P-Day #13 - Snow, Wild Dogs and Doing the Lords Work......

Elder Perry and The Dinner of Missionaries....Beans and Rice!

Mom and Dad, 

This week has been a good week.

We cleaned up our area book because it was outdated. We did a lot of walking this week because we need to find new people to teach and we can't find new people when you are driving a car. This is when comfortable footwear really pays off. 

We contacted the former investigators and managed to find some new ones, as well. We met a girl named Hilary and she is a friend of a recent convert here. We were able to talk with her and she does the same thing we do only a little differently. She gives people hope at a local homeless shelter. She was open to here our message. We taught her the restoration of the gospel and she actually prayed for us at the end of the lesson. We are always ecstatic when investigators pray because that gives them the opportunity to receive the Spirit.

We still don't have furniture yet because the company that had the furniture previously purchased for our apartment didn't deliver up here. We took a day with another set of missionaries and just bought the furniture locally. They said it should be delivered this week.

We didn't have many investigators at church but that's OK because we are still in contact with them and are setting up appointments with them to teach them. I am starting to understand why Christ spoke in parables and didn't reveal everything to the twelve. It was because they would not understand and they would reject his message. I am learning to just throw myself into the scriptures and learn about Christ teachings more thoroughly. This gives me great strength and comfort!  

My French is getting better but is far from perfect. Slowly but surely, I am able to teach and not have to try and say the phrase over again. It’s coming, slowly but surely!

We went to a place called Lac Simon which is a reservation and got to see how we were going to open up the area. It's very remote and pretty much only houses are there but the people are nice. Wild dogs roam all over the area which I thought was weird but at the same time interesting.

View from our Balcony, First Snow of the Season!

The weather is changing quickly and its snows every other day but doesn't stick. winter is definitely on the way.  Other than that, it's mainly just been the normal missionary stuff.  The rest of the week has been fantastic. I still haven't found my glasses but I will keep looking. We stayed at the other Elder’s apartment and I have them looking there, also.

I Love You and Pray for You Every Night,

Elder Perry

Canada Toronto Mission  

P-Day #12 - New Apartment, 11 Investigators and Zone Conference....

Elder Perry in Val-d'Or, Quebec

Mom and Dad, 

This week has been good.

We finally got permission to move into our apartment and we did as fast as we could. We don't have any furniture yet so we have to wait for that. We were going to get our furniture on Tuesday but the moving people got the address wrong and sent our furniture to Quebec City (which is 8 hours away). They then had to send it back to the warehouse. We just got notification we’ll get it on Tuesday(Tomorrow), YIPEEEE! I will never be more grateful to put clean sheets on a bed then when we get our beds and I can sleep in a real bed. We’ve been sleeping mostly on mats since I have arrived in Canada.

 West Sudbury Zone Conference, October 2016

We had Zone Conference and Transfers. Elder Carman is now in a tri-companionship with Elder T. (Can’t pronounce his name) and Elder Thompson (My companion all through the MTC) and they have been assigned to labor in the Rouyn-Noranda area. Elder Feth and I are assigned to labor in the Val-d’Or area. We had an incident or two on our way to Zone Conference.

Let it be known, I was not involved as the driver in either one!

Before transfers, we were driving to Zone Conference and one of my companions was driving. He got pulled over for speeding and got a $249 ticket. The Police Officer spoke in French and I had to give him all the information.  Luckily I understood him in French. I prayed I would give him the right stuff. We were late to Zone Conference and when we walked in our Mission President we were meeting for the first time, gave us a bow and said “thanks for joining us” in front of our entire Zone. Embarrassing!

Then after transfers, another companion driving our car and another missionary was driving their  car with 2 other elders rear ended us . The other missionary hit the back of our Nissan Rogue and caused quite a bit of damage to their car a Chevrolet Equinox . The Nissan Rogue had some damage on the rear bumper and hatchback handle, but not very bad. Lucky us, everyone now has lots of paper work.  Let’s hope this is the first and last experience with the police, and car accident paper work.  But We are all OKAY!

Lesson for the Week- No speeding.......and don't rear end the other missionaries. 

Positive Bonus for the Week: I am now our designated driver.  

Most of the week has been getting into the new rhythm of a new area and I think I am starting to find my stride. We spend a lot of time in the church doing our morning studies and planning because the church has chairs and tables which makes it easier.

We had skills and interviews with the Mission President. He said that we were kind of like pioneers up here because of it being a new area and new branch. We had a goal to find 3 new investigators for a day here and as the day progressed, we talked to a lot of people. At the end of the day we actually found 11. Ask and ye shall receive. A couple people we found were drunk at the time, so I hope that they will come around.

The country up here is just like Oregon but a lot windier and a lot colder. Winter is moving in and we can tell because for a couple days, we woke up to snow on the cars. The snow melts away with the sun, but one day it won't.

