June 24, 2009
Hello everyone?
Well, yes my companion Elder Newby left me alone! They called me today just to say goodbye one more time (Elder Newby, Elder Winegar and Elder Habel). Elder Habel is a friend from Snow College. We lived in the same apartment complex. They have already left. They grabbed their flight at 11:00 am. It is 11:17 right now just in case you were wondering. Elder winegar should be passing by soon because he has some pictures that I put on a cd. Anyway, the changes have been a little tough. With a new Pres. and all. I had to stay with Elder Paulino this week (District leader) because I didn't have a companion. It was annoying because I knew I was going to get a new companion and I wanted to know who it would be! Well today my wait is over! I have found out who my new companion will be ... yes he is my new companion, but he is not that NEW to me. It's Elder Windley, my companion from the MTC! It made the change so much more pleasant. I don't have to worry about learning to love my companion because I already love him. Wow, the Lord has really blessed me lately with companions because he has given me Elders that I have already worked with. Elder Newby was my District leader last year in Acre, so we were already friends and now I am with Elder Windley. So the hard work and fun will just continue. I am going to be his Sr. Companion... but I think he knows more than me. We´ll just work together laughing and having a great time. I am super excited to help my new mission Pres. I am going to work my very best just to help him settle in. Try to help in any way possible- ya know? The mission is just the best place in the world. We have some great ideas planned for the branch. The Branch is super excited to help the missionaries. They fasted that THEY would be able to find people for us to teach. And this Sat. they are going to group up and walk in the street inviting others to receive the missionaries in their homes and invite people to church. Its going to be super! I love this area. Man, I love the mission. I feel like my testimony has grown so much in the last week. It's because I taught some tough lessons. Lessons where the people you're teaching just start telling at you, "you're wrong"! I taught a Seventh Day Adventist, and she knew her stuff. She opened her Bible and just stomped on my face. However, I will not Bible bash!!! I hate a Bible bash. The spirit leaves so fast, "because contention is not of him." Elder Newby and I were talking about Bible bashing and he said something like, "Bible bashing is like telling the spirit you don't need his help to convert the person to the gospel. It's relying on your own skills and not the spirit." If you don't have the spirit you can't teach. So when she started going off, I saw that she wasn't going to listen to our message, so I just invited her to church and left. So then the next day we taught another couple who told me that I was in a cult and that I don't worship God or Jesus Christ. And that I needed to move to her church because that is where I was going to receive salvation. When I left the lesson, I looked at Elder Paulino and said "She can have her salvation, but we are here to prepare to receive exaltation." My soul delights in the plan of salvation! God will be so merciful. When you think about it... God will give to all of his children what they deserve... even more than what they deserve. This women, all she wants and all she works for... is salvation, but when we show up to teach her the truth and how she can receive exaltation, she rejects it. God will give her what she chose... salvation. There are so many people who think that "heaven" will be to sit around in peace feeling the love of god. Do you really think this women won't feel love and happiness in the terrestrial kingdom? God will give her what she chose. There are even some churches who believe that God doesn't have a body, but is just a light or even a feeling of love. God will give them what they chose... to sit in the Terrestrial Kingdom with a feeling of love or the so called God they searched after. After all, the God they searched after doesn't have a body... so heaven to them... doesn't include the thought of God with a physical body that will be able to hug us, and love us. God will even give sinners a Kingdom of Glory where they will feel happiness and joy. Joseph Smith said that the Telestial Kingdom is so good that if we saw it right now we would kill ourselves to go there. So God is going to be so merciful to his children. However, we have the truth, and we know we are preparing to one day be exalted. So what to I have to say to those who tell me that I need to move churches to be saved... to receive my salvation? You´re Right! However, I am striving for Exaltation! I am striving to walk back into the physical arms of my Heavenly Father, and I can't wait to feel his physical body hugging mine! "And they who reject this glad message, will never such happiness know!" God is using his servant to invite others to know him, to know the truth, and if they reject it, he will still be merciful and give them what they chose. I know this church is true. That Joseph Smith saw our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ, and that through him the fullness of the gospel was restored. That we have the priesthood and the temple ordinances we need to return to our Heavenly Fathers presence. We need the priesthood and theses temple ordinances not only to be saved ... but to be exalted. I delight in the restored gospel! I love you all so much. I was listening to the hymn, "Each life that touches ours for good." I got so sad thinking about how in six months I will have to leave my friends here in Brazil.
I love you all! I love Brazil!!!
Elder Perry