WEEK 50: Some Splendidly Sweet Summertime Service

Hey everyone! Week 50 of the blog, thanks to everyone who is still reading this! This week was full of more service, more great members, and many great experiences. 

We helped a lot of members this week. We were asked to help strengthen wood planter boxes, cut large limbs off of some massive trees, lug around large quantities of bricks, and even move some baby chicks. In a difficult time to find and teach people, service has been a great way to feel fulfilled as a missionary, and help everyone come unto Christ. We were able to help move furniture for an investigator of the sisters in our district named 'Mama T.' I'll drop a photo of us with her in the blog. She has done a ton of service here in Georgia and has had the chance to meet lots of famous people. She showed us a Ted Talk that her son did a few years back. She was great, and gave us some dang good pasta. 

The weather here is still incredibly hot and humid, and the sun is bright - but not as bright as our spirits. We have been working hard and keeping a positive mentality about everything, and I have really felt a difference in the way we have gone about our work. I have felt happier and more fulfilled as a missionary. Being in the field with such great people, with ample time to serve and study has helped me grow so much. I appreciate the time that the Lord has given me here in Georgia. 

We still have several people who we are teaching who are progressing. With everything online, I've noticed that it's a lot easier for people to "ghost" us, or just stop responding to messages. We have been trying to find people who are truly interested in learning about the gospel, and focusing on their needs. It has not always been easy but we are doing everything that we can. 

I have been so blessed here in Marietta. I could not be happier to be spending time serving God's children in this sacred place. Love you all and I love the Lord!

Love, 

Elder Perry

WEEK 49: Pressing Forward

Marietta Elders with friend Brother Terry

Hey everyone! Another week has come and gone here in the Georgia Atlanta North mission. We have been able to get some good things done this past week. We are focusing a lot on how we can further the work, and figure things out in a trying time.

This week was decent for finding and teaching people! We were able to find 3 new people who are interested in learning English and more of Jesus Christ. The finding has not usually been a problem for us here. The main problem comes in scheduling times to meet with people throughout the week. We're always trying to reschedule or are getting cancelled on by our investigators. That makes things a bit difficult at times, but we're doing our best and we have several people who are progressing well. 

We had interviews with President Harris this week, too! It was great meeting him, and hearing about the things he would like us to focus on. He spoke quite a bit on the importance of inspired planning and preparation. He is very spiritually in tune and we are all fortunate to have him leading this mission. 

We've continued to work with the members a lot this week! We've done some good service projects and we've received some pretty great meals too! We had dinner with one family who fed us a tomato salad and grilled venison! I would say that was my first true country meal down here in Georgia. We also met with a family this weekend and had a Brazilian barbecue (churrasco)! It was fun to have some of that Brazilian food again. We've had the opportunity to help a few families move this week, set up dressers, and move heavy equipment. The service aspect of missionary work here in the states is one thing that I have found particularly rewarding. 

It seems that Covid has been strengthening its grip here in the states a little bit. There have been a lot of new cases reported lately, and we've had to crack down on the rules a little more as missionaries. We can't really meet with members over the age of 70, or who might be at a higher risk. We're hoping things start getting better, but precautions are necessary right now. 

That was about it for this week! Another solid week of work. I have loved every minute of my time in Georgia, and I look forward to making this place my home for the next year. Love y'all!

Love,

Elder Perry

Teaching English Class

Catch and release at the lake outside the Elders' apartment

Tomato Salad and Venison

WEEK 48: A Week of Good Ol' Country Service

Another exciting and very busy week. We have been teaching lots of lessons and providing lots of service for the people here in Georgia. I have loved every minute of my experience here, and am so grateful to be in the service of our Lord. 

We got to have a sort of "meet and greet" with President Harris this week. We got to know him a little bit along with his wife and 5 daughters. They have a really great and spiritual family and we've already learned so much from them. I feel blessed to be in a mission guided by such inspired leadership. I look forward to the next year of service with President Harris. 

As I mentioned in the title, we had some quality service this week! President Harris has challenged everyone in the mission to do at least 10 hours of service every week. So we accepted the challenge with vigor. On Friday, we met this really sweet member named Wendy, who needed some help building a wall out of huge concrete slabs around her yard and also moving a ton of bricks. It was really cool to be doing some intense manual labor, and feeling a small taste of the country life, especially when they gave us some KFC when we were done. There was another really great family that moved into the branch this week and we helped them bring boxes and furniture into their new house on Saturday. It was super cool meeting their family and doing some quality service. The Costco pizza afterwards was also great -- hahaha. 

The work here continues to go well. We were able to find several more investigators through English classes. We have several people who are still progressing, and we will hopefully have a couple of baptisms coming up soon. And while it has been pretty weird having to find people solely through Facebook and WhatsApp, we missionaries have adapted and changed and have found the strengths in these challenges. 

I found this super cool scripture this week in my personal studies!

1 John 4:7-8

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

We can never overemphasize the importance of love in our lives. Love can be a driving force for change and happiness in our lives and is the best tool we can utilize to become closer to God. I love you all, I love Georgia, and I love Jesus Christ. 

Love Elder Perry 

WEEK 47: Week 2 in Paradise

District Firework Watching

Wow! What a week it has been. We have been working really hard and having a great time here in Marietta. 

This week was really great in the work department. We were able to find 9 new people to teach! That included several families, which is really great. It really helps that people are home all the time and are always available for English classes. That has been our main method of finding people lately. We teach them English and follow it up with a spiritual message. As a result, we have several people who are progressing quite well. It has been so fun to meet so many new people, and hear the interesting stories of how these Brazilians came to the United States. It has been such a cool experience being here teaching such great people. 

We had some really great 4th of July festivities here in Georgia. We were able to have a fun barbecue with our district, a zone volleyball tournament, pass out free water bottles on a trail along the Chattahoochee river, and then watch some fireworks at our apartment complex with this dude named Chris. We had a really great time together as a district and proudly celebrated. 

Our new mission president has come and settled in these past couple of days. President Harris! He is a great man and I am excited to see how he intends on running this mission. We have our first in-person meeting with him this Thursday. I am excited to finally be able to meet with him. 

We were able to do lots of service this week too! We helped our investigator, Rudy, paint basically the entire inside of his house. We helped some members (from Utah) move out of their apartment and into their new home. We have been teaching several English classes and lots more. President Harris has put a distinct emphasis on service. 10 hours per week! So I am looking forward to more weeks like this one. 

I have been loving my time here in Marietta with Elder Swanson and Elder Stearman. I am excited to continue working with them this transfer, and help others come into Christ in such a strange time. I love you all and I love this work!!

Spiritual thought: 3 Nephi 18:19-21! Prayer is not just for times of trouble! Hold a prayer in your heart at all times. 

Love,
Elder Perry

An investigator who bought the Elders a Brazilian treat

Free haircuts from another kind investigator

Marietta Elders

Even the Wendy's in Georgia has southern hospitality