WEEK 55: Moving!

Well, we're not moving anywhere but we did help two families move this week! 

We had another exceptional week here in the Clear Springs Portuguese Branch. Elder Stearman and I have continued to move the work along the best way we know how. It has been really fun working with him, and seeing the miracles happen in this area. 

We had the opportunity to do plenty of service this week. We helped two families move and did some other service projects along the way. The moves were both very physically demanding. We were responsible for all of the heavy furniture, which is no easy task. But losing yourself in the service is a great way to forget about the sore biceps. We were so grateful that we could help these families move at important times in their lives. The service aspect of missionary work now has been fun and rewarding. And on returning home with sore arms, I was greeted at our door by a package from the Bodens! Thank you so much for the snacks. They made my week!

We found some new people to teach this week, but most significantly, we have been in close contact with our friend Mary! Mary has been progressing so well, and we hope to help her take the necessary steps towards baptism in the next couple of weeks. Although the work does not move at the same pace as Brazil, it has been very exciting to see the many miracles for people here in the states. 

We have also been working quite a bit with the priest-aged young men in the ward, getting them all excited to go out on missions. We were able to have lunch with Pedro this week. He is a great kid, and we got to talk a lot about soccer. I have loved getting to know the youth of this branch. 

The only other highlight was a video that Elder Stearman and I made. Through some pretty difficult layout structuring, and making sure nothing was copyrighted, we created our masterpiece. The premise is "God's purpose is our happiness." It was a super powerful experience to feel God's inspiration in the making of the video. Go check it out on my Facebook page if you have a chance! 

I love this work and I love the Lord. Thank you all for the love and support that you've extended me since I departed again on my mission. I love you all. 

Love,
Elder Perry

WEEK 54: Cancelled

Serving at the Food Pantry

It was a pretty slow week this week. The title of today's blog entry describes it all. That was the result of most lessons we had planned for this week - cancelled. But we were able to still have some really awesome service experiences, and meet with some great people.

One highlight this week was serving at a food pantry here in town. Mama T is one the most involved volunteers there, so she invited us to come help out. We spent all of Thursday morning helping. I checked people's temperatures as they came in, and then they could go around and pick out whatever groceries they needed for the day. An overwhelming majority of the individuals coming to the food pantry spoke Spanish, so we got to practice some of our Español! That was a super cool and rewarding experience for us! We are planning on going back again and helping this week.

The teaching and finding was a little slow this week. We weren't exactly sure why, but we didn't get a lot of responses to messages. But we worked as hard as we could, trying different techniques and things, and we were able to make it work. The best lesson we had this week was on Sunday, when a member invited us over to have lunch with one of our investigators, Mary. They prepared some awesome food, and we prepared a restoration lesson. We had a really great time together, and we are so excited to see Mary continue to progress. 

I have been able to learn so much since I got here. I have had so many fun and spiritual experiences in Georgia. We were able to go visit the Braves baseball stadium when we were down near that part of Atlanta. It has been raining a ton the past few days as well, even though it is always hot and humid. I feel like I'm back in Brazil! 

That was about it for this week. We have continued to find people by offering free English classes, and we have been working really well with the members. One last spiritual message for y'all today: 

2 Timothy 1:7-9

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

We are here to feel peace and joy and love through Christ. I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Love Elder Perry

WEEK 53: Soccer Night and Church Services!!

Finally Back to Church!

This was a really awesome week for us in the Clear Springs Portuguese Branch! We were able to work really hard this week and we finally got to see some of the fruits of our labors.

We had our first church meeting this last Sunday! We were so excited to get back to church. All of us in the branch haven't gone to a church meeting in over 5 months! That was so awesome. We had an interesting sacrament meeting, got to hear some people speak, and got to know all of the members of the branch. Great times. We were actually able to bring 2 investigators with us to church! They both had a super spiritual experience at the meeting, and we are looking forward to helping them to progress this next week! One of them is Mary! This super nice older lady who made us jars of homemade strawberry jam. Yummmmm. I also got to hop on an online church service from the Itapipoca Branch back in my last area in Brazil. It was so great to see everyone again and make those connections! 

We were also able to plan and host a soccer night at a local soccer field. It took a ton of online fliers and text messages, but we were actually able to get a good showing from the local Brazilian community. We had probably close to 30 people show up to play soccer with us. We were able to meet some really nice dudes and we got some of their phone numbers to talk to them. We plan on holding another soccer night this week which should be awesome. 

