One Night on the Bus

Well how fun was that!!!!!!

I was pretty happy to hear your voices. I thought that you sounded a little raspy if that makes sense mom. Just as a funny side note… about the I am starting to be more like dad thing, I think that it is going to be really different when we see each other again. We will have a fun time finding all of the differences. I don’t think that I have grown but maybe just a little bit. I can’t tell. I have been told that I look pretty skinny that I am getting skinner but I feel like I am fat so whatever.

I have this great new family that I am teaching. They are called the Tito Lazo family. We have been teaching them for quite some time now and I really like teaching them. We have been spending a good amount of time exploring my area. It is just so stinking big… One night on the bus we just were sitting there and I decided to contact this lady that was sitting right behind me. Well she turned out to be totally awesome and now I think that pretty soon here we might be seeing a baptism.  We have been teaching them a lot and they love us. There 9 year old son one day asks us when we are going to come back and if we could come back tomorrow. We had to tell him that we can’t come every day because his mom doesn’t want us there every day. That’s when the mom (named Rosa) chimes in and says ¨and why can’t you just come over every day? ¨ I looked at my companion and he says ¨wait Elder Harris why can’t we come over every day¨. That’s when I say, looking to Hermana Rosa….¨how about we come over tomorrow!¨ We have been visiting them almost every day… They came to church this Sunday and they are just loving the Book of Mormon right now.  They have had a lot of doubts about the Catholic Church that they attend… we have been helping them to see the simple truths and now we are really starting to see them fly.  I am pretty excited to see them progress even more. 

Well I am super tired. I have been sleeping on the floor lately in the house of Elder DIvis from my district because they are redoing the floor of my house. That’s been pretty dang tough … but I like being with my entire district because we have had the opportunity to help our Elder that doesn’t like to work. We have been doing practices and we have been trying to get him pumped up so that he works harder. I don’t know what else to do than to just love him… so I am just letting that out.

Side note…. I found out that Noe got into a fight and got banged up pretty bad… from what I have heard is that he was flirting with the wrong man’s ex-girlfriend. NOT A GOOD PLAN. I will let you in on more news.

Did you guys see the Christmas conference? I thought that it was totally cool that they are giving out all these new videos about Christ. I want to see them all just as bad as I want to see Planet of the Apes and Transformers 3… SERIOUSLY…. I can’t wait to see those video clips.

Well my Zone Leaders are telling me that my package didn’t come that it is not in the offices. Hmmmmmmmmmm I don’t know what to think?

The first photo is of the Christmas special then the next is the dinner we had with Marco my convert and the last is the picture of that service.

Elder Harris

Q & A Elder Harris Style

Question and Answer ELDER HARRIS Style

How goes the district leader? Any progress with the companionship you talked about? 

Everything is going better. The companionship that was not really working out all that well has still been giving me some trouble but I have found that with a little patience and a lot of love anything is possible

 Where are you spending Christmas this year?  What are your plans?  Did you happen to get your Christmas package?

 Well for this Christmas we are going to work. We really don’t get time off like the normal world. I think that we are going to go to a member’s house so they can feed us that day. She has invited us so that we aren’t just working all day long like normal. And I have yet to get the Christmas package because my leaders have yet to go to the offices.

 How are things holding up?  What do you need?  I thinking ahead for Valentine’s Day… socks? Shirt?  What are you craving?

 Well things are holding in there right now. If you know what I mean; a little more bluntly I look pretty beat in my cloths. Not because I don’t treat my clothing right… it’s more because of the wear and tear on a white shirt. Just imagine it goes through dirt and sweat and being washed by hand and all that not so normal stuff. So what ends up happening that the shirts come out stained or they come out ripped? But that’s ok because I have just been saying that it is my battle cloths. Though I have had to repair a few of my shirts, not all of them are that bad. If you are going to send me shirts send me the lightest weight, short sleeve shirts that you can find. I don’t want long sleeve… it’s too hot… and I don’t want heavy winter wear shirts made of pure 100% cotton. The light weight stuff is the best.  Whatever you do don’t send me heavy clothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well the socks are a different story. If you are going to send me sock… send me the toughest, beefiest and meanest socks that you can send. If you can don’t send the light weight, you can see the skin because they are so thin.

 Have you made any personal goals for the coming year?

 Well, yes lots of Goals... one of the major goals that I have made is that I want to be cleaner and more organized. I have decided that I need to start to become super organized. I have decided that what I want to do is become a doctor. I have yet to decided in what field that I would like to go into but that I want to be prepared for all that studying. I need to become more organized literally in all the ways that are possible… wish me luck. Another goal that I have made is become a master in Spanish. I want to know and study so well that I can go home and be a teacher, if I want to. I want to know how to speak perfectly…. So that I can take the Spanish test at BYU. So, I am going to study harder. One of my other big goals, I want to be a super doctrine master. This will come through much diligence and study…. and a lot of patience.  I have lots of other smaller goals that I will give you the heads up on my Christmas call.

