P-Day #26 - Great Companions, Transfers and Plenty of Investigators....

Downtown Toronto, Ontario

This week has been a week of miracles. 

We've been having a really good time getting to know recent converts and less actives this week. We have been running for buses all week and trying to make crosswalk lights. We get a pretty good workout! 

Elder Monson and Elder Perry
Super Hero Missionaries

We met with this one recent convert after stopping by her house every day for the past week. She was finally home and we were able to find out the reasons for her not being home. She had started a new job and had not had a fixed schedule. We talked with her and shared some scriptures with her on how following the Lords commandments will bless our lives, even when we don't see the results right then and there. We are working with her and finding a time when we can meet her again. 

Elder Perry and Another Super Hero
Elder Strong from Alberta Canada

We had one of our investigators come to church this week which we have been trying for the past three weeks. She is one of our French investigators and I called her before our Ward Council meeting started. She said that she would not come to church because of knee problems. Elder Jensen called her to see if she would come, but she said no to him also. She then related how the Spirit said that she needed to go. So, she got a taxi (because we called off the ride we had setup for her) and came to church. She said that she wanted to surprise us. It was really awesome to see her at church and enjoying it. 

We taught an investigator who has been investigator for over a year. She is still not sure if this is the true church. So, we are going to meet with her and see if we need to turn her over to the Lord or not. We will continue to do our very best and what is within our power. 

It's Raining....Just like Home in Oregon!

We have been working with an investigator named Lucky and we had invited him to read the Book of Mormon and he said he would. We then returned to find that he tried but didn't really know how to read the Book of Mormon. We went through the first chapter of Nephi and he then understood how to read the Book of Mormon. We invited him to come to church and he came. He said he liked it.

Elder Perry and a Selfie of
Him and Elder Monson

We've had a lot of appointments fall through but we will still keep trying. We did some advertising for our English class and that has been really helpful in finding new people for the Spanish Elders to teach. 

We found out that one of our investigator's girlfriend had a baby and that he won't be able to meet with us for a while because the delivery was premature. That really gave us a shock but we are hoping this will provide some good incentive to come to church and raise a family in the church. He sounded excited so that was good. We will try to keeping doing the work the best we can.

Re-posting the SKYPE photo of (Left to Right)
 Elder Monson, Elder Perry and Elder Strong

Lastly, we had transfers and my tri-companionship is remaining the same here in Weston North. I am so thankful for my companions Elder Strong and Elder Monson. They are truly Men of God and fantastic friends. We joke and laugh a lot. Their parents did good! 

Well, that's about it for this week. All is well! And Remember that ole' saying, "Where Ever You Go....There You Are!" ha-ha

Praying for you every night! 

Love, 

Elder Perry
Weston North
Canada Toronto Mission

P-Day #25 - The Hot Sauce Incident, Great Companions and Finding my Glasses!!!

Elder Perry, Real-Time Photo on P-Day

Wow, what a great week. We’ve been super busy and trying to make all our bus switches has been quite a task. Lots of planning goes into our day.

We had an investigator say that she wasn't going to come to church and after we talked with her and hung up the phone, the spirit said to her “go to church”! So, she did and surprised us! What a great surprise!

This is my original tag from the MTC. You try to wear it for as long as you can, but I may need to get a new one sometime.

We also went to a baby shower and we ate some food. It was for a Sister in the Spanish Ward. The guy asked Elder Monson if he would like some chili. He brought over a little bowl of this sauce and Elder Monson started eating it by the spoon full. It was “Very Hot Homemade Hot Sauce” and Elder Monson started tearing up and his face got all red and looked like he was crying. I started laughing because I thought the mix up was funny. Then he then tried to laugh because I was laughing and we all just busted up. We had a fun time.

I really like Elder Strong and Elder Monson. They are VERY good fella’s. Their Mom’s and Dad’s should be proud as I know they are!

Elder Perry saying.... "Check Me Out!!!"

You know I lost my glasses about 3 1/2 months ago, right? We contacted the Zone Leaders up in Sudbury and they had found my glasses, but didn’t know who they belonged to. They mailed them to the mission office and then my Zone Leaders picked them up and gave them to me. 

Here’s a funny story… I was walking out of the bus and this lady said “Bye Satan”. I walked away and I just couldn't stop laughing. Someone else may have been offended, but as one of Gods Army, I just turned my other cheek and chuckled. I figured she had issues and maybe tomorrow she’ll start talking to us in the bus.