That’s all for this week. 

I will be praying for you every night and every morning.

Love,

Elder Perry

Canada Toronto Mission

Abitibi Branch, Val-d’Or, Quebec

P-Day #11 - 6 New Investigators, New Furniture & Feeling The Spirit !!!

Great View! Elder Jacob Perry from the balcony of his apartment in 
Val-d'Or, Quebec, Abitibi Branch, Canada Toronto Mission !!! 

Hi Mom and Dad,

This week has been a very successful week.

For most of the week, in the mornings, we have been helping President Och's (pronounced “Ox”) with his house. He is doing some foundation work and needed some help shoveling dirt to build a wall for the drainage pipe that takes water from the foundation away from the house. This was not easy to do, but we were able to get the task accomplished and we also got a good workout which made us feel good also.

We were able to have dinner over at one of our investigators house and I always love going over there just to have nice conversation (the best I can understand) with her. We did that for a couple of days this week because foundation work is generally a multi-day project.

We have done a lot of driving which is the usual schedule for us now, but it should end soon. We got our delivery date for our furniture which made us really happy.

We had some lessons with a recent convert who just got baptized. We taught the plan of salvation and I found that I had the most interesting time trying to say “Kingdoms of Glory”. After about the 5^th attempt, the recent convert helped with pronunciation. The members are very helpful in helping me get the language down.

We have begun playing sports with investigators and less actives almost daily. This doubles in several ways for us because we get our exercise period so we don't have to do it in the morning when we are tired and we also get people involved with gospel discussion and are able to teach lessons to investigators who have questions. I have practiced contacting people on the street multiple times and I feel that I am starting to get the hang of it. It’s easy to say now, but in the moment, I see how far I really need to learn. 

We taught a lesson to a less active family and she had questions about why temptation is in our lives. The Spirit filled the room and I was able to explain that trials are necessary and that its Gods ways of testing us to see how faithful we will be and to show how strong we actually are spiritually. She said that answer really helped her. I walked away with a much greater appreciation for the role of the Holy Ghost / Spirit in our lives. As missionaries, we are able to invite and bring the Holy Ghost to the investigator but it is completely up to the investigator to allow the Holy Ghost to enter in his or her heart. 

Elder Perry in one of many "Selfie's"

We had 6 investigators at church this week, which was amazing. We pretty much filled up our small chapel and had more people in Gospel Principles class than in Sunday School. We had a great time at Church because we had so many investigators at church and the Spirit of the meeting was awesome. We didn't have bread so we started a little late though. I guess small town branch hiccups are the same no matter where you go, but we got bread and all was well. I look forward to the coming week and to the upcoming spiritual experiences when we are permanently in Val-d’Or. 

It’s been a really good week.

Love You and Praying for you every night!

--
Elder Perry
Abitibi Branch, 
Val-d'Or, Quebec
Canada Toronto Mission

P-Day #10 - Polar Bears, A Baptism and Way Too Much Driving......

Elder Perry's Email is jperry@myldsmail.net 

Hi Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Megan, Matt & Benson,

We have been really busy up here. We had a baptism in a hot tub and I got to be a witness for it. Our branch was officially created over General Conference weekend, so for that Sunday, we had 8 hours’ of Church because we had meetings in between Conference Sessions and a potluck.

We talked to a drunk Native Man and gave him a pass along card so he can remember the missionaries when he gets sober. We helped a less active Lady move some things from her storage this week. She had some heavy things, but we got it done. We have a family who has been having tough times and have some struggles. Every time we go over, things always seem to turn out better for them. We just baptized one of our investigators and need to teach her the lessons again and we have a reactivation in the process and a new investigator joined us in church this week.

We had Zone Conference in North Bay. I got to see some of the other Elders from Sudbury that I made friends with when I first arrived in Toronto. I also got to see a friend from the MTC.

Elder Carman, our District Leader has only 3 weeks until he goes home and Elder Feth, our Senior Companion leaves in February. I sure hope my French comes quickly. 

Fall is Here, Winter is Coming!

We have been having rain here, but the elders say by November it should turn to snow. It has been cold up here for the past couple of days. Winter is definitely on its way. We got our first snow fall this week and were able to go out and experience it. The snow didn't stick, but it gave us a chance to see what the winter would bring for us.

We have done a lot of driving this week. We are waiting for word that we can move into our new apartment in Val-d’Or. We don't have furniture, a stove or a fridge, so we can't move in just yet. I am starting to feel how grandpa felt on his mission with all the driving.  We drive an hour and a half for one area and then we stay in that area for the day. Then we drive to another area and stay the night there. We do that every other day, so it is a lot of driving.

My French is getting better and I am actually able to understand what they are saying but I am still having trouble with the responding part of the conversation. The gift of tongues is real and when you don't have that gift, that's when you have to worry.

