NEVER GIVE UP

Elders Bogden and Cahoon. As we were driving down the street we spotted our Elders and just had to stop and take this picture. They are working hard finding and bringing members back.

It seems we missionaries (Elders and Seniors) in Augusta, Georgia will be working extra hard reactivating members who no longer attend. Over the past two years many, many people were baptized but have not remained active. Many joined the church for financial aid but when the Bishop stopped assisting them they became inactive. Some even became angry. Many of them struggle with the Word of Wisdom, chastity or just don't understand the importance of church attendance. This morning in Missionary Correlation Meeting we discussed this situation in the ward. The Bishop told us he had a big stack of papers listing those who were no longer attending church for various reasons. He shed tears as he pleaded for our help in finding and visiting these people and bring them back. He promised us if we keep trying he will Never Give Up. These are precious souls. This week we visited one of these sisters. She joined the church and was influential in bring many others into the waters of baptism. She received financial assistance for over a year until about three months ago when the ward stopped assisting her. She became very angry and turned many of her friends against the church also. Elder Berry and I visited this lady last week and she is still angry. She did invite us into her home and we sat down and had a good visit. She feels she needs an apology from the member of the Bishopric he turned her down for assistance, and says that he was rude and judgemental. We asked her if she prayed, read the Book of Mormon, believed the Church was true, if she believed Joseph Smith was a prophet and that we have living prophets today. Her answer to all these questions was yes. We asked her to forgive the bishopric member and return to church that we missed her. Elder Berry challenged her to go among her friends and bring them back to church with her. Many other things were said but in the end she insisted she needed an apology and she might come visit sometime.The member of the bishopric did nothing wrong but the truth sometimes is hard to bear and she does not except  how the church welfare system works. This same story has happened over and over the past few months as Elder Berry and I and the Elders visit. It saddens all of us but we will Never Give Up. We will return to visit this dear sister and hopefully she will have a change of heart.

Sunday morning Elder Berry drove Elders Cahoon and Ultra around knocking on doors waking them up and letting them know the van would be coming to pick them up for church. The people had already committed to come but have a hard time following through so we just give them a little reminder. After all this many of them still don't make it.



There is an older black lady that comes to church every week. She lives in a residential home for patients who need assistance with medication and other things. The area of town she lives in is not very safe but Brother and Sister Brown pick her up each week for church. This little lady just loves to visit and loves to come to church. Elder Berry and I finally visited her last Tuesday. When we walked in she got so excited and said, "oh it's my church, they came to visit me, my church came to visit me."  We hugged and then we saw she was in a wheel chair. She fell a few days before and did lots of damage to her knee and had to go to the emergency room. Her caregiver said she wouldn't be able to go to church for at least a month. Saturday we called to check on her. She was so excited "her church" called we decided we just had to go visit her again that day. We ask if we could bring her anything and she quickly replied she would love some green grapes. We were able to find some green grapes and we had a wonderful visit and look forward to many more. It's fun to spread a little sunshine especially when we're not the ones giving it away.

Saturday Wendy Mills was baptized by Elder Phillips. It was a very special baptism. Since Wendy doesn't have a car we had the opportunity to drive her to the baptism. She is a very special lady.



