WEEK 71: December in the South

Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well, and having a great time preparing for Christmas. The Christmas prep here in Georgia has been going great, with the exception of one thing - the lack of snow. It has gotten quite colder here, and I've heard that it snows very rarely, but this Christmas is reminding me a lot of Brazil! 

We had some great lessons and appointments this week. We witnessed one miracle through our Facebook efforts. A couple of weeks ago, we hosted a random live Facebook event wherein we made a popular Brazilian dessert. We messaged everyone that commented, and met someone named Ayla. She is awesome, and is actually from Fortaleza, where I was serving in Brazil! She invited us to her home, and said she was looking for truths regarding Jesus Christ in her life. We gave her the Book of Mormon and taught her the restoration. We have seen some serious miracles from the new work that we have been doing here. 

We had a wonderful church service on Sunday. We got to hear some great music from some talented members, and even a couple of numbers by the primary. The branch is really young, from what I have noticed. Made of lots of young families with children. They are all wonderful. I feel very privileged to have served here, and to see the growth that is taking place. 

And, with the exception of a few people standing on the side of the street with posters, we haven't heard or felt too much regarding local politics. We actually don't know too much about what is happening, but it is cool to be here during such an interesting time. 

As we approach Christmas, Elder Galvão and myself worked on a video to share with members centralized around this main scripture found in Isaiah 9:6 -

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace

As Christmas approaches, take time to think about the role that Christ plays personally in your life. His life and his sacrifice were done very personally for each and every one of us. His love extends forever, and his arms are always outstretched. Love you all, have a wonderful Christmas! 

Love,
Elder Perry

WEEKS 69 & 70: Lots of Service and Getting Ready for Christmas

Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing fantastic! We have had a really busy couple of weeks here in Georgia. 

Last week was the last week of the transfer. We were able to see and meet with some awesome people. I found out that I will be staying another transfer here in the Clear Springs Branch! Yes, I will be staying for my 5th transfer here! It has been a little while. We had lots of changes to our district, but I will be staying here in this area with Elder Galvão! We were supposed to have another companion arrive directly from Brazil to begin his mission, but he did not get his visa yet, so he may be coming later in the transfer. It is sad to see everyone go and see all the changes, but I am excited to see the work that takes place here over the next 6 weeks. 

We have been meeting new people quite a bit over Facebook! Elder Galvão and I have been trying and experimenting with new ways of contacting people, which has been awesome. And, as always, we have continued to work on making more videos. We have a solid group of people we teach on a regular basis, though all the Brazilians in the area work so much! So it's hard to keep close contact, or to have them come to church on Sunday. But, we are still working hard! We had the privilege of assisting in the baptismal service of Bruno. He just turned eight years old and is the child of a family in the branch. I gave a talk and also played the piano. We are excited to see the branch continue to grow!

We have also been anxiously engaged in some very rewarding service opportunities! We have been helping our good friend Mama T quite a bit lately. She is a single mother who basically takes care of the whole state of Georgia. We have been helping her new foster child, Jose, to be prepared for school and working on his homework. We also had the chance to help move large amounts of wood chips for some members of the English ward and we're planning more yard work activities this coming week. Thanks to the warm Georgia weather, the yard work never has to stop! Serving others has become such a reward to me and seeing the lives of others change is a feeling that cannot be beat.

The Christmas preparations here are also great! It gets slightly cold in the mornings and at night, but the winter temperature here is actually really nice. Could definitely get used to this warm humid weather all year long. 

Anyway, that's about all there is to know about the work here in Georgia! I hope you all have a wonderful December, and remember the significance of the life of our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ. Through Him, all things are possible. 

Love
Elder Perry

Working at the Church

Helping Mama T decorate her Christmas Tree

A Thank-You-for-Service-Dinner on a Neighbor's Back Porch 

WEEK 68: Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving week out here in Marietta. I hope you all had a wonderful week as well and gave lots of thanks. 

But yes, we had a traditional American dinner on Thanksgiving. Some of the larger families of the branch have been here in the states for a while, so they have definitely 'Americanized' a bit or they are families with a Brazilian mother or father married to an American. We ate turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and a huge amount of pie. We ate so much, it was amazing. It was also a great opportunity to share our thoughts on gratitude with the members of the branch. I have felt my heart fill with gratitude, not just now but over the course of my missionary experience, for all of the wonderful people who cross my path. The mission will do that to you. 

