P-Day # 38 - Transfers, The "Godfather" Cheeseburger Challenge and Meeting a 90 Year Old Sling Shot Expert!!!

Elder "Super Cool" Perry

This week has been a decent week for me.

We have been working with the members to set up dinner appointments with their friends for missionary work and it's been going well. We have some members who are setting those within the next couple of weeks.

We have been working in the English class and that has been going good. Unfortunately, other churches has started to do English class and  some of our regular students have stopped coming, so we are in the process of trying to figure out what is working and what isn’t.

We helped an inactive move some things out of her house into a trailer. We didn't get it finished, but we did make a large dent in helping her out. We also had the opportunity to visit an inactive in the hospital and he was doing really well. He had been in a coma for the past couple days and was up walking and talking.

We have met with our investigator that we haven't been able to meet with for a month and he has been going through a rough patch, but still wants to meet. So, we will keep working on that.

We went to visit a member and give him some cookies. He invited us in and then said "I want to show you boys something", he then pulled out a sling shot and we went on his back porch to go shooting. I thought it was pretty cool because he is like 90 years old and still knows how to have fun! 

Elder Perry Diggin' In!

I attempted to eat a HUGE cheeseburger named “The Godfather” and lost. I ate 2 & 3/4 pounds worth of food. That was a lot of food and I was full for three days…The attempt was worth it!

Elder Perry...Tappin' Out!!!

Transfers happened and Elder Hanks is going to Napanee near Kingston. I will miss him, he’s a good guy! I am getting Elder Baker from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. I also hear good things about him. I am happy I am not moving for the next 7 to 8 weeks. It’s nice to have a transfer where I’m not living out of a suitcase.

I'll report out on Elder Baker and my adventures....

Next Week....

                      Same Bat Time....

                                                    Same Bat Channel......

I Love You and Pray for you Every Night & Day!

Elder Perry

Waterloo Ward

Kitchener, Ontario

Canada Toronto Mission

P-Days #36 & # 37 – A Little Bit of Fun, Transfers Coming Up & The 3lb Hamburger Challenge

Elder Perry and Elder Hanks (Left)
Elder Staheli from Utah &
Elder Stephens from Texas (Right) 

Thank You to Johnny Levenseller & Terry Grosnick, Jeff Cheney and Grandma and Grandpa Gibson for e-mailing me this week and Thanks to Dan Jordan for helping my parents send a box to me. I haven’t got it yet, but transfers are next week and I’m sure I’ll get either then or before then.

As I said, transfers are next week and I’m sure Elder Hanks and I are going to get split up. We’ve been together for just under 2 transfer and President Shields usually doesn’t go beyond that. Elder Hanks and I are like brothers, we always come through together.

We have not been having much success in finding new investigators. We do a have a few, but one cancelled the meeting and asked us not to return. Bummer….I guess she doesn’t understand we’re offering her eternal gifts. We met with a less active named Paul and he didn't keep his reading commitment like we hoped, so we read it with him. The Spirit was in the room and I bore a powerful testimony of the scriptures. I think we did a good balance of being devastated and loving at the same time. We committed him to read the remaining verses and he said he would so we will have to see. Please pray for them.

I had a testimony building experience this week on how we are blessed in the church to have more knowledge of Jesus Christ and his Gospel than most others. Some non-members invited us to an Easter service that was held in their Senior Center Home and so to help fellowship them we went. The service went in a completely different direction than what we were used to. It was a very depressing meeting and we could feel the Spirit leave because they weren't celebrating his resurrection, they were focusing on his death, not understanding the gift of the Atonement. We visited with them, but after we left, we had to see some members and then we had to watch some bible videos to get the Spirit back. We learned our lesson and won't do that again! 

So now, I’ll concentrate on some fun we had…

One day for lunch, we met up with the Spanish Speaking Elders in our area and went to a place called Mel’s Diner. It had pictures of John Wayne on the wall and Lucille Ball from I Love Lucy. It was a cool place. They have a 3 Pound Hamburger Challenge...Eat it all and it's free and you get a free tee shirt, I wanted to see if Elder Staheli could do it....

