FELIZ Thanksgiving!!

Hola to all of dear ones!! 😃🍁

    I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  This week I tried focusing more on what I should be grateful for.  And I have realized that I too have been given much!! Although the mission life can be rough some days, I know that I am so extremely blessed to be here, serving the Lord in Spain.  I am so grateful for all of the people I have met and the things I have learned spiritually.  Although it was a bit strange to not have Thanksgiving with my family for the first time ever, we enjoyed it over here across the seas. :)  On Wednesday, we had a mission conference with the President and all of the missionaries in Madrid and it was super fun!  Afterwards they fed us a delicious Thanksgiving meal for all of the missionaries because Hermana Pack and Larsen love us!  It was fun to be there with all of the other missionaries.  At the conference I had to say goodbye to my first companion to go home!  One of my mission mothers, Hermana Finch goes home in a week!!! The freaky thing is I am older and the mission than she was when she trained me.  So in other words, the time from now on is going to go by so fast! I'm so grateful for everything Hermana Finch taught me! She is an incredible missionary and I am so happy to have been compys with her. :) have fun Utah girly!

    But for the rest of the week it was a little hard.  Yesterday both me and my companion realized that this transfer has really been a test of our faith.  This week the majority of our people we usually meet with failed on us. I think one of the hardest parts of being a missionary is feeling like you've worked so hard but everything else seems to go wrong.  Well we were talking and it was a good reminder that sometimes the blessings and "fruits" of our labor don't come until after our trial of faith.  I am sure this week we will see lots of miracles!

    Yesterday NOBODY could meet with us.. But then you know who did?? Our converts who just got married less than a week ago. (Stefany and Avelino, the best) Yes, instead of being on their  honeymoon, they totally watched the Joseph Smith movie and ate cookies with us.  Even though I've seen that movie a bunch of times, I felt the spirit really strong yesterday while watching it and it  reminded me of my huge testimony I have for Joseph Smith, the first latter day prophet.  I really admire his willingness to go through so many trials because of his strong faith and admiration of the Savior to restore the gospel of Christ.

     This week we taught our friend Abraham, who works in a churro stand.  Although every time we tried to read a verse in the Book of Mormon, somebody ordered about 12 churros so we had to pause, it's okay because we have planted a "seed of faith." in his heart! We will need to some patience with this guy, but I'm excited to keep teaching him.

     Today for Pday was super fun!!! We rode bikes in Retiro Park. Seriously it was like my dream Pday.  Stefany and Avelino went with us too so it was fun to hang out with them.  There's some days that I can't help but complain in my head of how worldy and nasty the streets of Madrid can seem... But!! Today in Sol I was reminded how cool and historic and beautiful Madrid is!! I will forever be obsessed with Retiro Park.  :)

Love all of ya'll!! Take care. Xoxo
Keep readin those scriptures! 😉

Hermana Sydney Berry 🍓🇪🇸

 

 

 

 

10 months down, 8 to go....

Hola everyone!!

    First off I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving this week! Although I'm in a country that this holiday is not celebrated, it does not mean I will forget what I am grateful for! :) I am truly grateful for soooo many things.  I am grateful for my family.  I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has sent us to loving families so that we can learn, grow, and have joy.  My family has always been so important to me but being here in my mission have learned what a blessing it is. I'm grateful for the knowledge I have of the restored gospel.  It has brought me numerous amounts of blessings in my life.  And I am extremely grateful for the things that I have learned here in my mission.  The process of gaining a better testimony isn't always easy but it has been an incredible journey.

     This last week we had the opportunity to listen to Elder Dyches and Elder Christensen in a meeting we had with all of the missionaries in Madrid.  It was just what I needed, to be spiritually fed, and I could really feel the spirit so strong there.  Something that really stood out to me was the reality of making decisions.  I really liked a quote that President Monson said one time: "Decisions Determine Destiny."  Everyday in life we make decisions.  Every decision we make leads us to another decision and eventually to the consequence.  I am so grateful that we have rules and guidelines that help us be happier in life after making good decisions. It was really fun to see all of the missionaries in Madrid at this meeting. I love these reunions because it's an incredible feeling to be around everyone's great spirit.

