american they all think im rich....LOL but i am serving in one of the most poor areas in the mission.....go figure....but i LOVE it! i am serving in a city called Cocaia = Coke-eye-uh

The language is so different here.....i love how i am learning it all over again because they pronounce things differently and with inntonation like italians.... Its funny because we have encountered people that are super offended that i cant speak the language well. but then there are others that just stare at me waiting for me to speak....and then they laugh at me! hahaha but it doesnt hurt my feelings, i laugh right with them! The criancas = children love me because they teach me slang....and laugh when i repeat it back to them! i love the kids here...they are so cute and love the missionaries!

Things take about a week to dry....no drying machines so we have to hang EVERYTHING up outside....and its still not dry! haha so things are a little wet when we go out

the craziest thing i think is the fact that the toilet paper DOES NOT go down the TOILET.....i repeat...DOES NOT.....becaause the plumbing is terrible here....you wipe your butt and then put it into the trash can next to the toilet.....its strange and gross all at the same time!!! hahahahahhahah

there are tons of mini bugs...like they crawl all over....your food, your desk....but suprisingly im not grossed out....i just kill the suckers and carry on...hahahah who knew right

the native brazilian missionaries LOVE to play jokes on me and know that i have no idea what they are saying because theuy speak soooooooooooooooooooo fast..............hahah my distrito lider speaks so fast and laughs everytime because i have to say, ``mais devegar por favor`` meaning more slower please! haha

the food is awesome! Patty we eat beans, rice and carne...... cada dia!... meaning everyday!!! its really good! The milk though.....oi! it tastes like liquified cream cheese.......and did i mention that we eat cake for breakfast...LOL i think i might have a worm already! hahahahhahahahhaha more on that later!

Hills, Hills, Hills, Sao Paulo has so many hills.......and did i mention that its still stinking hot even though its winter here.....i was walking down the street...took off my backpack and my entire back was sweaty

the BUS SYSTEM....how could i forget....hahahhahaah we took the bus the other day because we walk everywhere but the appointment we had was super far away and would have taken years to get to it....so the bus pulls up and its jam packed full of people....i mean jam packed....to the point where you have to manuver your way onto the bus.......like you hug other people jsut to hold on because the drivers here are LOCO! youre seriously in peoples grills the whole time....ive neer felt so unholy on my mission until yesterday...HAHAHAHAHAHAH it is hilarious.

Did i mention that NOBODY speaks a lick of english here.......You can get away with not speakng the language in europe,.....but NOT here! haha my companion, Sister Sampaio is a native and we will seriously spend like 20 minutes dictionary to dictionary just looking up words to say to each other so we can communicate! its pretty hard but were getting it....she loves english and i try to help her as she helps me and my portugues.

It is not uncommon to see a 5 yr old girl or boy roaming the streets at night...that shocked me! but normally the kids have n shoes barley any clothes and play Futebol in the streets.

People BLAST music here....where you can hear it a couple streets down....and they PLAY AMERICAN MUSIC! hahah that was a trip! theres a song they ALWAYS play....i think by pitbull....``para americana`` is what its called i think.....hahaha i laugh and start thinking about everyone and what youre all doing!

ALL IN ALL i love it here....we got to appointments al the time and some of these people have nothing.....their house smells, you can see the mold growing everywhere, their homes would be considered shacks (favelas) in the States but one house i seriously started crying....because they were so poor but they wanted to give us everything they had! ugh im gettting teared up now..

We dont have to really worry about crime....even the thiefs fear ``church people` because they think we are Gods....but the elders have been robbed a few times.....no worrying though, we know what to do if we have any encounters!

Lets just say that heavenly Father definitely knew what he was doing.....hahahah the people here are gorgeous! and they are loving and good people!

letter from the mission president

To the Family of Sister Vanessa Elizabeth Ricchio,

Sister Jackson and I were delighted to welcome Sister Ricchio to the Brasil São Paulo Interlagos Mission on Tuesday, 01 Feb 2011 . Please be assured that she received an enthusiastic welcome from her leaders and fellow missionaries. Pictures should arrive shortly by e-mail or conventional mail of Sister Ricchio with Sister Jackson and me, her companion and her CTM group.