I have been teaching an investigator in French. Also, I have been setting up appointments in French, so I am still keeping up on the language.

Elder Perry in his Penguin Hat

So, you asked what my area is like…. If you want to see what my areas like just go to downtown Portland. It’s very similar. I used to be very apprehensive about the “Big City” and its people, but it’s growing on me!

One last experience this week. At Zone Conference, we played “Kill Ball” which is like dodgeball but with no sides and a free for all. I would recommend it as a young men activity, it’s really good!

Well, this is my week in a nutshell!

I Love You and Pray for You Every Night!

Elder Perry

Weston North

Canada Toronto Mission

P-Day #24 - Being Very Busy, Teaching A Lot and Parents Who Find Pictures on My Google Drive....

Zone Conference, Elder Perry in Upper Right

This week has been really a good week for us. 

I know why some missionaries sleep for two days after their missions, we are constantly on the go and busy! We are super busy and we have had to plan in-depth to make all of our appointments and to make sure we have time to even eat, but we are making it work! It’s a really good problem to have, so I can't complain at that.

We managed to find a couple of new people this week. We have been working hard on trying to meet up with people that we have already met and to find new people when those appointments fall through. We have 6 investigators we are working with and a couple with first lessons coming up. We need to set some dates with them and see where they are at on keeping commitments.

Elder Perry with his Companion
Elder Thompson (Left)

We had a pass off lesson with an investigator named Josie, she is fun and she seems to be understanding the gospel a lot better. When we first met her, she was really in touch with the spirit and the gospel. When I started teaching her (because she only speaks French), she shared how she didn't even watch TV that day and she had just read the Book of Mormon… all day and wrote down questions to ask us. That was really cool!  She always worries about us and is always willing to buy things we need, but we just tell her that we are doing fine. She wasn't able to come to church because of health, but we will keep working on her.

We have another investigator who is progressing well. She understands our message, but due to work schedules, she can only meet once a week on Sundays. We are hopeful she will come to church. 

Elder Perry and Crew at the MTC

We have been receiving a lot of referrals for bibles and so that gives us the opportunity to share a bible and a Book of Mormon, if they choose. We have been able to turn a lot of these referrals into appointments and even when the person doesn't answer the door, we are always able to talk to somebody. 

The Lord really does put us at the right place at the right time. We went to go see a person we had talked to earlier in the day and she wasn't home. We had traveled a long way to come back and we saw a lady and her kids just standing outside. I decided that maybe that's why we were here, not to talk to this one lady at the door but to talk to this other lady standing outside her door. We talked with her and we set a return appointment with her. 

Elder Perry at the MTC..."In Your Face!"

My French is improving and I am able to make appointments with French speaking people. I am able to address their concerns. I also setup quite a few appointments in French on the phone. We had Ward Council this week and we are trying to get them to focus on missionary work. We had a Passover lesson, and since I speak French, I am teaching all the people in the area who speak French. They say that there are lots of French people here, but we have found only a few of them, but we will keep looking and contacting people. Sometimes French speaking people just cross our path. The Lord prepares people and then he sends them our way.

It is amazing that my companions and I are always on the same page. We teach really well together and we push each other to be better in some way.

Show the picture of the cereal to Grandpa and Grandma. They will understand the inside joke! 

Elder Jacob Perry with a Professional Hair Cut

I had a professional cut. It feels like it should. 

I Love You and Pray for You Every Night!

Elder Perry
Weston North
Canada Toronto Mission

P-Day # 23 – Great Investigators, Riding the Toronto Subway & Popping Blisters...

I am doing good. The End.

How did you like that email. Ha-ha

This week has been good. Most people say that this is how missionary blogs are supposed to start out and that I should avoid the one liners. We have had great things happen.

Elder Perry on a Subway Ride in
Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada

We were looking through our former investigators list and we felt inspired to call a certain lady to see if we could set an appointment with her. We called and found out that her mom was actually in the hospital. We asked if we could come by and she said yes. We went to the hospital and just talked about God and how he helps our lives. The mother called us her friends even though this was the first time that we had met her, which was awesome. Even from her hospital bed, she still praised God and knew that this trial would be for her benefit. Her daughter was the one on the teaching record and she said that we called at the right time and it was great that we came. The mother has been released from the hospital and we are now teaching her and her mother.

We have had a lot of appointments that fell through but it has given us the opportunity to contact the buildings and areas around our appointments. 