     This Sunday was so great!! In the morning I was stressing out because I realized that there were some investigators that we didn't call the night before to remind them to come to church.  So right before sacrament meeting I was a little sad because none of our people we visit were probably going to show up.  Well guess what!  During sacrament 4 of our recent converts who haven't had come for a while showed up!! On Saturday we were in the church and a Muslim man showed up asking for information for the meeting schedule because an MTC missionary had contacted him in the metro not too long before.  Of course we said "oh we can help you!" And he said he was excited to come to church the next day.  So during sacrament meeting he showed up and sat with us and really really liked it!! We are going to have a lesson with him this week!! I love seeing the fruits of our work... When our people come to church on their own!! Hooray!

     Today for Pday we went to Alcorcón, my first area!! Hermana Finch and Marsh came too and wow what a weird feeling to be back with them there..But this time my Spanish is a lot better than when I was with them my first transfer!! Haha. So it was cool to think about my progression I have had.  We visited a couple of members and we got to see one of my favorites, Beatriz!! She had left to Ecuador and just barely came back after a few months.  She really helped and supported me my first two transfers in my mission so it was soooo great to see her again.  This week I hit my 10 month mark!! It is so crazy how time has gone but at the same time I have had so many great experiences!! Today I realized how blessed I have been to have met so many awesome hermana missionaries and the members that have shown so much love for us.

  In two weeks we have transfer changes already!! This is my 3rd transfer here in Barrio 8 so I am most likely leaving.. But we will see!! I hope I am in Madrid for La Navidad!!!

Les quiero MUCHISMO!!!
Hermana Sydney Berry

The Parable of the Moldy Mango

Hola Familia y amigos!!! 😊

   First off I should probably tell you guys that yes I am alive and safe.  I'm not exactly sure what is going on the news right now but from what I've heard and seen, the world is getting a bit sketchy especially here in Europe.  But the other day we had a small interesting experience in a train that has reassured me that the Lord is protecting us by the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  I am so grateful to have the Holy Ghost as a safety guide in my life. Although it seems a bit crazy to be so close to Paris, I know that as missionaries we are being protected. :)

   This week I have been really focusing on "trusting in the Lord with all of my heart."  This can be very easy sometimes and other times a bit difficult.  Something that I have realized is that yes, when we pray with faith, we will receive answers to our prayers.  But the best way to show our faith is to tell the Lord, okay I am not afraid, and I trust that whatever the outcome may be, everything will be alright. I'm convinced that when we show that we are not afraid, that is us showing our faith and trust in him.

🔸🔶🔸🔶🔸🔶🔸
   Okay, on to my subject title...I would like to compare an experience I had with a mango this week. I just really like explaining things with food.. Jajaja, so please excuse this weird story. Okay, so last Tuesday we were walking home from our last appointment and let's just say that day I had major cravings for a Mango. On our way to the visit, I spotted a very very big mango in a fruit stand that I set my heart on, hehe.  So anyway, on our way home, I ran into the fruit stand and said, "How much for that HUGE mango, it looks delicious!!" It cost 3,50 euros, but when I looked in my wallet I didn't have any cash.  The man said its fine if I just take it, that I could pay tomorrow.  So I took the deliciously looking mango and went on my way. Later that night in our apartment, I cut open the Gigantic golden mango, ready to eat the deliciousness and then suddenly.. When I cut it there was a HUGE a brown ugly hole of nastiness.  It looked and tasted disgusting, and my hopes were crushed. 😓

Okay PAUSE.  I would like to compare this to life.. How many times do things appear to be a lot better on the outside, and we do anything to have it but then later we find out that we are caught up in a big mess in life?  It's kind of like sin/the things of the world; It always appears to be harmless and delightful but it isn't until later that we realize that it is not what we intended for. Just like how my mango appeared to be perfectly delicious, and I was even willing to come back the next day to pay so I could have it.  But then later when I cut it open, it was moldy and gross.

So what do we do then?