Elder Staheli from Utah Took the Challenge
...and only finished half.

He gave it his all, but we helped him finish up the rest. As you can see the rest of us didn't go hungry either...

No, I didn't eat ALL of it, we shared it, but would you look at that Banana Split, Unbelievable!

We had to fix our potentials in our area book because other missionaries had created duplicates because the hand writing was bad and I had to translate them into a new record. That took some time but we were able to get them done and now our area book is updated, fixed and ready for the missionaries who will be here next transfer. We had a great time and that's all I have for this week...except for one of my selfies.....

Elder Perry in his "Cool Shades"

Love You Mom and Dad, I pray for you every night and day!

Elder Perry

Waterloo Ward

Kitchener, Ontario

Canada Toronto Mission

P-Day #35 – 8 Months Out, Zone Conference Pics and Cleaning Up After A 30 Year Old...

I can’t believe I have been out 8 months already. I am so thankful of where I am & what I’m doing. All the sacrifice has been worth it.

Hi Mom & Dad, 

I can’t believe I have been out 8 months already. Time really does fly when the Lord is on your side. I am so thankful of where I am and what I’m doing. All the sacrifice has been worth it.

This week has been a good week and a testimony strengthener for me. We still haven't been finding any new investigators but have been working with the less actives in our Ward.

Elmira Maple Syrup Festival

We got to go to the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival to see if we could talk to some people. We got some dirty looks and I realized just how much that some people don't like us. The festival was cool. It reminded me of The Vernonia Friendship Jamboree back home….without the dirty looks!

We Met with a man who was active and then went less active because of family issues. During the Zone Conference when we were talking about the Doctrine of Christ, I got the impression to talk with him specifically about what we as missionaries teach and the doctrine we are teaching. We had originally talked about going through studying the scriptures, but we taught him our purpose instead. He had kept the commitment of trying to pray and as we talked, you could tell the Spirit was there and his face changed. You could tell that he felt the Spirit, and that is what he needed. We could tell that he was making a sincere effort and as we got up to leave, he said “you guys don't have to leave”, you could tell that he wanted us to stay, but we had to make curfew at 9:30 pm. We felt like we had accomplished our purpose and that we had helped him. He committed to read three chapters of the Book of Mormon about the Doctrine of Christ in Alma 32-34. Before we had the lesson, he said a prayer that his heart would be open and that he would be willing to accept the commitments we gave him to improve his relationship with God. Heavenly Father answered our prayers and we have had some good progress with him.

Elder Jacob Perry, Canada Toronto Mission
at the Brampton, Ontario Temple

We have been talking with everyone we see but still haven't found any new investigators yet. We will keep it up though and hopefully we’ll find who needs us soon.

We helped a lady take out some garbage because her thirty-year-old son didn't clean his room and it was bad. There were over 100 coffee cups that had not been taken out. While we helped her clean, her son just sat in another room. I know that my Momma would have got on me, if my room ever got near that point. (❤ You Mom!) We helped her and she was very appreciative.   

Zone Conference
London and Kitchener, Ontario Zones
Elder Jacob Perry, Back Row(Again)

This was General Conference weekend.  It was good and I thought the talks were geared for missionaries than members, but the principles they taught are exactly found in Preach My Gospel and Elder Ballard even said the Mission Motto: Begin with the end in mind!

My companion Elder Hanks and I were eating with President and Sister Shields. In our discussion, we volunteered to help President Shields in doing an analysis about a town named Walkerton, Ontario and if missionaries should go there or not. I thought this was fun. We volunteered to help him by finding the closest set of missionaries.  Also, we were able to recommend if it would be effective to have missionaries assigned full time there or have another companionship cover it.

"What do you mean we can't go to the temple all day ??
Don't make me turn on my Angry Eyes..."
 Elder Perry & Elder Hapuku having some fun at Zone Conference

Being a Missionary is either Feast or Famine, slow or busy. It doesn’t seem like there is a balance… but we’re glad to be busier this week compared to last week.

I Love You and Pray for You Every Day & Night!