Sister Ricchio has been assigned to labor with Sister Kaliandra Alves Sampaio in the Cocaia Ward of the Grajaú Stake. As you can imagine, those who receive the assignment to train new missionaries are among the most faithful and dedicated missionaries in the mission.

Sister Ricchio has been asked to write you each week on Preparation Day (Monday). We would ask you to write her weekly as well. The importance of a letter each week from those she loves cannot be overstated. Please remember to share family news and personal experiences that will help her focus on the work of the Lord and increase her desire to serve with all of his heart, might, mind, and strength. Given the time difference with the United States, e-mail correspondence should probably be sent by Sunday evening. Packages and correspondence sent by conventional mail should be addressed to the Mission Office as follows:

Sister Vanessa Elizabeth Ricchio

Missão Brasil São Paulo Interlagos

Rua Euzébio de Souza, 121

Jardim Londrina, São Paulo, SP

CEP: 05638-100

Brasil

We look forward to our association with Sister Ricchio as we work together to build the Kingdom of God in Brazil. We are so impressed with her desire to serve and feel sure that she will be a blessing to her companion and to our entire mission. If you have any questions or concerns, please don´t hesitate to contact us.

Love,

President Christopher G. Jackson

Brazil São Paulo Interlagos Mission

she made it to brazil!

here is sister ricchio with her mission president, president jackson and his wife

sister ricchio and sister k. sampaio

a mother's day video chat!

thank you to whomever developed video chatting. my (future)mother's day was the best yet.

sister ricchio

look at her long red hair

the name tag

duck face duck face!

the news on sister ricchio:

-she is assigned to the Hilliard Singles Ward

-it is soooo hot and humid in NC!

-she is baptizing people left and right

-she gets to practice portuguese 1 hour/day

-her visa is on it's way and she will be going to brazil!

the visa is on it's way!

sister ricchio said that her visa is on it's way and she will now be going to brazil soon!

oh "hey church ladies"

here's another excerpt from sister ricchio's letter:

we were out tracting one day and on our journey we came upon a man with shaggy hair, overalls, no shoes, and a bloody mary who saw us and yelled "OH HEY CHURCH LADIES!". right off the bat i knew this would be interesting. . . i told my companions to keep walking but they wanted to "share the message with him" - - i'm pretty sure he couldn't even remember his name. so he stumbled over to us and almost fell down! so then we introduced ourselves and then he said, "i'm john the baptist!". . . slurred a couple more words and said he wanted to pick all of us up off the ground . . . and then proceeded to set his drink on the floor but as he bent over he FELL OVER!

oh and i used to hear stories of people answering their front doors naked or whatnot and I never believe it, until one day when we were tracting and door after door the guys were wearing nothing but their underwear! it's so funny and so awkward at the same time! sometimes people will jump behind the door once they find out we're missionaries, but on the flip side some know who we are and do it on purpose! LOL

so i'm not sure if you were watching the news a few days ago but there was a tornado watch here! it was no biggy until we found ourselves in a giant hail storm! I promise patty it was so scary. no joke we said a prayer and waited it out. we hadn't received a text because we thought for sure our president would call everyone off and go indoors . . . so we called him and apparently he wasn't even aware of the storm because he was in an area in the mountains! but the storm totally reminded me of 'Twister' and I of course quoted some twister movie lines in my head amongst the scariness!

the latest story . . . we are teaching a group of congo students that are in an english exchange program. so we brought a member to come over and help us translate. they speak french by the way! so we were doing great in our lesson and at the end i brought out my pen and planner to make another appointment with them, but they were still talking so i sat there and started to chew on my pen . . . WELL all of a sudden i started to taste something gross and took the pen out of my mouth . . . .INK WAS EVERYWHERE! the pen had exploded in my mouth and i didn't know what to do so i turned to my companions and they were laughing so hard! the member and the congos started cracking up as i was practically gagging!