We have occasional English class lessons with people and our soccer night has been as successful as ever. We have been cranking out some videos lately on gratitude and life being like a soccer game and a live video of us making a Brazilian dessert. Not always easy to create content that the Brazilians love, but we are working on it. 

We went to church at the Branch on Sunday. Attendance has been very strong -- about 50 people every week which is really great. The meetings are entirely in Portuguese and one member sits in the front and translates into small headphones that the English speaking members use. We are just doing sacrament meetings for now, but we do have other Sunday meetings over Zoom.

Gratitude, I have found, is one of the most consistent and most powerful forms of self satisfaction. One can rest satisfied counting their blessings, but you can never be content when you're counting your problems. I am grateful for each one of you, for Georgia, for great food, for this beautiful world, and all of the amazing people I have met. Continue finding that light and magnifying it in your heart.


Love, 
Elder Perry

WEEK 67: The True Southern Experience

Hey everyone! I hope you all had an excellent week! We had a great week out here in the great state of Georgia. As the days have gotten (slightly) colder and shorter, we have picked up our efforts, and have continued to find success. 

Our huge breakthrough this week was that we were able to help our good friend, Maria, accept a baptismal date. We are so happy about that steps she is taking in her life, and the desire she has to change. We set her date for the first of January. We are excited to help her prepare to make these necessary changes at the turn of the new year. We were able to meet with a lot of our other investigator friends this week and have been enjoying every moment with them. 

Now, for the true southern experience of this week. On Saturday, we were raking leaves at a member's house. He and his wife are both members of the local English ward. It was all going very smoothly - until we heard some shouting and noises down in the backyard. The member's friend had shot a deer with a crossbow, and it had started running away. We found the deer not too far off, and watched the cleaning and preparation process. I won't go into the details, but it was a very southern experience. And the meat tasted great. 

Another strange event happened when we were doing service for a Brazilian neighbor who messaged us on Facebook. We were raking large amounts of leaves and putting them in bags. About halfway through raking the yard, we uncovered a footlong snake. It was pretty small, but really aggressive - and kept striking out at the rakes. We dispatched him and were able to identify him as a brown snake. With the little information we found, we decided it was quite possible that one bite from it would put one of us in the hospital, so we were forced to postpone picking up the rest of the leaves. 

Not a lot more to report this week! We are still working hard through Facebook finding and doing service for people. I love being a missionary. Love you all!

Elder Perry

A Different Kind of MTC

WEEK 66: Film Production

Hey everyone! I hope you all had an amazing week! We were able to do some good hard work out here in Georgia this week, and we have been seeing the miracles of this wonderful work. 

As the title of this weekend's entry entails, we were hard in the "studio" (chapel's clerk office) making some videos. We've found that creating these small videos has been really effective in reaching out touching a large amount of people. We were able to make 3 different ones this week and we are beginning to see the fruits of these labors. I have found that the more you try to spread goodness, the more God will bless your efforts, and allow your light to shine bright. 

We were able to do quite a bit of service and teach lots of lessons this week, which was super fun. That definitely helps us to feel productive and makes time out here pass very quickly. We had one miracle in the form of a new family we will start teaching! We have an investigator named Luciene who we hadn't talked to in a really long time, and she reached out to us on WhatsApp and invited us to a Brazilian BBQ at her house. We got to meet her family and a couple of her Brazilian friends. We left them with a Book of Mormon, and are hoping to return to teach them more sometime. The blessings are real! 

We had several responses to our Facebook post advertising free service. We helped move some furniture for a nice Brazilian neighbor and we helped a member of the Paper Mill Ward move his greenhouse. We also had soccer night again at the park. A bunch of new people came this week but we were rained out at the end. We've had a lot of interest in the Facebook ad that we created and posted for our English classes. Those will begin again this week!

We also had stake conference this weekend! It was really cool to listen to everyone speak, and see how the stakes out here in Georgia work. My companion, Elder Galvão actually helped to translate the session on Saturday night. So that was a pretty fun event. 

Other than that, we are just still grinding, and trying to have fun where we can. I have loved my time here in Georgia. Love you all!

Elder Perry

WEEK 65: Week 65 and Also Week 1

Elder Galvão and Elder Perry

Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing amazing! To those of you reading this in Utah, I must say that the perpetual heat and humidity here in Georgia makes me miss the snow. 

This concludes week 65 of my mission, as well as the first week of Elder Galvão's mission. We were able to get a lot done this week, and I hope he is already learning the important skills necessary for the rest of his mission. Both of us got some flu-like symptoms halfway through the week, but a COVID test confirmed to us that it was just a cold. So after a couple of days quarantined, we are happy to get back to work as usual.

