WEEK 80: Busy Times

Happy Monday everyone! Hope this weekly email finds you well. Things have been going really well over here in Georgia, and I hope they are for you too - no matter where you are.

We were able to stay very busy this week! It is always so nice to have weeks that are full of teaching and service. We were able to teach a couple of our good friends including DJ (who came to church this Sunday ) and Tom, who is a good friend of our bishop. It has been a completely different experience here in the states and it seems very easy to bond and form long lasting relationships here. I have loved making friends with the people we teach, and thanks to technology, I can keep in touch with them indefinitely!

We had many service projects and activities this week as well. As part of my new responsibilities, I spent a day in Lilburn, Georgia with one of the APs. It was a good time meeting all of the Elders in the office, and seeing how things run in the heart of the mission. This Saturday was quite interesting - we were doing service for people from 9 AM until 6 PM. We started with some hard work at our local food pantry packing boxes into cars, then moved to chipping/burning chopped branches at an investigator's house, and ended with moving furniture for our Relief Society president. It was really fun running around and helping with all of these tasks. It makes our service as missionaries feel much more rewarding.

Other than the work and other YSA activities, not a lot has happened this week. It has started getting warmer already, which feels so nice. Instagram is still working really well for us in finding new people, and creating an online missionary presence.

I love you all! Thanks for taking the time to read my updates - you have no idea how much it means to me.

Love,

Elder Perry

WEEK 79: YSAin'

YSA Volleyball Night

What's up everyone!? I hope you all had a fantastic week! Things are going really well here in the great city of Acworth, Georgia. We had a solid week of really meaningful work -- it was one of those weeks that makes you really appreciate missionary work and the difference we are making out here.

We were able to meet with several of the members of the Butler Creek Ward this week, which is the other ward we are covering. We had interviews with President Harris this week and he stressed to us the importance of working with the ward. We were able to set up several meetings with some really cool families. It has been a priority for us to make sure they feel the missionary presence. We are working hard to make them feel that way and to gain trust with them as well. I am grateful for the connections that I've been able to make with such cool people.

We also had (virtual) zone conference this week! It was a sort of mission tour, which featured some words from Brother and Sister Stanfill from the North America Southeast area presidency. They gave us some really great advice on being responsible and working more efficiently in our areas. They also answered several different and important questions. It was very cool to hear their words.

And some other interesting developments...this week, one of the Elders in the apartment - Elder Krum - departed for his original missionary assignment in Colombia. We are all so excited for him. He was actually one of our zone leaders here, so I was called by the mission president to take his position. I am staying in my same area and companionship. So it has been a time!

Not a ton more has been going on! We have been working hard on Instagram because the rain has made work on campus a little tricky. We had a volleyball night with the YSA (Young Single Adult) branch. We also gave talks during sacrament meeting for the YSA on our testimonies of Christ and how we decided to go serve a mission. Cool stuff. I look forward to what this next week brings!

Love you all, and I absolutely love Georgia. I wouldn't give my mission experience for anything in the world.

Love,
Elder Perry

WEEKS 77 & 78: Clouds and Sunshine in Georgia

Elder Perry and Elder Short playing football with friends from their apartment complex in Acworth, GA

Hello everyone! I apologize for the lack of email updates! Things are going very well out here in the great state of Georgia - even if I don't always have a ton to write about. We have been working hard and seeing many miracles here in this area.

We have been able to find several service projects these last few weeks. We spent one weekend volunteering at a local food bank. There was something to the tune of 13,000 pounds of food donated, so we helped sort it all, put it into boxes, then load it all up into cars. It was a very fun time, and the work was very rewarding. We have also been helping this nice woman named Rhonda with her yard - and she willingly agreed to take the lessons from us! It is so cool to see the blessings we receive from such simple service. 

As part of the YSA branch, we spend lots of time on the campus of the local university - KSU - to do some street contacting. We've done a couple different things for that, including throwing a football around, asking people to participate in a video, and asking them inspired questions. It is awesome to be able to connect with so many people my age all the time. There really isn't anywhere else in this mission field where you would get an opportunity like this. I have already made so many good friends and have loved working with them so much. We get to participate in many activities with the YSA, including FHE, institute, volleyball night, and several others throughout the week.

We also were given a new weapon to add to our finding arsenal - Instagram! It has been such a powerful tool already for finding and connecting with people online. My @ is jackperry.ga if you want to check it out! We have been focused mainly on expanding the follower base, but it is such a good way to get into contact with the younger demographic we are working with. 

Things are going so well here in Georgia. And while the weather has remained mostly overcast and rainy for the last little while, we have maintained sunshine in our souls. Becoming truly and completely devoted to the Lord's work is the ultimate way to feel the light of the Lord in your life. I have felt that on many occasions. And even though that is more difficult when not serving as a full time missionary, pray and ask God to have more missionary experiences in your life, and He will happily give them to you.

I love you all and I love this work. Still no word on Brazil - but things are definitely in motion, and people are already getting sent back down there. 

