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