Elder Perry

Waterloo Ward

Kitchener, Ontario

Canada Toronto Mission 

P-Day # 34 – Setting up for Women’s General Broadcast, Working with Less Actives and The Belly Bomber…

Elder Perry in the Mission Apartment in Kitchener, Ontario Canada

Hi Mom and Dad,

This week has been a VERY slow week. Of our 2 investigators, 1 had a family issue he was dealing with, so he cancelled. The other is not making hearing the Gospel a priority. It’s sad to see that we are offering Eternal Gifts and investigators just seem to take things lightly. That darn agency thing gets in the way every time. But, we’ll keep preaching on. We have been trying everything it seems but nothing has worked. We are trying to help the members with their missionary work so that we can get a few new investigators from them, but it’s a slow process. We have quite a few less actives. Retention is just as important as the actual Baptism.

We, my companion Elder Hanks and I, set up for the Women’s General Broadcast this week. As we were setting up chairs and tables, I started thinking…. I moved 2600 miles away, moved to another country and I’m still doing the same thing as if I was at home. Helping my Mom set up for Women’s Conference” ( My Mom's the Relief Society President & Mom always said I was her 3rd counselor ) ... How Ironic! 😊

The Belly Bomber!

Going on a Mission will teach you many things, for me I have learned to start cooking for myself. Pre-mission, I was making Macaroni and cheese, and a few other things too. This morning I created what I call a “Belly Bomber”… Hash Browns with ketchup, scrambled eggs, with a generous topping of bacon slices…Ahhh, is there nothing bacon can’t do?

Hopefully things will get busier and we can invite more to come unto Christ.  Keep doing your callings and Missionary work!  

The Missionaries need the members too.

Love YOU and pray for YOU Every Day and Night,

Elder Perry

Waterloo Ward

Kitchener, Ontario

Canada Toronto Mission

P-Day # 33 – Hard Week Finding Investigators, Bishops Storehouse & Finding a Great Restaurant!!!

People think I look like a Canadian Police Officer.
If my jacket was red, I'd look like a Mountie!

This week has been a rough week in terms of finding new people.

We went searching for our “former investigators” and went through the last of them. We had no success in finding them and the people who did answer their doors weren't interested. We then commenced with the “potential investigators” with the same result however, we did have a couple of blessings from the Lord.

We were trying a “potential investigators” and we knocked on the door. There was no one who answered but a man pulled in the driveway. We asked him if he was the person we were looking for and he said no. The person was not home but we started talking to him about the Gospel and he seemed interested. We gave him our pass-along card with our number and we gave him a Book of Mormon. He tried to pay us for it but we said it was free. He was surprised and thanked us for talking to him.

We then started walking to a “potential investigator” in the area and we realized that we had forgot the apartment number. So, we had to walk back. As we did, we were able to talk with two guys who stepped outside for a smoke. We were able to share how we share a message of happiness and peace. We shared a card with him and with his friend that we talked to. Had we just kept walking we would have never talked with those people and they would have had to wait more time to hear the gospel

We had one “former investigator” come to church after we had stopped by their house and left a card at the door when he didn't answer. He was a native French speaker and I was able to speak with him in French and he seemed to like the meeting. It was really nice and I was able to use my French to help him feel welcome.

We had tried to go to some Elderly Retirement homes, but they have “No Soliciting” signs in the window. We were going to volunteer in the local school, but since we didn’t have children enrolled in their school, we cannot volunteer they said. We have been trying to find "new investigators" but with no success. We will keep trying though and I know that the Lord will bless us for our efforts.

On a Happy Note, we got to do the Bishop Storehouse this week and that was pretty fun. We set up tables and helped people get their groceries. There was a lot of food left over because people didn't come to get it so they gave it to the missionaries …..Bonus! 

Also, the person in charge of our meals found out that we didn't get fed this week. So, after Relief Society we looked at the calendar and now we have a meal appointment every day except Friday and a member fed us dinner yesterday. We are so thankful for the members that take the time to have us over and feed us. Not only with the good food, but it’s good to get to know the members and leave them with a spiritual thought. 

We did find the Best Restaurant EVER… It’s called Smoke’s Poutinerie, www.smokespoutinerie.com , and it rocks.