As a senior couple missionary we have more freedom in our service than the Elders. Wednesday morning we drove to Columbia to the temple. The drive is just over an hour but a beautiful drive through the trees. Whenever we leave town we call our district leader to let him know where we are going and when we will return. It's fun calling our twenty year old district leader to let him know his senior couple is leaving town. Fun because he's in charge not us. When we returned to town Wednesday afternoon we had lots of visits to make and then church that night. The Bishop has interviews on Wednesday night and we hang around visiting with those waiting to see the Bishop. Sometimes people we have been looking for show up and we are able to get addresses and phone numbers. A new senior couple is arriving in Augusta this Tuesday so we have been helping Sister Bowman, over housing, get the apartment ready. The new couple is the Gowens and their apartment is in our complex. The Gowens will be serving in the Grovetown Ward and Military Relations. We have been at the new apartment for deliverers and Elder Berry has been assembling furniture.  Monday Bobbie Cliett called and asked if Elder Berry could help her assemble a piece of furniture so we went over since it was our preparation day. As Elder Berry was working on the furniture Bobbie and I visited. Bobbie and her husband are recent converts. I knew Bobbie and her husband went to the temple Saturday to do baptisms for the dead. I asked her about it. She was a little unsure how she felt because she didn't know what to expect but nothing like what she experienced. We enjoy visiting with Bobbie but having a serious conversation at her house is very hard. She has a house full of people, children, married daughter and her two babies, animals and Elder Berry hammering. We invited Bobbie and her husband to dinner on Thursday at our apartment so we could talk. They came at seven and left at eleven. We hope they enjoyed their visit as much as we enjoyed having them. A senior couple can prepare dinner and teach the gospel while enjoying a meal together. One family we have been visiting and encouraging to come to church has a very hard time getting to church for a number of reasons, some good others not. If a week passes and we haven't been by they call and tell us they miss us and were just wondering when we would come visit them. They love us and we love them but we decided this week if they want to see us they will have to come to church. This senior couple hopes this is a good decision for right now although we will never give up. We have so many experiences and sometimes wonder what to do because there is no instruction book for the varied situations we find ourselves in. Last Sunday when we got home from church and were finishing our dinner preparations for the Elders, the Bishop called and told us he needed our help. A young girl was stranded in Augusta and needed to be rescued. The girl had attended her sisters wedding in Atlanta and was passing through Augusta on her way back to North Carolina to school when her truck broke down. She called her dad in Atlanta and he had the truck towed to a garage. It would take a few days to repair the truck. The girl was stranded at the garage and needed to be rescued until her uncle could drive from North Carolina to pick her up. We found the garage and the girl and brought her back to the apartment for safe keeping. Shortly after we returned to the apartment six Elders and a ward mission leader invaded our apartment for dinner. We just added an extra plate for our girl guest, Vicky Wise. We are thankful that we could provide a safe haven for Vicky and for the organization of the church throughout the world that makes a rescue like this possible and that a senior couple lived around the corner from the garage.

Serving a mission and being a senior couple is very challenging and rewarding as we seek out those members who have become less active. After listening to our Bishops plea today we will strive harder with more dedication to rescue the lost sheep of August Ward.  We will support the Bishop and We will Never Give Up either.

Love, Elder and Sister Berry

Driving down the street we saw this tent set up for a revival. We see them in different areas as we drive around Augusta. Summer is a popular time for these revivals but it sure gets hot here and the mosquitoes are awful.

"I'M ALL PRAYED UP"

Elder Berry and I have had the wonderful opportunity to accompany the Elders as they taught a single sister in her forty's the gospel. This lady has had a very difficult life. She has even been homeless for a period of time but is now stable and living in an apartment. She has two children but is estranged from them at this time. The children are adults now and they are both in the army. Her daughter has a baby she has never seen but hopes someday she will be able to meet her now that she is getting her life in order. This lady has had missionary lessons before but because of the turmoils in her life just never stuck with it. She is so eager to learn, reads all her assignments we give her and more. While she reads she underlines verses in the scriptures and we discuss them when we return. (This is very unusual for our investigators to read and learn for themselves. Even the less active don't follow through on assignments,even though we invite them back to church and promise them blessings for attending, taking the sacrament and being obedient they don't come) This lady has a unique way of expressing herself on many of the topics we teach. One of the lessons included the principle of prayer. As we talked about when, where and how to pray and read Alma 37: 36-37 she got very excited and made this comment, "Oh, I pray all the time. I always have a prayer in my heart. As a matter of fact I'm all prayed up."

                                        Loading up and getting ready to leave Augusta

 Fourteen missionaries from the Augusta Zone and all of these Elders rode in the van and I drove our           
                                                             car with the sisters

                                   Elder Flake one of our Elders now serving in another district

Elder Cardon coming to greet us when we arrived at the conference. We loved seeing most of the Elders that have served in our District and they made a special attempt to find us. We saw many of the Elders who have served in our Zone. What joy to meet and greet. Most of the missionaries we have served with greeted us except Elder Caldwell and so we looked and looked and couldn't find him. It's hard picking out a certain missionary when they are all dressed alike and just blend in together. After the closing prayer we saw a missionary running across the chapel and it was Elder Caldwell.

After arriving in Columbia we were instructed not to go into the chapel until the doors were opened and we were invited in. We thought it looked awesome and humbling watching all the missionaries filling into the chapel.