We had lots of success finding people on Facebook this week! That is actually the first time I've actually seen it working. We posted service ads into many local Brazilian groups, and received many responses. There were several responses from people who needed service, which was great, but also a large amount simply congratulating us on our willingness to serve. Either way, we have been able to see the importance of planting seeds and letting our lights shine forth. We have been working hard with many investigators, members, and on some more videos for Facebook.

And a spiritual thought as well: In Sunday school we discussed the value of the Book of Mormon. As we discussed the value of the truths, and personal meaning of the Book of Mormon, this scripture in Doctrine and Covenants was also brought up, and made me reflect a little more on the true cost of the Book of Mormon - D&C 135:6....

Hyrum Smith was forty-four years old in February, 1844, and Joseph Smith was thirty-eight in December, 1843; and henceforward their names will be classed among the martyrs of religion; and the reader in every nation will be reminded that the Book of Mormon, and this book of Doctrine and Covenants of the church, cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring them forth for the salvation of a ruined world; and that if the fire can scathe a green tree for the glory of God, how easy it will burn up the dry trees to purify the vineyard of corruption. They lived for glory; they died for glory; and glory is their eternal reward. From age to age shall their names go down to posterity as gems for the sanctified.

The Book of Mormon cost the best blood of the nineteenth century, as Joseph and Hyrum Smith died doing what they knew to be right. Always remember what this book means to you, and what its true value is. 

Love,

Elder Perry

Facebook Service Advertisement

WEEK 64: Hurricane Zeta and Training a New Companion

Wow! We have had a lot of things happen here this last week! The craziness of the mission out here in Georgia never seems to disappoint.

Tropical storm Zeta passed through last Tuesday, taking out a ton of trees and power lines, along with all electricity in our house for 24 hours. It didn't affect us too much other than the power outage, but we used the storm as an opportunity to go help and pick up debris in front of people's houses. Most all of the power lines are up and functional once again, so you could say we're back in business. 

Another crazy thing is that Elder Stearman got an emergency transfer! He is off to be a zone leader out in Calhoun and I will be here training Elder Galvão! He is a brand new missionary who just finished up at the home MTC. He was born and raised in Manaus, Brazil, but moved to Rexburg Idaho 2 years ago, making him fluent in both Portuguese and English. I feel so blessed to have him as my new companion, and look forward to the life lessons he will teach me. And, we're here in the best district in the United States. "A district full of giant slayers" one might say ;) 

And other than those two major events we have continued working hard and getting things done in this area. I have grown a very deep love for the people here in Georgia. A love that motivates me every day to get up and do my best, no matter the circumstances. 

I love you all, I love this work, and I love my savior Jesus Christ. Have a fantastic week! 

Love,
Elder Perry 

VOTING! 

WEEK 63: Quarantine and More Hard Work!

Sorry everyone! It has been a little while since I wrote a weekly update! 

The truth is, not a lot went on here in this area over the past couple of weeks. Two of the missionaries in our apartment came down with COVID, so we were all under a strict two-week quarantine. And while we were still able to work during quarantine, they were probably the two slowest weeks of my mission! We spent a good amount of time calling members, fishing, playing card games, and reading. There's not much else we could have done. There were a few organized (but virtual) activities that were planned for all the quarantined missionaries in the mission, so that gave us something to do as well. I ended up taking a COVID test last week that came back negative, which was comforting. But our quarantine is finally done, and we are ready to get back to the work at full speed. 

Another piece of huge news! Transfers are taking place right now! And...... I will be staying another transfer in the Clear Springs Portuguese Branch with Elder Stearman! We were actually both kind of surprised by the news. It is very rare (as far as I know) to spend four transfers with the same companion in the same area. But I am very excited to spend the next 6 weeks here with him. He has really become like a brother to me. I am sure there are more people we need to reach out to in order to touch their lives. In other transfer news, the other companionship is mostly staying the same - Elder Draper is headed home, and another reassigned missionary will be joining the other companionship. So stoked for the next transfer!

We have also had several successes with many of our investigators the past several weeks. Our main three friends, Mary, Maria, and Janio, were all able to attend church with us on Sunday. They all had very spiritual experiences, and I look forward to seeing the progress they will see further down the path. We are very blessed to have met them and are excited to help them prepare for baptism. 

