GOD LOVES YOU ANYWAY



Sunday morning as I was in an elevator going up to the 13th floor a man in a wheel chair was in the elevator also. He looked at my name tag and asked who I was. I told him that I was a missionary for The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The man told me God loves you anyway and about that time the elevator door opened and he preceded to roll out but not before I told the man God loves me because I am His missionary. As we have served these past few months in Augusta we have felt God's love for us and the people we meet as we have shared the message of Jesus Christ. We know He loves all of us no matter what we believe but He wants all to have the opportunity to be taught the true Gospel of Jesus Christ restored to earth in these latter days. That's why we are here assisting the Elders, finding those who have gone astray, inviting them to come back, and encouraging them to live the gospel. God loves us, He knows us and as the sign reads above, "Allow God to be involved in your life He has great plans for you.

Thursday Elder Berry didn't feel well. When he took his blood pressure it was extremely high so we decided a trip to the emergency room was necessary. In the emergency room medication was given to bring his blood pressure down and test were begun. A night and day was spent in the hospital with lots of blood work, test and tread mill. Friday evening the doctor told us all was well and we were allowed to go home. We know God  was watching overs us, we could feel His love for us and we know He has great plans for us in Augusta.

We had many varied experiences as we visited members of the ward this week. Some were happy while others were troubling because some of the people said they weren't members of the church. One lady told us she is divorced so she is no longer a member of the church and didn't want any contact with the church.Her x-husband was a member (she is listed as member on records of church).As we visited on her porch she became friendly. Hopefully she realized we weren't a threat to her. We will return some day in the future and hopefully her heart will soften, God loves her anyway. We found an eighty year old lady. She was very frail and had suffered some mini strokes. She told us she wasn't a member of the church and that her son was a Baptist preacher and her grandson would soon be one also. As we visited with her she explained that she joined the church when the young Elders came around, taught her and picked her up in the van and drove her to church. Eventually the Elders stopped coming around and her health began to decline. She told us she got baptized because there are so many churches teaching so many different things, she didn't know which one was right so she got baptized so she could be covered. God loves this dear lady and we know we can bring her comfort as we return to visit and reteach her what she has forgotten. 

Churches in Trenton, South Carolina

Saturday we decided to take a little time and visit a little town in South Carolina about a 30 minute drive from Augusta. The little town of Trenton was having a peach festival and we thought this would be a good opportunity to buy and try some southern grown peaches.

 

We saw miles and miles of peach orchards

Upon arriving back in Augusta with a bushel of peaches, we visited some members and left them a few peaches and invited them to church Sunday. When we drove up to the health care home where Indiana lives the porch was full of residents so we just grabbed a bag full of peaches and started giving them out. Indiana was excited to see us as usual. She told us her knee had been painful so she would just pat the cast where the pain was and pray to Jesus and then Jesus would make the pain go away. God loves Indiana and all the residents at the health care home. We arrived home with enough peaches for the Elders and a few for ourselves. It's amazing how fast a bushel of peaches disappears. The day was beautiful and the drive relaxing plus it gave Elder Berry a little time to regain his health. This beautiful world is evidence that God loves us.

Sunday dinner Elder Ultra

Elder Lee



Happy Birthday Elder Ultra. Celebrating after Sunday dinner.

Sunday we were blessed to have a visit from my Sister Norma (Lives in Utah), her daughter Stephanie and her son Bradford who live in Birmingham, Alabama. My sister Patti who lives in Martinez along with some of her children and grandchildren came to visit also. Our little apartment was humming. We had a very joyful visit but it didn't last long enough although Norma and her family did spend the night. We love our families and love their visits. We appreciate their love and prayers for us. We also love our friends and appreciate their prayers. We know these prayers carry us through tough times. No matter where we are or what we are doing or where you are or what you are doing, God Loves Us Anyway because we share his gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Love, Elder and Sister Berry