                                                   Sisters Roos, Berry and King

 Elder Ulta, Jeremy and Elder Phillips. Elder Caldwell taught Jeremy and his girlfriend while they were living together. They said they wanted to get married but didn't have the money so the Bishop gave Elder Berry and me permission to give them marriage classes and he signed the form for them to take to the Court House to get their marriage license. With a signed document from a clergy that they had six hours of marriage counseling they could get their license for thirty five dollars instead of seventy dollars. They got their document but never got their license. While this was going on we could see that their relationship was deteriorating. Jeremy was committed but Shenique wasn't. She wouldn't come to church with him and when we went to visit she was friendly but cool. Jeremy and Shenique have been together for about four years. Shenique has rheumatoid arthritis and both knees replaced. She is a beautiful girl but just wasn't ready to get married. We suggested to Jeremy to move out and remain chaste and he could get baptized. It took a little time before the relationship fell apart. Jeremy moved out and Shenique moved back home. Tuesday Jeremy was baptized. He is very quiet and bashful and when you talk to him he doesn't look at you. I think we wrote about him bearing his testimony about two months ago and that was when he was still living with Shenique. When Elder Berry and I were teaching them we promised to bake them a red velvet wedding cake because that is their favorite. After his baptism he reminded me about the cake so I told him he will get a cupcake but when he gets married he gets the cake. He still has great hops that Shenique will have a change of heart. We just love this kid!

                                 Our district after Jeremy's baptism on Tuesday with our ward mission leader.

This week we had a Mission wide Missionary Conference in Columbia, South Carolina. The Augusta zone has 24 missionaries. The zone leaders had the challenge of making arrangements to get everyone to the meeting, driving as few mission cars (because of limited miles) as possible and without the assistance of the wards. Our Zone leaders made arrangements to borrow our ward mission leaders 15 passenger van with Elder Berry driving. We had already promised the Sisters in Harlem that we would pick them up and they could ride with us. What we finally decided to do was Elder Berry would drive the van with 14 Elders, I would drive our car with the 2 Sisters and two cars of Elders would drive with 4 Elders in each car. (The cars chosen were the ones with the most miles remaining for the month.) As Elder Berry and I anticipated Saturday and the thought of being responsible for the safety of 16 missionaries we would be transporting almost a hundred miles one way weighed heavy on our hearts. Of course we turned to the Lord in prayer the whole week but when Saturday came we continued in prayer until everyone was safely returned to their apartments. We were and are grateful that our prayers were heard and answered because we were "All Prayed Up." Actually I don't think anyone could ever be "all prayed up." Elder Gonzalez of the Presidency of the Seventy spoke at the conference and we all feasted on his message. Before the meeting started and we were all seated in the chapel we all had the opportunity to file to the front of the chapel and shake Elder Gonzalez's hand. The words he spoke applied to the situations we encounter and will help us be more effective missionaries. Some things we were instructed to do is teach the gospel using the Book of Mormon, we are messengers of hope, and get people to solve their own problems by living the principles of the gospel and receiving promised blessings. A special stake meeting was held in Augusta Stake Sunday and Elder Gonzalez was the speaker. It has been several years since the stake has had a General Authority so a special Stake meeting was called and the theme was "Real Growth" in the church. I'm sure if you haven't heard this principle you will soon. Bishop Richard C. Edgley's (recently released first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric) talk in April conference explains that principal "The Rescue for Real Growth."

Thursday the Heise family invited the district for dinner (all 4 missionaries and Elder Berry and me). Their son Zach is graduating form high school and is getting his papers ready for a mission. We were welcomed so warmly had a delicious dinner. After dinner the Elders gave a message and Zach and his dad played hymns on the guitar and we sang along. Our ward recently started passing around a dinner calender for the Elders and the ward members are finally signing up for meals. We try to make it understood that the calender is only for the Elders. This is the second time we have been invited although we weren't able to go the first time because we already had an appointment. The sister was disappointed that we couldn't come so she told me the next time she signs up she will call and invite us personally.

Last Monday my sister Patty had cataract surgery so Elder Berry and I went to visit her that afternoon. Patty's son, wife and 2 children are staying with them. Patty and I were sitting on the couch covered by a blanket.The youngest boy about five years old came in the room through the blanket off me, looked at my shoulder and said, "you're not a missionary." He must have asked his mother about me and she told him who I was and that I was a missionary. He didn't believe I was a missionary because I am old and a girl. His mother told him to look at my name tag. Monday is preparation day and I had just been doing chores around the apartment so when we decided to visit my sister I forgot to put my name tag on. Of all the days to forget to wear my name tag. It took a bit of explaining to convince him I am a missionary. Elder Berry and I may not always act or look like missionaries but Elder and Sister is our names and proclaiming the gospel is our game and we will never be "All prayed Up."