something really cool happened . .. so jeremy our recent baptism was a tough cookie, extremely stubborn and a bit confused about life. well we found him tracting and began working with him and teaching him. he loved it and totally grasped everything! he knows the bible better than anyone i have known and really has firm faith. however, he said he still didn't believe the book of mormon was true and wouldnt be baptized unless he had some amazing glorified angel come down and visit him! time after time we explained to him that more than likely that wouldn't happen! but by the power of the holy ghost he would know and also feel in his heart it was true. then a few weeks went by and he started to slack off on praying and reading and still said he hadn't received an answer. well sister ricchio was no kosher with that! LOL. i explained to him that he wouldn't receive an answer unless he did his part, and if he wasn't willing to do that, he was just wasting his time then. so after that, we as a companionship talked and i thought he wouldn't be baptized for a while and become what we can an 'eternal investigator.' BUT just two weeks after that he said he was ready!!!! so he had his baptismal interview with our district leader and when they were done our district leader said "sister ricchio, i need to tell you something." so i talked with him and he told me that jeremy told him in the interview that had it not been for me giving him a little push that he would have never committed to be baptized because he knew it was right and true but was just scared to make that commitment!!!! patty i just about balled because i was so happy! when my district leader told me that I KNEW that i was supposed to be in NORTH CAROLINA. if he is the only person i truly help . . . that's good enough for me. It was just such a fulfilling experience and a very proud moment as a missionary! i love being a missionary!

double baptisms

here is an excerpt from sister ricchio's letter:

Jeremy and Michelle were baptized and that was a miracle because as i had thought in the beginning that Jeremy would be an eternal investigator and somehow "O ye of little faith" came into my mind. Michelle was having some struggles the night before her baptism. We went over to meet with her to try to relieve her concerns....She started talking about how her family was a bit upset with her decision to be baptized and that she felt akward to tell talk more about it because they thought she was crazy. I then at that moment teared up and began to share my experience with going on a mission and how my family has had a hard time with it. She gave me a hug and thanked me for sharing with her and i really tried to testify of the importance of your own personal testimony. If you dont have your own testimony then you will be as the scriptures say, "driven like a tossed wave at sea." So she was baptized and i was so happy that she made the wonderful decision just as jeremy did!

Just last night the bishop's wife told us to come over to her house after the baptism....we though she wanted to give us some of her delicious bread that she makes for sacrament. So we swung by and she said to come in and sit down. So we talked to her for a minute and she said, okay now we can come to the table and eat, and the Bishop came from a room and we all sat and ate dinner. Apparently missionaries hadnt been over to the bishops house in awhile (just hearsay) but apparently its because the bishop hadnt been too happy with some of the missionaries that had been in the ward previously. That made me really think about our conduct and work as missionaries and how upsetting that was to hear. So we ate dinner and talked about some things in the ward and before we left i shared on of my favorite stories in the bible and being examples of the believers. It was an awesome experience and i was very happy that we have gained the bishops trust and hopefully will continue to do our best and work hard!

babycakes

sister ricchio got a little package in the mail!

yummy muffins

she just loves these babycakes muffins.

the most recent update on sister ricchio is that she still does not have her visa. there has been no word as to when or if she will be sent to brazil.

here is an excerpt from her most recent letter:

"This Sunday we have 2 baptisms back to back in between general conference and im so excited! I began teaching both michelle and jeremy since i got here and they have progressed soooo much. jeremy actually bore his testimony in sacrament meeting! it was so cool and a wave of emotion hit me because he has totally changed his life! that's the beauty of missionary work! you come out to change lives and in reality we the missionaries are just a small part of their conversion. things are still moving along and we are working hard everyday."

p-day and tracting. . .

preparation day at the discovery center (science center/obstacle course)

sister hernandez and sister ricchio tracting another night in charlotte (ps. it's windy and cold here)

sister henicksman (idaho), sister ricchio, sister hernandez (philippines)

no mail = sad day

sister ricchio's 1st baptism!

on the way to their first baptism

(Sister Ricchio, Sister Manuo [New Zealand], Sister Hernandez [Philippines])

the sister missionaries with alexandra dawn sechrist

congrats!

happy 23rd birthday!

sister ricchio got a nice little edible surprise in the mission office on her birthday! happy 23!

excited to eat the chocolate dipped strawberries :)

mtc with elder logan

sister ricchio found a friend while in the mtc! elder logan used to be in the single's branch with us and boy was she happy to see a familiar face. these pictures were given to me by his girlfriend.

my favorite!

have you seen a sister missionary as stylish?

serving in a singles ward

sister ricchio sent a quick email to let us know that she is now serving in a singles ward and tracts on the UNC Charlotte campus!

she made it to CHARLOTTE!