This week, we had an appointment not show up in the apartment building, so we felt impressed to go to the top floor. We knocked on only one door and explained who we were and what our message was. We asked if we could come in. The man said “yes” no questions asked. We taught him the first lesson and got a return appointment with him. When you have the spirit with you, it really makes a big difference. 

We taught a French lady and her son is mentally impaired and so he has the mind of a five year old but he has the body of a 17 year old. She said that she wants her son to come to church before she does. It was a really funny experience. The son who has mental problems, threw pieces of bread at her earlier in the day. We did the best we could, and left them with a good, warm message.

Wahlburgers in Downtown Toronto

Really, we haven't had any bad experiences. The people around here are nice generally and even when they don't want to listen they just put ear buds in, so it’s all good.

We have been busy on the go. We went into downtown Toronto on our last P-day and I got to ride the subway for the first time, it was fun…

I don’t have many pictures because we are very busy and I don't have any time to sit and take any. We are going all the time. They say that your mission goes by fast and that’s because you are always moving fast!

I have learned that people make their own choices. At a Zone Conference this week, I gave an instruction on how we need to do all we can… but when people don't take what you are giving, they are just exercising their agency.

My feet are better. I had to pop a blister the other day and it has healed and the skin around it is stronger, kind of a metaphor for life ea’?

We are getting haircuts today and, yes Mom, I’ll have a professional do this one and I won’t try to do it myself. ha-ha

  

Things are well and I am well. I miss You and pray for you every night!

Love,

Elder Perry

Canada Toronto Mission  

P- Day # 22 – Nerf Guns, Teaching in French & Lots of Investigators !!!

This week has been an awesome week for us. 

We have been able to find 8 new investigators with appointments. We have some of our appointments in apartment buildings with locks on the doors, so we have to wait until someone is walking through to enter the building. Generally, people are nice and let us in. We have been talking to everyone we see and made appointments with some. We met this one guy who was just sitting in a car listening to music. We talked to him about eternal families and he sounded interested and was willing to let us come and teach him about our message. 

The weather has been rainy here, but warm. It is nice, which makes for good walking weather. We saw a former investigator yesterday and as we started talking, she explained that in the previous lessons, the missionaries would teach her through a member and the member would be the translator.  She spoke French and I was the only one who could speak French so, with Heavenly Fathers Help, I taught the lesson by myself. The spirit was there! I got to just sit and visit with her and she committed to read the scriptures. I thought that was cool and fun.

Some of our appointments fell through but in the course of traveling from one place to another, we are always able to share the gospel with someone and always able to help someone in the process. 

We traveled to an appointment and found a lady who was moving couches and a chair in boxes. We asked if she needed help, and she said OK. So, my companions and I just pushed the boxes down the hall and over to her apartment. She looked at us with a surprised look on her face after we were done and she spoke Spanish. So, we gave her name to the Spanish Sisters in the area. 

I got compared to Donald Trump this week. I thought was cool and funny at the same time. We were talking to a guy who was anti-American and he used me as an example like Donald Trump. Vote for me…President Perry…. for days!  

I have actually been teaching Elder Monson French. It’s fun to teach him and we have jokes that we can say in French. He’s picking it up pretty quickly.

The bus system up here has monthly passes. We are in a bus area, so we have no cars and our area is just too big without buses. I really like riding buses and we talk to quite a few people on them. The buses are warm and they are a great way to find people to teach and set up appointments.  

My shoes are holding up, my feet, not so much. My feet are not used to walking such long distances, so I have a couple blisters on my feet. # MissionaryLife

The members are feeding us and treating us very well here.

I really like my companions. Elder Monson is doing great with his French. He’s working on his pronunciation just like I had to work on. Elder Strong is just a cool guy. We talk about superheroes and shoot each other with Nerf Guns (awesome Christmas present from Uncle Troy). He's our district leader, so we joke with the other missionaries in the district as he makes calls with them.  We just have fun being missionaries but we work really hard, too. Elder Monson and I had a “dance off” in front of the Sister Missionaries in our district. Elder Monson won. We were waiting for Elder Strong to complete a baptism interview.

I love you both so much. I hope your week goes good and I will talk to you next week. 

Don't worry about me because as Huey Lewis and the News says, "It’s alright, have a good time, cause it’s alright". Dad should like that oldies reference.

I Love You and pray for you every night.

Elder Jacob Perry
Weston North Area
Canada Toronto Mission 

Parents Note - Here's the link...