Other than that, there's not much more to report! We are staying strong through the storms in our path. I have loved every minute of my missionary service thus far, and am eternally grateful for my experiences here. I love you all and I love the Lord. 

Love, 

Elder Perry

P.S. Thanks to the Gwilliams for the Crystal Growing Aspen and other fun surprises! They helped during quarantine!!

WEEK 60: Service and Sweatervests

Yes, the sweatervests are classy.

Hello everybody! I hope you all had a wonderful conference weekend, because we certainly did! We met up with some cool people, and had plenty of spiritual experiences this week! 

To start, we did more service as always. It has become a weekly event to go to Mama T's food pantry and volunteer. We go every Tuesday and help people in the community get their much-needed groceries. We also helped some people dig up plants, move sheds, and do some other things. Our work has never been better in the service department. Plus, we were about to translate a Kirtland tour again yesterday when the person bailed so we got another free tour. So cool. 

The work in the area is going really well too! We have found a ton of people between offering English classes and soccer night. With the teaching pool we have accrued, we should stay busy for a little while. Meanwhile, a few of our close friends have been progressing quite a bit! Our friend Mary is actually going to be renting a room at a members apartment starting next week! We are super happy that she is integrating herself with the branch family. She watched some conference with us too! She is so awesome. 

We also bought sweater vests at the thrift store just so we could take some fly pictures. Judge if you'd like, but they were like 4 dollars each. 

Conference was so amazing. I learned so many things and felt so uplifted spiritually. I would have to say, I found the theme of preparation during the Saturday sessions to be most interesting. We understand through the scriptures, that this life is a time to prepare to meet God. We are preparing for the second coming. And we are preparing for the storms ahead. Our lives seem to be full of preparations of some form. It is important that our preparation comes upon a foundation of truth and light. That foundation can be found in Christ and the words of His true and living prophets. As you go back and study the words that were spoken this last weekend, think of the things that you can apply to better prepare yourself for what lies ahead. 

I love you all so much! Have a fantastic week!! And a huge thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Bryan and Grandma and Grandpa Perry who have supported me with packages, emails, and donations! You are the best!

Love, Elder Perry

WEEK 59: Lessons, Interviews, and the Temple

Seven more days have flown past us here in the GANM. I have loved every day of my service here, and have grown a deep appreciation for the land and the people living here.

It was a relatively slow week this week. We didn't have anything too crazy going on. We were able to do a lot of service for people though! We helped with two moves, some yard work, and other cleaning in the homes of some members. I have felt so blessed to be able to offer so much service to people. This has been a rare opportunity that I never really had in Brazil. Although the sweat and sore muscles hurt at the time, the fulfillment and satisfaction of the service is what really matters. 

We also took some fire pictures by the temple! We met some members there before they gave us dinner at their house, so we took our time and got some photos!

We have been able to find quite a few people through English classes and soccer night lately. One other strategy that we have tried so far is going into local Brazilian markets and restaurants and trying to spark up conversations with people there. It is not always easy, but it has been a lot more productive and intimate than just teaching long and sometimes boring English classes. We have found some cool people, and already have several who are progressing as well. There really isn't any struggle in finding, but the real challenge is progressing the people we're teaching. 

We also had our interviews with President Harris this week! He is so awesome. He gave plenty of great advice as to how we should be going about work in the branch and the goals I should be setting for myself as a missionary. I loved the experience and am looking forward to our zone conference this week. 

I also was blessed with more inspiration in the form of another video! If any of you want to check it out, it is on my facebook page. 

Love you all. The church is true and God is out there rooting for you. 

Love
Elder Perry

WEEK 58: Settled In

We had an outstanding week here in the area! We have a couple of changes that have come as a result of transfers and thanks to the work we have accomplished. I was assigned to be our new district leader at the beginning of this week. Our district is actually super small - only us 5 Portuguese Elders and one companionship of sisters - so 7 in total. We are all really close though, so I look forward to serving them and helping our district to grow closer over the coming weeks. The vacant spots in the apartment were filled by Elder Kirkpatrick and Elder Draper. Elder Draper was actually the former AP of the mission, and is on his last transfer, and Elder KP has been out about as long as I have. We have a great group and I'm excited for this transfer. 

Things have actually started to cool down quite a bit this last week. With the hurricanes down south, we have been getting a fair amount of rain as well. Kind of a dramatic shift for just one week, but it's a welcomed change from the normal sticky heat. We got a virtual tour of Kirtland Ohio as well. We received a call from some sister missionaries there who were in need of Portuguese translators for their tour. The Brazilians never actually arrived for the tour, so we were able to watch the tour ourselves. It was a super interesting experience - missionary work has changed so much with the virus and it is awesome to see the adaptations people are making. 

