P-Day # 17 - Best Week of my Mission, Chinatown and Being a Temporary AP in Brampton, Ontario

President and Sister Shields with Elder Perry

Hi Mom and Dad,

Exciting things happened this week. Our Mission President had me do a swap with one of the Assistants to the President this week. So, I drove all the way down to Brampton (Suburb of Toronto where the Mission Home is) on Wednesday. President Shields assigned me to do the work of an AP this week to get some extra training. I and got to see what the AP's do, which is fun. They do a lot of what we regular missionaries do, but they just travel more. The AP’s here in Brampton are really fun people to be around. 

Thursday, I went to work. We took President Shields out to a lesson and taught with him. We were teaching the Plan of Salvation to a 7-year-old girl and pretty much knew the entire thing because she goes to primary.

The buildings are huge. We went to another member’s apartment who lives on the 38 floor of an apartment building and it’s the penthouse. I thought it was cool because I have never been in a penthouse before. And let me tell you it’s pretty high, Dad would have puked. We taught a guy who wanted to know if the previous baptisms he had were valid and I was able to use an analogy from “The District” videos, so my training payed off!

  

It’s been the best week of my mission. We have been really busy all week. We have been doing so much missionary work, it's been epic.  We only come back home for food and at the end of the day. Other than that, we are out talking to people and knocking on doors.

We met this guy who was super cool. He was a referral from a friend of his and was investigating the church some time before. He and his friend had the best time and just watching them make fun of each other in a loving manner was so funny. We taught a lady who was really excited about the gospel and she even had her own teaching record and marked things off. It was great.

The people hear “rock”! I met Elder Taylor, whom you met in the mission office when you came up while I was in the MTC. The Elders here “rock” and we have done some cool things. This morning we got a cake for Elder Carroll who is one of the Assistants to the President and sang Happy Birthday to him. We did it really stealthy, so that was fun. 

We were able to have Thanksgiving dinner with the office missionaries and a companionship of sister missionaries, just like home!  

My temporary companion is cool and we joke around a lot, but we also do a lot of missionary work and taught really well together. Brampton “rocks”. If I could stay here my whole mission, it would be awesome. The people here are mostly Indian (India) and so we get a lot of the phrase " God is one" in their accent.

We got “anti'd” a little, but we were out and about so that didn't bother me. I got to play soccer with this little kid who wanted to become a missionary and a doctor for his religion, which I thought was so cool. I was a hero to him, which I thought was awesome. 

We joke and laugh and I love being a missionary down here. I am going to try and make our area as much like this as I can.

I have to return to Val-d’Or tomorrow. I would like to stay in Brampton longer, but I am really needed there since our mission only has 4 French Speaking Elders and they are all in my area.

We are going to downtown Toronto today and we will be going to Chinatown. I am really excited. I am so happy I was able to come down and see what happens down here. I have had so much fun and people here are so nice. 

The AP's are in a YSA Ward, so I got to go and it felt just like being back at home in the Forest Grove YSA branch. I loved being there and met some cool people. 

I have gloves and a hat but still need boots. I will get them when I get back to Val-d’Or. I still can’t find my glasses, so I think they are gone. I’ll get some new one’s when I get back to Val-d’Or, also.

I have received email from Sister Richardson. She’s so sweet. She told me all about her family when they were here and some friends that are still here. I plan on looking them up when I get back.

Well, what else can I say. It’s been an awesome week. Best week of My Mission.

Love You and Pray for you Every Night,

~Elder Perry

  Canada Toronto Mission 

P-Day #16 - Mission President Visit, -4 Degrees C & 25 Lbs Lighter...

This week has been a really good week. Not in the way of missionary work and extending commitments, but improving the quality of life. We got a chance to have our Mission President over in our apartment because he had never been to our area before and wanted to see what the northern parts of his mission are like. Also, to see what the French was like up here and get a feel for what complete French immersion was like. We read some scriptures from the Book of Mormon and talked about some needs of our investigators of the church. We went to a mental hospital and talked with a less active member who was there and just sat and talked with him.

 

Elders Perry, Thompson, "T", Feth & Carman

I am finding as a Missionary and just as a Church Member, sometimes we are not in a certain place at a certain time to teach lessons and extend commitments, rather we are there to be friends and love others. This is a skill I had learned in our Young Single Adult Branch in Oregon. I am finding that as missionaries we are to reach out with love and compassion, not be robots and teach doctrine. How grateful I am to have learned this skill before my mission and for the Forest Grove YSA branch in Oregon. 

