January 16, 2018

Hello,

This has been a really fun. It went really to fast. We had MLC this week witch is always fun. Some of the things that were talked about where the need to have balance in life. When life gets really hard there tend not to be a balance in life. When we are in the time we need to be able to take a step back and evaluate where we are at and where we should be and set goals and make plans to get there. It is really like repenting daily. If we repent daily then that will save us from having to repent of really big things.

Another focus has been charity. It has been cool to see as we have been focusing on charity we or I least I have seen a better attitude in my self towards all things in life. When life comes with its storms and tempest we are less likely to blame other people but more likely to look for the best situation. It is such a testimony to me to know that my savior dies for me and all of us. As you keep the pure love of Christ in your heart there is no one or thing that can stop you from having a good time. 

It has started to rain more this week so it has been time to bring out the jacket. It’s nice to have one where the rain can’t get through. I guess there would not be much use for one if it didn’t stop the rain. 

This week I got to go on 2 exchanges, which is always fun. The first one I went with Elder Gillins. He was a missionary that I was Training last Transfer so that was super fun to be able to be back with him. Then the 2nd one that I went on was with Elder Wills. He is from South Africa. He is not from the typical Idaho or Utah so it was really fun to see people be like oh that’s cool what brought you out here. Then we would start teaching about prophets, etc. the whole day we were at the right place at the right time. I can’t explain how or what cause that nut it was the coolest thing ever to see the lord guide us to be able to help those people!

I hope that you all have a great week!!

Sincerely,

Elder Berry

January 8, 2018

Hello,

To start I just wanted to let you know that next week I will be emailing on Tuesday of next week.

But other then that being in the Rancho Cordova once again is awesome. It’s like being back home. Although it’s not the same Missionaries there are some great missionaries. I got to go on a team up with Elder Lee from Hawaii. It was cool because we were working in his area and I got to go see some people from the very first ward that I served in. The church is a small place and it great to be able to see some of the people that I saw 15 months ago.

The area that I cover now cover downtown sac. I was able to see some really cool street art or in Idaho graffiti. That it cool. There can be some pretty cool things that people can imagine.

I am back with my old companion Elder Ravsten from the MTC. If you don’t remember he is from Farmervillie Texas. It’s has been such a blast here in Rancho. We have been focusing on meeting a lot of the members to make sure that we have a strong relationship. 

Hope you all have a great week!!

Sincerely,

Elder Berry

 

 

 

January 1, 2018

Hello Everyone,

This has been a crazy week! I just want to start by saying it was great to be able to see my family. What a blessing it is to be able to skype home twice a year and communicate with them. All of them seemed to be happy and doing well. That is always fun to see. 

For Christmas I was very blessed. I got a lot of things. Mostly food and a lot of jerky. I won’t complain because there is nothing to complain about. I love everything that I got. Christmas day night we all got to get her and went caroling as a zone. There was a lot of us so we split up into two groups and covered twice the amount of ground. It was so cool to see the spirit that a simple act of just singing to people would bring tears to their face. It is so cool the spirit that comes as we commemorate the birth of our savior.

For New Years we were all gathered together to keep us out of trouble. We has a training that was focused on relying on our savior. It was really cool to see all the training go together hand in hand because the spirit was orchestrated the whole night. I definitely can testify that the spirit testifies of Truth and guides each of us.

Then transfers have come again. I have to leave Elk Grove unfortunately. I will be transferred tomorrow to the Rancho Cordova Stake serving in the American River YSA Branch. My new companions will be Elders Ravsten and Zoller. Elder Ravsten was my MTC companion. I am super excited to be with him. I am going to miss Elders Nelson and Gillins for sure. They are some great Elders!!

That is the most of my week. Hope you have a great week!

Sincerely,

Elder Berry

 

 

December 25, 2017

Merry Christmas!! 

This was a really fun Christmas! Last night we watched 17 miracles! There was only few tears that were shed by people and I was not one of them. But it was good to be able to sit and do nothing for a change instead of never being on the fly. But it was weird sitting around. There will have to be some adjusting time when I am no longer a missionary.

I will be Skyping in a few hours! I am excited to be able to see all of my family it has been a long time since I have seen them. It’s almost like it has been since last Mother’s Day.

Last night we had the elders at our apartment so that we could have a great Christmas. It was fun! We talked and talked about Christmas traditions and all the fun stuff that we would do for Christmas. Yes we did get to bed by 10:30. But we didn’t fall asleep for a little while. For a Christmas present from our Mission President said that we could sleep in till 7:00 am. So you can bet all of the missionaries were all over that.

But I hope that you have a great Christmas! And you remember why we have the season. Know that god loves you and he cares about each of us. Stay strong and have a great time in all of the snow!!

Sincerely,

Elder Berry

 

December 18, 2017

Hello Everyone,

This week week flew by! Fastest week of my mission!! We had 2 exchanges this week!! So busy this week. The work of god is moving forward weather you like it or not! But I would have it any other way!!

To start I got to I got to go on an exchange with Elder Damon. He is from Delaware and as he is not from Utah or Idaho it really makes people surprised that there are mormons in those states. We were able to be on bikes for that exchange witch was super fun! On bikes you get to talk to so many more people. We were biking and we saw this guy who was hanging us Christmas lights. Since we it’s light the world this year we wanted to make sure that we offered to help him. When we did he said yes. It was cool to be able to get to talk with him and see his heart soften. He said that he would be fine with having missionaries come by at a latter time. It so cool to see the light of Christ that burns brighter during the Christmas season.

The 2nd exchange we were able to go with the assistants. That was really fun! I was able to go with Elder Murphy! I was able to live with him a little over a year ago. It was really good to be able to catch up with him. He is such a great missionary. We went and taught this person named Damien. They have been working with him for a while now and we were able to teach him the word of wisdom. It was a very spiritual lesson. He committed to live the word of wisdom and I hope that he will be able to live it.

Tomorrow we have our Christmas Conference! I am super excited for it! Last year was super fun and I can’t wait to see what special things we have planned!

Hope you all have a great week and an even better Christmas!!!

Sincerely,

Elder Berry

 

 

December 11, 2017

Hello everyone,

This week has been a really fun/ but to fast. To start we went on 2 back to back exchanges. The first one I went with Elder Schwenson. He is a really fun Elder who is from Idaho. As we went around talking to the people the misted asked question that I have gotten on my mission is what’s your name and where are you from. So when we both say Idaho then it’s like oh you must know each other because Idaho is so small. It’s always fun to have a comp from Idaho because it through people for a loop every time.

Then the 2nd exchange I went on another exchange with another Elder from Idaho. This time it was Elder Pierson. It was fun to be to be with him. There are a lot of fun people that you get to meet. While I was with Elder Pierson we were able to help some people rake some leaves while they were taking a break. It was cool to see when we 1st walked up they really didn’t seem all that happy to see but when we just offered to help them they were very grateful for the help. By the end of it they said we could come back and share with them a Christmas message. It’s just so cool to be able to serve and they are willing to let us serve.

To finish up the week we had Missionary Leadership Council. The biggest thing that I took from MLC was the importance of setting goals. President Hymas talked about the importance of how much more growth we will have if we focus in on a goal and we push our selves. So I have re Evaluated my goals and set some new ones for the remainder of my mission. I am excited to see what growth comes from it.

Hope you all have a great week and are enjoying the Christmas season.

Sincerely,

Elder Berry