I decided to cut open the rest of the Mango and find the good parts! Well a while later, after throwing out about 3/4 of the mango, I found the good and oh was it sweet and yummy!  This made me think about the atonement.  Yes we can repent, but sometimes it can its spiritually painful, just like the mango being cut open with a knife. 😋 But I know that the Lord is always, always willing to give us opportunities to start over regardless of the situation we found ourselves in.  I have seen this been applied with the people I visit. But also me as a missionary, always trying to restart to better the things that I lacked in before.  Although sometimes it feels like we are a bad piece of fruit being cut open and thrown away, I know that our Father in Heaven and Savior knows that there are still good parts of us.  And when we get to that point, oh how sweet it is.
Well there's my parable of the moldy mango.  Hopefully it made sense a little. 😀
🔸🔶🔸🔶🔸🔶🔸

     What else happened this week? Oh, we went to the temple!! I love it.  Like always, I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to go the temple so often.  I'm also grateful to be apart of the restored gospel and to do work for the Lord inside the holy temple.  Yesterday we had a lesson with our dear friend Alex. (Investigator who is from Ginea Equatorial). We read a talk from the recent general conference called, "Choose the light."  It talks about the importance of choosing to find the light when we are in dark moments in life.  Christ is ultimately the LIGHT OF THE WORLD.  I'm so grateful to have this light in my life, especially in a world like this we live in today.

Thanks for all the love, prayers, and support!  Have a great week!!

Hermana Berry 🍓🇪🇸😘

Pictures descriptions:
The lesson with one of our investigators, Parque Europa- (there's different famous mini monuments through out Europe in the park, super cool!!)

Lord I Believe

Hola everyone!

   Well first off, today is transfers and I am staying in Barrio 8 with Hermana Birnbaumer!  We are really excited to stay together for another transfer.  I can wait to see what is in store for us!!  To be
honest this transfer went by soooo fast! And I can't even imagine how fast this transfer will go by because it is only 4 weeks instead of 6 weeks.  This week went by way too fast so we will see how much I can remember...
   Well like always, missions can be tough, but there are always sweet experiences and things to be learned every day.  This week was a bit interesting.  The last few days all of the missionaries in my district somehow caught the stomach flu.  We've all been throwing up and with fevers... But that's okay, today is a new day of a new transfer! I can see the light.... Haha. I'm thinking this week will be a bit better.
   On Thursday we had a zone meeting which was really fun.  We talked about how we can better our contacting in the street, which is never a bad thing to work on, and also working with less active members.  I really liked the part about less active members because just like parable of the lost sheep, Christ rejoices when we help find his lost sheep.  Visiting members who are less active is one of my favorite parts of the mission.  After the meeting we played werewolf (kind of like mafia) with all of the missionaries.. And I think we had a little too much fun!! 😊
   One day this week we had a lesson with one of our investigators who has cancer.  She is such an example to me.  Although she has suffered many things with her health, she has enormous faith!! She is waiting to get married to be able to get baptized which is hopefully soon!! She told us more about her cancer but how she has so much faith in the Lord that this trial is for something better.  People like her amaze me.
   But on the other hand, this other day we had two super hard lessons!! One was with a recent convert who is 17 years old who is struggling with his testimony.  The other was one of our investigators that is just not progressing what so ever.  The lesson with the 17 year old convert was hard at first, but we just both bore our testimonies that even though sometimes it may seem that we can have more happiness from worldly things, true happiness truly only comes from living the gospel.  He was having struggles remembering how he felt when he got baptized.  But we read the talk by Elder Holland, "Lord I believe," and I think that really helped.  We were so happy to
see him in church yesterday!  Well the other lesson we had this day with our investigator was super difficult.  It's ironic because the story was about when Nephi talks about Moses and the golden serpent. The Israelites only had to look at it, and they would be saved.  But to some, this seemed too simple so they did not believe it would work. I think sometimes when we explain how miraculous this gospel is, and that this it the true church,  some people don't believe it because it seems too simple.  One of the hardest things as a missionary is having to be okay with people using their agency to not accept what we teach them.
    Yes this transfer has been one of my hardest so far, but I know that it will help in one way or another.  I feel more closer to God when I have trials, but sometimes in the midst of them, it's hard to
remember to be happy.  But when I look back, we have seen lots of miracles and helped lots of great people.  I'm excited to work hard these next 4 weeks!
   Lately, I have been reading in 1st Nephi, and each chapter I am amazed more and more of the spiritual strength Nephi has.  Although his brothers and everyone ridiculed him in many different ways, he only wanted to do the of God.  1 Nephi 18-19.
    Sorry that this letter was super boring!! My mind hasn't really been here so I hope things made sense.  I hope everyone enjoys their week...  Disfrute el otoño y Noviembre!! 🍁🍂

Con AMOR,
Hermana Berry
🇪🇸🍓

¿Qué mayor testimonio puedes tener que de Dios?