Love, Elder and Sister Berry          

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

This is a day late but we wish to everyone a Happy Mother's Day! It is so great that mothers are honored one day of the year although they deserve more credit for all they do. In our role as missionaries it has been interesting as we observe different cultures as mothers interact with their children.  We love our children and have always been so thankful for them. With our new experiences we have come to the conclusion that our children are blessed to have us as their parents. Most important we are blessed to have each other. When Mother Teresa received the Nobel Prize in 1979, she was asked, "what can we do to promote world peace?' She answered in six words, "Go home and love your family."

We enjoyed celebrating Mother's Day. It started with  2 boxes of cake mixes, a tank of gas, knocking on doors, a bite from a dog, and lots of love. We made 48 cupcakes, wrapped each one in a cellophane bag and for two days drove all over the city of Augusta delivering them to some active members but mostly inactive and inviting them to church Sunday. A few weeks ago we wrote of a couple that wished to have their names removed from the church records. The bishop asked us to visit the couple before he took action. Thursday when we drove up to their house the husband was trimming hedges and visited with Elder Berry so we asked if we could go inside and talk with him and his wife. He took us inside his house, went to get his wife but came back some time late and told us she was asleep and he couldn't wake her up. Saturday we delivered a cup cake.The wife answered the door. She was very surprised to see me standing there but was very friendly. I told her we missed them and invited them to church Sunday. She took the cup cake and didn't respond to my invitation,. As I was returning to the car their daughter came walking up the street and said I know you but we don't go to your church anymore. I asked where she went to church. The little girl told me they were going to Beulah Baptist Church but she missed our church. We have been trying to get an appointment to visit an inactive family but they keep putting us off. Saturday we delivered a cup cake. They weren't home so I was writing a note while Elder Berry was standing beside me. A pit bull came sauntering up and was sniffing around. Elder Berry was watching him but I didn't see him because I was writing. I felt a pain on my ankle and looked down and saw the dog. Elder Berry thought he was harmless so didn't bother to block him from me. Friday evening we had an appointment with an inactive family. We knocked on the door and the husband opened the door a crack and came outside and talked with us on the porch. He didn't know his wife made an appointment with us but said his wife had been to the emergency room because she had a bad tooth ache, was taking medicine and was in bed asleep. It seems that whenever people don't want to see us even when they have made an appointment with us someone in the house is asleep and they can't wake them up. We left a cup cake and told them we would reschedule. Sleeping is a common excuse for not seeing the missionaries but being bit by a dog is a first and hopefully the last. Elder Berry says in order to receive the blessings of the Gospel we must always be awake.

We do have many rewarding experiences. We visited the young man with Down syndrome to get to know him. We took him ice cream. His care giver was happy to see us. We visited with him on the porch and as we visited he began to talk to us. He said he takes his Book of Mormon to work each day.He seems very aware of what's going on around him  We still haven't learned if he can read but we've decided when we go back this week we will read from the Book of Mormon with him.

One day we drove up to the home of an inactive older couple. The lady is  very frail but was dragging her garbage can off the street, with a cigarette in her hand. She saw us but went in the house so we knocked on the door. She has two big dogs and can't invite us in her house. She did come out on the front porch and visit with us. We had a delightful visit and learned a lot about her. She told us of a special dream she had concerning her family. Our next visits when we return will be to help her start her family history.

The magnolia trees are blooming now and the flowers are so beautiful. This last week we have had lots of rain which has been good. Something is blooming here all the time. Day lilies are in full bloom along with the  crepe myrtle. As we drive around the city we are amazed to see how quickly everything grows.

One thing we are looking forward to Saturday is a Mission wide conference with Elders Gonzales and Gene R. Cook in Columbia, South Carolina then Sunday a special  Augusta, Georgia Stake conference is being held. Each week is so different and we are still figuring out how we can be more effective missionaries. We love the people and they love us but we want them to love the Lord so much they will be at church every Sunday. One thing we did learn is that cup cakes won't get the people to church even if it is Mother's Day but it sure was fun visiting and spreading a little sunshine. Elder Berry and I are thankful for our Mothers and we are also thankful for our daughter and daughter-in love who are such wonderful Mothers. Our advice to all the Mothers who read this blog is LOVE YOUR CHILDREN it  does make a difference.

Love Elder and Sister Berry  

STAND ACCOUNTABLE

Augusta District Stands Accountable-Elder and Sister Berry, Elder De Ferrari (Spanish speaking, two weeks in the mission field), Elder Ultra, Elder Harris (Spanish speaking), Elder Cahoon (district leader), Elder Phillips, Elder Bogden - This last transfer the Spanish speaking Elders were put back in our district and with a senior couple that makes us the largest district in the zone.

