Fly By

Well, everyone, I'm going home.

Joking, I'm still out here—mwahaha. We got transfer news, and I'm staying here for another round in Exeter, and I'm excited for another transfer. We're mega working with inactives and part members right now, and it's popping off. Plus, my sweetie Elder Kesler is still with me, and he's a breeze to work with.

My mission father, Elder Lovejoy, is going home, and my heart aches at his departure. He's waxed strong in his wisdom and age and will truly be remembered in the corner of my heart. RIP, my brother—I hope you can find a valentine.

I always struggle to write these emails because I'm not sure what to say and how much detail y'all want to know about the work here. So I just usually tend to write my life's story.

There are two things I've been focusing on: God's will and prayer. I think God's will is one of the hardest and most rewarding things ever. But it's so hard—1. To seek His will, and 2. To do it. A lot of times, it's hard to seek God's will because we know it'll often require more of us and test our faith. But boy, the few times I've followed it, I feel like the windows of heaven have poured blessings out on me. Why is there such a blockage and fear in our minds to seek and follow through with God's will? Why is it so hard to do even though we know and hear how rewarding it can be? I don't really have the answer to those questions yet, but I do think pride plays a little into it. I tend to think that my way is the best or that God doesn't understand my circumstances, or I have good intentions, but it's not what God wants. As I pray to God, most of the time, I don't even need to ask what He wants me to do because it's usually already abundantly in my mind what we ought to do.

A verse that I read the other day that came to my mind as I was praying spoke very strongly to me. Moroni 7:9: "And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such." The thing that sticks with me is that it "profiteth him nothing." How many times do we rush our prayers or not pray with real intent? Gosh, when I get some nice food in front of me and I'm about to eat, and I smell all those wonderful aromas, you better believe my prayer is going to be pretty quick and cut to the chase. I realized how many of my prayers I profit nothing from because I don't pray with real intent. Prayers are much more than words, but it's the very yearning of our soul, the desires of our heart that matter. That's why a child with limited vocabulary can have just as meaningful of a prayer as an adult—because it's not about what we say but how much we care about what we say. God will still be God if we don't pray. The benefits of prayer are for us—to have opportunities to feel God's love. I know I've felt His precious love as I've prayed, and I'm excited to see that my testimony has grown and is still growing the more I've been out here.

I love y'all, and I hope y'all have a great week.

—Elder Berry