Hola My dear family and friends!

Can you believe it's already November? What. 😱🍁  I swear time goes by way differently in the world of missionaries..Pero Bueno!!  This week went by extremely fast and both of us cannot believe that it is already week 6!! We are both hoping we can stay one more transfer here together; there is just way too much work to do!!

So a couple of days ago I had an intercambio (exchange of companions for 24 hrs) with my dear  Australian Hermana Barkle. A conversation we had went a little like this: Hna Barkle: "...no, I'm not stressed.." Me: "How can you not be stressed, you are a missionary!!!"  Her: "I just trust in Him."
Oh... Well perhaps there have been a few moments that I had not put ALL of my trust in HIM.  I know I have faith but some days or some weeks it can waiver.  And being on a mission you really have to rely 100% on the Lord.  Because times will get scary, and you really have to remember how you felt in the moments when your faith was at a high peak.  She also told me that if a mission had no difficult times, it would be pointless.  It's just like our life here on earth, no? Heavenly Father didn't just send us here hoping we would figure something out if and when we have trials.  But instead, he sent us to this earth, to have trials, so we can become stronger!  I'm grateful for all of the things I am learning in my mission.

😂 ¡Intermission funny thought! 😂
As I am writing this email in my bed in my apartment, I hear the door buzz so I run to answer it but then I yell, "Hermana venga, hay un hombre y no sé lo que debo hacer!!!" It was just a guy to check the gas.. Why do attractive Spanish bearded men have to be so scary!? 😆

Okay so let me update you guys on our dear friend Valentina.  She is so great.  She is a 21 year old mother with 2 cute little boys.  Her husband is a less active member and we finally met him the other day and he is super nice. She still wants do get baptized and I love seeing her progress little by little every lesson.  This last week we taught her the gospel of Jesus Christ.  (Faith, repentance, baptism,
gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure until the end.)  Stefany, a recent convert (she is the best) helped us with the lesson.  I love hearing the testimonies of recent converts!  Valentina still hasn't come to church yet because it's hard because her husband works graveyard shifts.  But... Yesterday we fasted to see progression with our investigators, and I have no doubt that we are going to see a miracle
very soon with someone!

More great news!! Remember the Spanish 17 year old boy, Roberto I talked about in my old area? He finally got baptized!!!!!!! When I left Alcorcón, I was so sad that I would miss Roberto's baptism,
because he really is such a great kid.  Well President gave us permission to go, so we did on Saturday.  I saw Hermana Whiting and a lot of the members of Alcorcón that I truly missed.  Oh it was such a good day! And boy does it make you feel mission old visiting the place where you started your mission.  (Although the Baptism was held Mostoles, haha).   I saw so many members that I truly love!! Wow they truly do have a special place in my heart.  It was so so so fun to visit with all of them.  Roberto was just radiating with joy.  His family even came, and I knew that meant so much to him. Because for a year and a half it had only been him interested in the gospel.

Going to Alcorcón made me remember that I need to enjoy every moment I my mission.  Even though there can be rough times, it is filled with so many joyous memories.  I'm so grateful for this opportunity to be a representative of Christ for 18 months.  It is a privilege and a blessing.  This week, I have been studying the talk from October conference called "The joy of living a Chirst-Centered life."  The beginning there is an example that just like Ceramics, if the clay isn't centered on the wheel, nothing will ever turn out correctly.  If our life isn't centered on Christ and his teachings, we will never have true happiness.  Walking on the streets of Madrid, I see all sorts of ways people are trying to find their "happiness."  But I have also been in people's homes who don't have a lot of things, yet they are radiating with joy because they center their lives on Christ.  I know that this is true.  I invite you all to read this talk.

Have a WONDERFUL WEEK!! I love you all!
Hermana Sydney Berry

Picture descriptions:
1- district meeting we talked about the blessings that come from obedience..
2&3- for those who asked me if I did anything for Halloween.. Pumpkin
carving on Friday!
4&5- me with Hermana Whiting and at Roberto's baptism.