Berry, Benjamin T

Yeah you heard it right. I'm almost at a year! Wow, it feels so long and short. So many memes missed, but so many lives changed. So much hunting missed, but so many blessings in store. I miss my iPhone and family, but I was missing Jesus back then too. The sacrifice has been such a worthy investment so far! I feel like I've found so much fulfillment in my mission in just one year. I'm so happy to have another 365 days of this. It's kind of hard to sum it up into words and make it not sound cliché. I still have a lot of room for growth, but that's okay. My week was pretty good this week. We got our friend Aaron on date for baptism! It was so hype. YSA this week was pretty fun. The vibe on campus was weird though. There was a lot of public preaching (there's nothing wrong with that), just an environment I wasn't used to. It's so weird being a missionary around people your age. I don't know why they sent me here, I have way too much rizz. Other than tha...

This week has been awesome and also a huge adjustment. I feel like I'm still trying to lock myself in. But this week was so fun and busy. My companion and I get along well, and he's just another version of me. We think the same things—it's sometimes scary. We've been having so many good contacts with people, and there are so many people interested in the gospel here. We had a lesson with our friend Kholin with a member who joined us named Abby. We taught the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Spirit was so strong. After the lesson, he told us that running into us was part of God's plan for him. The day we originally ran into him was a rainy day, but surprisingly, a lot of people were willing to talk to us in the rain that day. I think my teaching skills have gotten a lot better here, and I'm really learning how to apply the gospel to myself and others even more. The YSA ward is really fun, but going Sunday was a little overwhelming because there ...

So, the other night, President texted me at 9 p.m. and asked me if I could call. I started flippin’ out because I had no clue what he was talking about. Anyways, he asked me if I'd pack my bags and get Emergency Transferred the next morning. So I did, and boy, I packed my bags as quickly as I could and met up with an AP and the missionary I was switching with. So, I'm in Fresno on the Fresno State campus and also a family ward. I was a little disappointed I left my area in Exeter without saying much goodbye, but the mission is so full of change all the time. I will miss Elder Kesler. My new companion is an elder named Elder Bennet, and he's been out about 21 months. He's so funny. YSA campus finding was terrifying at first. I didn't want to talk to people my age. Old people are way better. Anyways, it ended up being really fun. And the rejection is kind of humorous. It's like breaking the NPC normal. But yeah, it's so fun, and the YSA activities are great! I...

So this week was greatish. I was sick last week, so that's why I didn't send an email. It was torture. It just lingered with me. My problem is, anytime someone tries to guess where I'm from, they always say I look like I'm from Utah. Like seriously? Do I LOOK like I'm from Utah? Don't answer that. People from Oklahoma are just the best. People treat me like a stray dog and they're always like, "you poor soul...almost dying to tornadoes," and I'm always like, "bruh it's not like that." I do miss the thunderstorms though. The weather here is either foggy or flipping a million degrees. Anyways, yeah I just bummed for a bit as my companion soloed all the service we signed up for the previous week. Shout-out to my comp Elder Kesler. We've been doing a lot of apartment finding/tracting, because it's the most effective and it's been fun to meet some pretty great people. We met two guys named JEFF back to back!! One was a past...

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. ...

This week was a blur, and sometimes it do be like that. We had lots of success working with members because that's been a struggle in this ward a little bit. It's kind of the saying when 20% of the people do 80% of the work and vice versa. We're trying to get more members involved, and boy, it's hard to invigorate them with some drive for missionary work! But we've really been pushing it, and the stake presidency has been backing us in our efforts, and it's slowly but surely getting better. Nevertheless, waffles. I love waffles and pancakes. I think waffles are better because the texture is way better, and when I put the peanut butter, it fits in the little squares. We had a waffle social activity on Fast Sunday, and boy, the waffles were good. I accidentally got some Tajín on my waffles. It was good to see some members there that don't always come to the social activities. We were on our way to dinner when this Dodge Dakota pulled up speedily next to us and...

What's up? It's ya boy Chips Ahoy! Anyways, not quite sure what to write this week, but I'm glad I still have my fingers to write with. These past weeks have been good, and we saw some success in the work. This area is pretty hard, but the members are goated, and it's cool to see some of our labors come to fruition. I went on exchange and got invited into this house, and they had a whole mariachi band in there. I got to play the drums for them, and they were impressed and accepted me into their band. Unfortunately, half of them were drunk, so I don't know if I'll stay in the band. We were able to have lots of people come to church this week, and it was awesome! We've been doing a lot of inactive work and were able to bring someone back to church who had not been in almost 30 years! We also found new people to teach this week, which was a great hope because that's been a struggle in this area. We also did some service for a lady who had left the church, w...