I also had the pleasure of meeting Sister Haymore - Brother Dick Moffat's sister! She lives in the ward that meets in our same building. She made us some great chocolate chip cookies and visited us for a little while. Definitely a highlight of the week. 

Other than that, we have just been working hard and getting things done here in this area. We have been having a great time, and have been seeing the miracles of everything. There are difficult times, but we are continuing forward. 

Love you all!

Love Elder Perry

Big Dinner 

Going to Church with Friends

The Missionaries Love Sister Haymore 

Soccer Night

WEEK 52: Becoming Southern

Elder and Sisters currently assigned to the Clear Springs Portuguese Branch

Hey everyone! I hope you're all doing amazing!! We had another really great week here in the Clear Springs Portuguese Branch. We have been able to have some really cool experiences with our investigators and members and do some service as well. 

These couple of weeks are pretty significant for Elder Stearman and myself because a few days ago (Aug 7th) he hit his one year mark, and in a couple of days (Aug 14th) I will hit mine. Needless to say, we will do a bit of celebrating. But this has been a really great opportunity to reflect on the experiences that I have had this past year. I never would have guessed how far this journey would have taken me, and how much I would grow spiritually. I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity to devote myself fully to the Lord, and work full time in the field, gathering Israel.

We are expanding our teaching pool yet again. We had a ton of success offering English classes to Brazilians. We now have a solid teaching group that we have been working with. We are so blessed to be having a church meeting with the branch THIS SUNDAY! So we are working hard to get our investigators to come and feel the spirit with us. We are so pumped to finally go back to church. But the work progresses. Finding and teaching is never impossible, and the rewards and blessings of the work are immeasurable. 

A highlight this week was a massive meal with Mama T. She had bought a 16 pound brisket for us, and had been letting it smoke for over 24 hours. When it was finally done, we ate the brisket inside of a corn bread bowl, topped with Mac and Cheese. I don't mean to be dramatic or anything, but that meal definitely touched a part of my soul. So good. I feel myself become a little more southern every meal like that I have. I love to be immersed in the culture of the people down here because there are so many similarities to life back in Utah, but also so many differences. I have loved serving these people. 

On one of our slower days, I was fortunate to receive a nice package from the Thompson family -- shoutout to them for all the snacks and everything. Thank you so much for sending that my way!! Y'all are the best. 

That about sums it up for this week. Lots of hard yard work in the Georgia sun, and lots of fun lessons with Brazilians. Continue strong! I love you all and I love the Lord. 

Love,

Elder Perry

WEEK 51: Transfers and a Sad Farewell

It has been an awesome week! We closed out the transfer pretty strong. It has been quite the adjustment getting used to missionary work here (online) in the states, but I have felt so blessed by the Lord these past 6 weeks. 

This was Elder Swanson's last transfer on his mission so it has been hard to see him go. He has taught me so much and has been such a great example to me. He will fly back to Arizona on Wednesday. As far as transfers go, I will be staying here in the Portuguese branch with Elder Stearman. We will be living here with our old District Leader, Elder Whiting, who will be receiving 2 new companions. So there will still be 5 dudes living here in this house. I am so happy that I can stay here in this area for longer, practice my Portuguese more, and connect and serve the Brazilian people of Georgia. 

I also had my first zone conference this week! We were actually able to meet in person, so long as we wore masks and were socially distant. President Harris instructed us well on how we might be able to utilize the enabling power of the atonement in our missionary work. He helped us to understand the importance of our labor, and the service that we are emphasizing at this time. I felt the spirit so strongly at that meeting and am looking forward to utilizing some of the things that I learned into my missionary work. 

This week for service, we helped move boxes and furniture out of an elderly woman's house. We helped clean up some yards, and we had a car wash that we hosted at the ward building on Saturday. Doing service like that really helps everyone to remain motivated, and is a great missionary tool for spreading the light of our gospel. I am looking forward to all the service that I will be able to render in the next several weeks here in this area.

We keep trying new techniques and strategies for finding people to teach. It has been challenging and we have been working a lot with members and trying our best to find work. We are continually working hard and searching for ways to become more like Christ. 

I listened again to the conference talk "I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" by President Monson this week. Some spiritual gold right there if you would like to check it out. In all aspects of our lives, our Savior is there to hold us up with His all powerful atonement. When we humble ourselves and accept His divine help, we can accomplish all things. I love you all! Have an amazing week!!

Love,

Elder Perry

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