Elder Perry - A Fisher of Men

 The rest of the week has been playing sports with investigators and teaching doctrine specific to their needs.

- 4 c Snowstorm From our Balcony

We got a lot of snow and we can tell its winter time. Today its -4c, so we rejoice when it is 4c. I bought snow tires this week for the Nissan Rogue.

Elder Perry - Selfie at Lac Dozoi

I like the area up here and the Native American people here are friendly to us. They are always willing to listen, even if they don't accept. We went to a place called Lac Dozoi. You can't even find it on google maps. It looks like a Boy Scout Camp so I was right at home there.

Elder Perry and His Self Induced Haircut

So, here's a funny story. I was running low on my Missionary Funds Card and decided to give myself a haircut instead of paying someone up here $20. So I just went for it. I think it looks pretty good, don't you?

Elder Perry - All Cleaned Up & 25lbs Lighter!

This week has been really good and I have had a lot of fun just teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

--

Elder Perry

Abitibi Branch, Val-d'Or, Quebec

Canada Toronto Mission  

P-Day #15 - Attending the Temple, TIWI and Being a Body Guard.....

Elder Perry before he left for the
MTC & The Canada Toronto Mission

Hi Mom & Dad,

This will be a short letter this week. Not too much has happened and my internet/E-Mail time is not very long.

We had a new investigator and we taught her the restoration. At the end, I got to bear my testimony in French and she started to cry… the spirit was strong and I think we really did some good. There was an investigator who thought she was being followed so at 5:30 in the morning, so we went and walked her home. I thought it was cool to be a body guard of sorts. We went to a nursing home and took the Sacrament to a really nice fella. As we were administering the Sacrament, I looked at him and he looked at me and he didn't stop. It was like he was looking into my soul or something. I thought it was cool we could help him feel the Spirit. 

The Toronto Canada  LDS Temple

While we were in the Toronto, we attended the Temple and it was great! I loved going. Things are going good for me and we have been able to help some people this week, so that was good. 

Now that I am the designated driver in my companionship I have to tell you about this thing called TIWI. TIWI is a thing that attaches to your windshield and yells at you when you’re going too fast or driving too aggressively. It also yells at you when you hit a bump too hard. It says “Check your speed” or “Aggressive Driving”. It sends a report to the Mission Home. My companion always says I’m driving like a grandpa, but I just tell him…” Who is the designated driver and who has their driving privileges revoked because he got a ticket and rear ended another missionary at transfers? Shut’s him down every time!

Got to Run.

I Love You…Pray for You Every Night!

Elder Perry

Abitibi Branch, Val-d’Or, Quebec

Canada Toronto Mission

P-Day #14 - New Furniture, The Flu Bug & Transfers....

Elder Jacob "JP" Perry

Hi Mom & Dad,

Guess what…. We have furniture! I slept in a bed for the first time in a long time and it was wonderful. New bed, new sheets…ahhhhhhh!!!!  I sleep so well now! We also have some pots and pans and utensils.

This week has been a slow week for us. The weather has been getting colder and we love when it is just 3 degrees C. The flu has been going around so most of our investigators cancelled their meetings.

That's Our Boy! - Mom & Dad

We were able to watch the broadcast of Teaching the Saviors Way with Jeffery R. Holland, which was exciting. The broadcast did not buffer which was a huge blessing.

We helped a member of our Branch clear a path in her storage for her snow blower. It was very big and I am interested to see what the snow will bring.

We ate dinner at a member’s apartment and she helps me practice my French. We spent most of our time talking about Harry Potter and the multiple Disney movies that she had. We also talked about the books that she had and did the dishes. She said that if she could clone one of us she would just keep us which I thought was funny.

We have done a lot of contacting this week to find new investigators but with not much luck. This is ok because this is part of being a missionary.

I'm on A Mission.....

We are on our P-Day in North Bay on our way to Brampton tomorrow for transfers.  I heard that for this transfer pretty much 80 percent of the missionaries are getting transferred to new areas. This is a major mission shake up but we are staying where we are because they have no one else who speaks French. I guess we are part of the 20 percent. We will be able to attend the Temple while were in Brampton. That will be awesome. 

I Love You and Pray for You Each Night!

Elder Perry

Abitibi Branch, Val-d’Or, Quebec

Canada Toronto Mission