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

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