 Regular Poutine is fries with gravy covered in “Squeaky Cheese”, but this place has a bunch of extra toppings to put on. It’s sooooo good!

Well, I'd better close for this week. I can't believe in a few weeks, I'll have been out 8 months, 1/3rd of my mission. Unbelievable!

Remember I Love You and Pray for You Ever Day and Night, 

Elder Perry

Waterloo Ward

Kitchener, Ontario

Canada Toronto Mission

P-Day #32 - Transfers, New Investigators and Trying to Bake a Cake!!!

Elder Hanks(Left) and Elder Perry(3rd From Left)

This week has been a really good week for us.

Sunday was transfers, but Elder Hanks and I did not move….YEA!!!! I like Elder Hanks. He and I get along great. He’s pretty funny. He’s been out 8 months, but only in the Kitchener area for 2 weeks longer than I have been here. He was wired up about transfers the other night and went to the refrigerator and just started to eat a block of cheese. This may not sound too funny, but I guess you had to be there…it was funny!

We were able to have our first lessons with our new investigators. We started teaching our investigator Roy and were just getting to know him. He had somethings go on in his life and he wanted to see if we could help him quit drinking. We got to know some of his concerns and he just wants help with the Word of Wisdom and knowing if God is really there. We were able to let him know that God is there, and has not left. We were then able to teach him how to pray and as he began to cry from the Spirit, he was able to feel that God was there and heard his prayers. We then were able to set a return appointment and then taught him the Restoration which he accepted the commitments right away and we will be setting up a return appointment with him this week.

My Attempt to Bake a Cake 

We taught our other new investigator, Linda, and answered her questions about life after death. She wanted to know the church stance on smoking and drinking so we will be teaching her the Word of Wisdom for the next appointment. We would have taught her more at the time, but she was getting hammered right in front of us and had already downed a couple of beers...How Ironic! Now that's funny right there!

We were able to see an inactive who wanted to be told what to believe but all we could do is say you need to read and pray for yourself. We talked with him for a while (3 hours to be exact) at a Starbucks and he seemed really happy to talk to us. We committed him to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. We will try to set up a return appointment with him this week.

Elder Perry in his "Punisher" Bennie

This week has been really productive and we have gotten the area organized so we can do some major work. Now that all is organized, it’s “nose to the grindstone time”!  Doing the Work is a PERFECT 10 week. 

Know that I Love You and Pray for You Every Night & Day!

Love,

Elder Perry

Waterloo Ward

Kitchener, Ontario

Canada Toronto Mission

P-Day # 31 - Ask & Ye Shall Receive, Being Speechless and .....DUCK!

Elder Hanks and Elder Perry on P-Day

Ask and ye shall receive:  This week has been a week of miracles. We have been working really hard on finding people to teach and we hadn't seen any success for the whole week. Then on Saturday, we were walking through a parking lot and this random lady was walking by. I gave her a simple “hello” and she looked at our tags. She then said “Could I give you my number and we can meet sometime? I would like to talk with you guys". I was speechless but I managed to get the words out and get her information. We will be contacting her this week to set an appointment and help her in any way we can.

We continued through our day and worked through the less-actives with little success. 

On Sunday, after church, we were able to assist in administering the sacrament to a man who was not physically able to come to church. I think we were able to brighten his spirits and he seemed happy.

Later in the day we got a call from a lady who said that we had been calling her and that her cousin needed help. She then put the cousin on the phone and he said that he felt lost and wanted to know about our message. He had some things happen in his life and felt that he needed to get back on the path. We were able to set a time to meet with him and will be teaching him this week.

The Lord provides as long as we continue on the path and are diligent in following his commandments.

Funny Story, Last P-Day we played kill ball, which is like dodge ball with no rules. I guess I need to learn to 'DUCK"🦆 because I got hit at least 3 times in the face. How do I explain to an investigator why I have a black eye? Perhaps maybe that would be a conversation starter, a missionary with a black eye, 😎haha! Now that's funny right there!!!

Well, it has been a good week.

Remember I pray for you Every Day & Night.

Love, 

Elder Perry

Waterloo Ward

Kitchener, Ontario

Canada Toronto Mission