Look at this crew do they look accountable for anything? Once and a while we just need to have a good time. The good time was had at Sunday dinner at our apartment after a long day of service. The Spanish speaking Elders attended church at the Spanish Branch and the rest of us were responsible for getting members to the Augusta Ward. As we have written before our day starts at 9am and isn't over until about 6pm when the last person is dropped off at their home and the van returned to its owner. These Elders have a lot of responsibility on Sundays getting members to church and they do a great job standing accountable for this responsibility. Once we get everyone to church, fellowshiping and directing them to where they need to go and what they need to do is some of the things they do best. Sunday dinner last an hour and then the Elders are out the door. Our Sunday dinners give us all a chance to just relax and discuss the day, what went wrong, what we could have done better, and the good that was accomplished. We also joke and laugh and enjoy each others company. We stand accountable for our actions that day.

       Sister King from the Harlem District and Harlem Ward had a birthday.                                   

After District meeting on Tuesday we celebrated with birthday cake. There are only four missionaries in the Harlem District, a set of Elders (Waynesboro Ward)  and a set of Sisters so if there isn't a ward mission leader available to meet with them Sister Berry is sometimes invited to meet with them which she is happy to do. When this happens Elder Berry attends our district meetings. On Tuesday three district meetings are held at our building in different rooms, Grovetown District, Harlem District and Augusta District. At each of these meetings the Elders and Sisters are Held Accountable for their works the past week, who they are teaching, and how many people they have on date for baptism and what they plan to do to accomplish their goals. This is a favorite part of the meeting for us. Wouldn't it be wonderful if more people
in this world would stand accountable for their actions. Stephen R. Covey says, "Accountability breeds responsible-ability." This is true and we see it in our missionaries actions as they eagerly strive to seek those who have been prepared to receive their message.

Sisters Roos and King (Harlem)

Elders Cooper (Harlem District), De Ferrari, and Harris

Elders De Ferrari, Bogden, Cahoon, and Harris

Elders Ultra, Phillips, Bogden, Worthen, and Sister Roos

Elder Worthen (Waynesboro, Harlem District)

Elder Harris and Elder Ultra

The weeks seem to just fly by but each week is so different from the week before. One thing we can always count on is that each new week brings new adventures. Two weeks ago as we were searching out ward members we had the opportunity to meet a very special young man. About a year ago the missionaries taught him, the van picked him up for church, he was baptized and when the van stopped picking him up he became inactive. For a week we pondered over how we could help this young man, and how much supervision he would need when attending church. This young man lives in a home with a care giver so we decided we should talk to her. (Why is it so hard to figure out simple things?) The care giver is not a member of the church but is very supportive of this young man.We learned that he is Down Syndrome, has been abused, needs constant supervision and has a hard time with people he doesn't know. There is no one that can bring him to church and remain with him. Social Service does not permit visits with his family. We and the care giver agreed that we could visit this young man each week and get to know him then we will decide where to go from there.The care giver told us he likes ice cream so our next visit we'll take ice cream.

Elder Berry has finally found his Monday preparation day activity. There is a widow in our ward with a large yard who needs flower beds dug up, weeded and raked. She has allowed us the privilege of assisting her. Last Monday we spent two hours in the outdoors using our muscles and we loved it. Today we will go back for another two hour session. Yesterday at church she said she would see us Monday. 

We spend lots of time talking and visiting with people, mostly inactive or less active. Some invite us into their homes while others talk to us at the door. One sister invited us into her home, we visited, she had a desire to come to church but didn't have transportation, we arranged for the van to pick her up and she was at church yesterday. We visited another sister at the door, invited her to come to church and she and her family were at church yesterday. The bishopric greeted this family warmly and other ward members did the same. We could see the joy on their faces as they attended all the meetings. The Elders are teaching a young lady with two children and she is living with her fiance, the father of the baby. This girl's dad is a convert and she agreed to have the missionaries come because of the great change in her dad since he joined the church. She and her fiance had their first discussion Saturday and the Elders invited us to go with them. It was so wonderful and so sweet. The Elders invited them to church but they didn't make it. We have another discussion with then this week and we are looking forward to it. We have had so many wonderful experiences along with lots of tender mercies for which we are grateful. We Stand Accountable.

Standing Accountable is not just for missionaries. It is a principles we need to apply throughout our lives no matter what opportunities we may have or challenges we may face. ( "So then everyone of us shall give  account of himself to God." Romans 14:12)

Love, Elder and Sister Berry

         Persian Proverb "Thinking well is wise, planning well, wiser; doing well wisest and best of all."