Canadian Thanksgiving was this week on Monday. The Saturday before, we had dinner at an investigators house with turkey and all the trimmings. Sorry, I might be a little late for the U.S. Thanksgiving Dinner this year and putting you on notice, probably next year too. I miss our thanksgiving dinners at your house and just being with you all at the table.

Today we got to go to a polar bear habitat and look at the polar bears. They are very big! We got to get within 1 arm’s length of them, it’s cool just to say that I got to stand next to a polar bear. 

Grandma and Grandpa, I have not received Your letter yet. When you send it to the Mission Office, it can take a month or two for me to get it because we only get mail at Zone Conferences. We can receive mail at the apartment, but because our living arrangements are up in the air, we will have to wait on that. Thank you for sending letters. It is nice to get handwritten letters from you and I like reading them. I have been seeing a lot of potential places to fish but realizing that I can't because I don't have my fishing buddy who brings me good luck(Grandpa).

I got an e-mail from Brother Jordan, my former Young Men’s President this week. It was nice to hear from a familiar person from home.

Well, That’s it for this week. Tell everyone “Hello” in the Vernonia Branch and the Forest Grove YSA Branch.

To My Family, I Love You, Miss You and Pray for You Every Night.

Elder Perry

Canada Toronto Mission

P-Day #9 - Still in Limbo, New Winter Coat and Almost Cussing in French!

Elder Perry with his New Winter Coat

Dear Mom & Dad,

I am in Timiskaming right now on P-Day, but I still temporarily live in Rouyn-Noranda. President Shields won’t let us stay in the new apartment in Val-D’Or until all the furniture is moved in. We still need a stove and some other things and they’re all on order, so I’m still in limbo. I’m really looking forward to having a “permanent” area to work in. It’s kind of hard to be effective when we’re in limbo. I did move all my stuff over to the new apartment, but we go over there and grab a few days of clothes every couple of days.

I’m pretty tired because of all of the traveling we do between Timiskaming, Rouyn-Noranda and Val-D’Or. I accidentally left my pillow and blanket in Rouyn-Noranda and had to sleep in a sweat shirt. I didn’t get to sleep until after midnight on Saturday night, so I’m really tired.

The new Val-D’Or branch is now official created…or recreated. My companion got called as the 2^nd councilor in the Branch Presidency, so I became a 2^nd councilor without the calling because I will have to be with him every time he has a meeting and I’ll sit outside the door and wait for him. I thought that was cool. We taught an investigator about General Conference and how prayers can be answered through General Conference. The spirit was strong and I felt we did some good. I really enjoyed The 186^th General Conference this weekend. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Before my mission I usually helped my Dad setup for the broadcasts, opened the doors…etc. Now, I’m here and I open the doors and setup for the broadcast. We broadcast in English and French. I think Heavenly Father was teaching me how to be on a mission…before my mission! It felt like I was home, again!

I really enjoyed Henry B. Eyring’s talk about when he had to give a talk in conference, then a General Authority talked after him. Kind of reminds me of when President Richardson asked me to bear my testimony then a General Authority spoke at our Stake Conference.

    

The New Val-D'Or Meetinghouse/Chapel

The pictures I sent are of the Val-d’Or meeting house and it makes our Vernonia Branch look like a ward. We don’t have any youth but we do have a couple of primary aged children.

Elder Perry Riding in the Car.....Again!!!

My health is good. I am eating good. We ate at the building on Saturday and had pizza and ice cream bars we bought. I have been practicing my French with some members. It’s getting better day by day.

Oh Yea, it’s my two-month mark!  Thanks Mom, I hadn’t even thought about it!

We went up to La Sarre this week. We were seeing if we would be able to teach up there and see if it was even big enough. We are thinking that the Val-D’Or people will take Amos and the Rouyn-Noranda Elders will take La Sarre, but we are not sure yet we are just throwing ideas around.

One of Elder Perry's Companions,
Elder Feth Flashing Mormon Gang Sign's

We taught a lady named Nadia and we are scheduling her baptism interview this week which is cool. This is the first time I have met with her, other Elders met with her before us.  She was being taught when I got here and I have spoken a few phrases in French to help teach her and she is progressing. Another investigator said in her prayer that she was grateful that heavenly father sent “angels” to teach her the Gospel. That was a really spiritual experience! Also, for this week, I was practicing my French with some of the members and almost found myself cussing in French while saying the word “tabernacle”. The French use it as a cuss word so I won't be making that mistake again.

Elder Perry's Other Companion
Elder Carman Writing a Letter Home!

Tell Grandma, Grandpa, Megan, Matt and Benson “Hi” and make sure to forward this letter, also.  

I Love You and Pray for You Every Night!

--

Elder Perry

Canada Toronto Mission