Love,

Elder Perry 

The Cedar Crest District

Elders with a friend (far left) who served with Elder Jackson Bee in Mesa, AZ 

Serving at the local food bank

Sporting the KSU colors

WEEKS 75 & 76: Transferred (at last)

New missionaries and friends in the Acworth, Georgia area

Hello everyone! I hope you all are doing well! Yes - I was finally transferred away from the Clear Springs Portuguese branch. I spent a wonderful 7 months there, and I am so grateful for the time I spent, and the memories I gathered. My time there has truly blessed my life. 

I was transferred to a new area about 20 minutes away from my previous area in a city called Acworth! I am companions with Elder Bushell and Elder Short, and we are responsible for covering the Butler Creek Ward, as well as the Kennesaw YSA Branch! I never would have thought that I would be sent to a YSA, but it has been such a cool experience so far. I am living in an apartment with another trio and we realized after I arrived that we were going to be one bed short. We looked on Facebook marketplace and found someone in our immediate area selling a bunkbed that they needed to get rid of immediately so we bought it! Almost too amazing to call it a coincidence. 

The YSA has several different events throughout the week including FHE, Institute, volleyball, game day, among others. We get to go participate in those activities and get to know the branch members. It has been so cool being around and serving a ton of people who are my same age. We also have several friends who have started to integrate into the group including DJ and Jaman, who we taught this week. There is lots of good work to be done in the YSA, and I am so excited to see it accomplished over the course of my time here. And this Saturday, the branch had a baptism! Our friend Hannah has taken the right steps, and has made the decision of a lifetime. I feel blessed to have been able to experience that moment shortly after arriving here. 

The family ward is also exceptional. We had a chance to meet quite a few of the members at the church service on Sunday, but many people still choose to watch the meetings virtually. There are some really incredible families here who I look forward to getting to know and to serving.

We have been working very hard this week. Most of the YSA people who we find are students at a local school - Kennesaw State University (KSU). We get to spend lots of time on campus street contacting and getting our faces out there. We have also been working hard calling people and using Facebook to find. Rumors are that we may be able to use Instagram soon, but again, just rumors. There is work to be done, and I have loved it. 

Thank you all for your endless love and support. It means so much to me, and makes the service more meaningful. Love you all!

Love, 

Elder Perry

WEEK 74: All in the Swing

Doing service while on splits

Hey everyone! I hope you all had an excellent week! Things are great here in Georgia! We had a very productive week of hard work and enjoyed lots of blessings. As of now, we have experienced no disruptions from the Senate runoff elections, which is very fortunate.

We had the opportunity to do lots of service this week! We spent some time with a member of the local English ward, Brother Terry, chopping wood at his house, and helping some other members in his ward move. We also helped Mama T with her basement and garage. She has been a huge blessing for us out here, as she continues to express her gratitude for us. I have loved the feelings of love associated with serving people here. To see them so grateful from these acts of service always make them so rewarding.

It has been difficult lately to schedule appointments with people, but we have actually been able to set some things up virtually and in person. We set a high for the transfer for new people we have found in a week! So, the work continues, at times faster than I ever thought imaginable. One of these people has been our good friend, Rachel, who we met a few weeks ago, but who has become very interested lately. She absorbs gospel themes so easily, and she loves learning more about Christ. It has been cool seeing her life change through Him, and building a lasting relationship with her. 

The days have continued to get colder, but our hearts could not be any warmer. I love Georgia, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity that I have had to be here, serving these wonderful people. I love you all, and hope you have a wonderful week! 

Love,

Elder Perry

Volleyball night with the Portuguese Branch 

WEEKS 72 & 73: Christmas and The Big Chicken

Hello everyone and happy holidays! Sorry I have not had the chance to write an update lately! We have been very busy, and it is difficult to make lots of time to write everything out. But thank you to everyone who still reads these! 

These last two weeks have been very exciting. We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's as well. We had the chance to spend a lot of time with members of the branch. They took very good care of us, and made sure that we had plenty to eat! We also went caroling with one of the families in the branch a couple of days before Christmas, which was very fun. We had a great time meeting with people, and helping them come closer to Christ this Christmas season. Even as things start to die down a little, we are excited to see the blessings of continuous focus on Christ. 

We have been working hard doing service for people in the community. We have been taking care of dogs, splitting wood, cleaning basements, and everything in between. Especially now, lots of people need service done, so it has been fantastic to find and fill those needs. We have also been able to contact and have many uplifting conversations with people through WhatsApp and Facebook. Technology really is the future of missionary work! We are able to reach out to so many more people this way, and the blessings have been immense, even if it was difficult during the holidays with everyone traveling. 

Some other random weekly highlights include going to the famous Big Chicken, driving into downtown Atlanta to give a blessing, getting robbed 5 dollars by a homeless woman, visiting the Atlanta Braves stadium again, and going on lots of exchanges with other missionaries. It has been a very exciting couple of weeks, and I am looking forward to the successes that will come in the last 2 weeks of this transfer! 

I'll try hard to write out more thorough and frequent weekly updates! It feels slow out here at times, but the work of the Lord continues to accelerate! I love you all. 

Love, 
Elder Perry

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