Here she is with President and Sister Lindsay Thomas

-Charlotte, North Carolina Mission President-

Some of her district members and President and Sister Thomas

Sister Ricchio says Charlotte is FREEZING, but that she already has two investigators who have set baptismal dates! She is already working so hard as a missionary!

new reassignment!

sister ricchio has been reassigned to the CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA Mission where she will remain until she receives her visa to travel to Brazil.

she was able to call home for 5 minutes to let us know of her travel plans. she will be leaving the mtc february 1, 2011 at 0400 AM in the morning. she will get to call home again to inform us of her departure from slc.

it was great to hear her voice! she and her district are so excited for this new change!

only 2 more weeks left in the mtc!

patty with her missionary tag on!

("is butter a carb? LOL!")

("The view outside my window! Do you miss Utah?? I think NOT!")

[Patty mentions that due to the extreme dryness of Utah, she experiences severe nosebleeds! She hates the cold!]

In front of the Provo, Utah LDS Temple

("Temple walk! Each Sunday after lunch we get to walk to the Provo Temple. . . ALL UP HILL!")

("The Trio! Me and my companions: Sister Shaha & Sister Black")

("The District: Elder Laufenberg, me, Sister Black, Elder Thorup, Sister Shaha, Sister Randall, Sister Smith, Elder Smith")

"So here at the MTC we are not allowed to sing unless it's a hymn. So naturally nobody sings EXCEPT in the shower! Oh my gosh patty it's so funny! The sisters all sing and try to have a competition on who has the best voice! You would just die laughing! I was washing my hair and thought, 'Maybe I should sing 'Called to Serve' in my ugly tone deaf voice! Maybe tomorrows shower time will be a little adventurous!"

update on sister ricchio

sister ricchio currently has 2 sister companions: Sister Black from McCamon, Idaho and Sister Shaha. she has been called to be the senior companion of the group.

the language has been tough, but it is coming along! the MTC is nothing like anyone said it would be! "i guess you just have to experience it yourself!"

she says, "this experience in the MTC has totally challenged me, but I have loved every minute of it! coming here has strengthened my testimony so much. it's getting stronger day by day. i truly need to be here and i have learned so much already."

her district includes 3 elders and 5 sister missionaries.

"i would love me some treats! elder smith gets a food package everyday and we're all so jealous! he's so nice and shares with me! I don't know what everyone was talking about with the food in the MTC, but Patty is there's ever a time that I've missed your cooking it's NOW! The food is junk so treats would definitely come in handy!"

this is her testimony in portuguese:

Eu sei que a Igreja e verdadiera, e que Jesus Cristo e O salvador, e O livro de Mormon e as palavras de Deus, e as familias sao eternas. Em nome de Jesus Cristo, Amen!

in front of the MTC

looking over provo valley

playing in the snow before she travels to the jungles of brazil

you can see byu campus in the top right of the picture

emilie. one of our lifesavers for taking sister ricchio to the mtc!

SO CUTE! here she is all stylish and ready, backpack and all, to enter into the mtc!

kneaders breakfast & costa vida lunch

sister ricchio eating a yummy kneaders breakfast

she can't get enough of costa vida

send off at john wayne

sisters at john wayne airport. sending off sister ricchio

safe arrival to slc

sister ricchio made it safely to salt lake city. wednesday she will be entering the missionary training center where she will meet all of the other missionaries going to brazil.

set apart as a missionary

president osborne, our stake president, set vanessa apart tonight as a missionary.

you can now call her "sister ricchio."

tomorrow she departs to SLC where on wednesday she will enter the missionary training center