We had another church meeting yesterday (Sunday). We had a really great turnout and had a very spiritual experience. We had 2 investigators come with us! Mary and a new woman named Maria. They both had a great time and really felt the spirit. We have talked to Mary quite a bit about baptism lately, and we think it will be in the near future. We have received some instrumental assistance from the members in her conversion. Such a cool process to be a part of. 

Other than that, there is not much more going on around here. We are continuing to work hard and help the people in this area. Service and English classes have been awesome and I look forward to the service that I will be able to accomplish here. 

D&C 18:10-16. 

I love you all, and I love the work. And I love the packages -- thank you Willams Family!!!

Love,

Elder Perry

WEEK 57: Transfers

Another week in Marietta! We had an exceptional week of missionary work here in Georgia. Elder Stearman and I have been grinding and seeing so many blessings because of it! We received our news on transfers late this afternoon! Super crazy because there was some kind of glitch in the software they were using, so we received the news super late. But nothing much is changing! Elder Stearman and I are STAYING in the Portuguese branch for one more transfer. I am so excited to be working here with Stearman for the next 6 weeks. Our district leader, Elder Whiting, will be leaving our apartment and two new Elders will be coming to be in a trio with Elder Hatch. We also said goodbye to Elder Whitney this week! He will be greatly missed here in this area. Always tough to have changes to the house and the area, but we keep moving on!

We had several service projects this week as well! We helped out at the pantry which was super fun! We get to practice speaking a little bit of Español there as well! And we hosted a free lemonade stand at a local park! We got to meet a ton of cool families that were leaving from a lacrosse game. That was a fun way to connect a little bit with the community and bring some light into people's lives. We helped a family move on Sunday as well! They are super awesome and interested in attending church with us. We are really seeing so many blessings come to us as a result of the service opportunities that we have found in this area. Whether we can immediately see the results or not, God is pouring blessings upon us. 

We also got to see Mary yesterday! She had a great weekend in Florida with the family from our branch. She was able to learn a lot and feel the spirit with them. We taught her about the gospel of Jesus Christ and talked to her a little about baptism. She is a little nervous about it, and still thinking about her answer, but we are confident that through her faith, the spirit will touch her and help her to accept our invitation. 

We also had zone conference over zoom this week! It was cool to see everyone and get motivated to work. We were encouraged to study John 13 to prepare -- a super fire chapter if you need some study suggestions. Always important to show our love for those we are serving. 

Love, Elder Perry

WEEK 56: (Slow) Moving!

Hanging out in a tree stump

Another week has come and gone here in Marietta. We were able to accomplish quite a bit this week, even though it seemed to move a little slow at times. And we helped another family move. Good times of hard work!

We were able to do some yard work for a local member named Wendy. We met Wendy at the beginning of last transfer, and we have been able to help her do manual labor several times since then. She has a huge backyard full of ducks, chickens, some deer at times, and a large dog. We have grown very close to her and her husband, Oze through our service. We were actually able to film their conversion stories this week as well - so stay tuned for a video on that. We have loved helping them out. 

It was also Elder Hatch's birthday this weekend. He is with the other companionship living in our house, but it was fun to celebrate all of the wonderful things he's accomplished in 21 years of life. It made my head spin a little when I realized it was already September. Time has moved so quickly ever since I landed here in Georgia. I am so excited to see what the next year holds for me here. 

We were not able to meet at all with our best investigator - Mary - this week. But we also weren't sad about that, because she was on vacation with a member family of the branch!!! Mary has been getting super close to the church members here, and it has been great to see her grow and learn. We hope to meet up with her this coming week, but we have personally learned so much about the importance of members in missionary work. The members are really the ones that get people moving, and help to "love them into the church." Our experience with Mary has touched my heart. 

This past week, I've reflected quite a bit on service. Service has been our main channel by which we do missionary work these days. And even in the moments of stress and exhaustion, it's important to remember that we are serving the Lord. "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." While we were at Wendy's house, I had an actual, physical shed on top of my back as we moved it. Under the crushing weight, I remembered that I was moving that shed for God. That we were at Wendy's house for God. And that I was in Georgia to serve God. This perspective is one that I would like to be a defining theme for the rest of my mission, and even my life. Always look to serve, and to love, because you're serving God. 

I love you all! Have a great week and go out and serve!

Elder Perry