 Tell us some of the customs that may be different tell us how they celebrate Christmas.  Tell us your feelings of Christmas?

Christmas is a little bit different. Here on the 24th of December they get together about 11:45 and then they wait for 12. At 12 they light, what seems to be thousands of fireworks and then they party until the next morning. They open their presents and all that stuff in the late night party. The next day they sleep. The same happens New Years.

What are my feelings about Christmas? Well I have two feelings… one I miss the Christmas that we have at home. I miss all of the traditions that we have. I miss the cold and I miss always making cookies. I miss getting new pajamas.

The other feeling that I have here is that Christmas is not so special here. I feel like for us as missionaries, time just passes super fast and we don’t have any of it to waste. That’s why we just work and work and work. I am not upset with that at all I like working, but the feeling of Christmas is not there.

 What is the spirit of Christmas but what someone can find in themselves. I have the spirit of Christmas!  I know and love Christmas because I always spent that time with my family. Just like the First Christmas, I will just have to make the best of it, and be very excited for the Christmas when I get back.

Can you tell I want more information?? :-)  

I think that if you stopped asking me so many questions Mom I would be a little troubled. I love you so much Mom and I know that I don’t do a very good job in writing all of the details… forgive me.

Elder Harris

Brotherly Love

What´s up!!! 

I am super happy for Saydi!!! How awesome is that… that she gets to be a Varsity Cheerleader!  I cannot wait to come back this next year and see a varsity game with my two sisters, kickin´ butt and takin´ names. I am just super excited to have the opportunity see how much the two of them will have grown up during this short period of time that I have been gone. What can I say; I think you guys are kind of a big deal?!

So about our Christmas call! Don’t worry about it too much. Just know that I want you all to write down one question that you want to ask me and that way everyone can hear me talk and I can hear everyone talk to me. Just treat the whole thing with a lot of Love and I know that everyone will understand.  Just think this is the last Christmas before I come home so… the next one we will be talking face to face!

 Well we had another baptism this week. His name is Marcoantonio Castillo Tejeda, crazy big name right?! That first name is joined together like that; it is not a space mistake. He was really great to teach. One day he just shows up at the church… and says ¨Hi my name is Marcos and well, a little while back I was investigating the church. Now I want to get baptized.¨ That’s when a massive smile hits my face and I say ¨Well how about in two weeks?¨  He says ¨Great! When can you come to my house to teach me? ¨   Then I say ¨How about today? ¨ He says ¨At 3? ¨And I say ¨No problem how do I get to your house? ¨.  Two weeks later he gets baptized.  

HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, I LOVE THE LORD!!!  I feel like he was just gift wrapped to us for Christmas. A present directly from God that came pre-taught, and he already had a testimony. How cool is that right? Well it was really easy teaching him because he already knew everything and we focused on teaching what he wanted to learn. He was asking us great questions about some doctrinal points that I had a blast trying to figure out; through the Spirit we can answer any question!

Now that I am thinking about it.. I just want to say something to Saydi. Saydi, I know that you have been putting a lot of work into being a cheerleader and now you are starting to see the fruits of your labor. Please remember that all that we receive in this world comes from the LORD. You need to thank him and stay humble. I have been reading again the war chapters in the Book of Mormon because I have a goal to finish the Book of Mormon before the end of the year.  I have been learning more about pride and humility. The biggest problems came to the Nephites when they were in the time of happiness, because they started to forget about the blessings from God. They thought that they could do everything on their own but the Lord is our Strength. Please always listen and respect Haleigh. She has the experience and please always support her in all of her decisions on your team. Don’t ever go against her.  She may be wrong or she may be right, it doesn’t matter, always stick up for her.

Haleigh, I know that you too are working really hard on being the best you can be. Work with your sister in all that you do now. Share the spot light for a little bit longer. I know that it will make you much happier to have you little sister with you all the time, but don’t treat her like your little sister anymore. She is your best friend and should never be below you in power. The most difficult, tricky part about being a leader is balancing out your personal pride and your love for the people that you serve. To be a leader we must serve… that even includes your sister. Know that I love you a lot and I know that I really do miss you.

I love and miss all of you, but I AM A MISSIONARY OF GOD, I have been called… and I will serve.

ELDER HARRIS

PRAISE THE LORD!!!! THE MISSION REALLY CAN CHANGE MY KID!!!!

Well I’m still working..

I have been having a lot of fun lately because my new companion and I are getting along so well. I like the fact that he is so humble. He teaches in a way that I really admire because of the simplicity of his words and the authority if his humble testimony. I am very happy.  I thank the lord that he has given me this opportunity. I am also happy that all is so well at home. I feel like I am missing out on a few things but that, all in all, I know that it is good for you guys to have more time with the girls. I don’t want things to change when I come back… I was just now thinking that it is going to be very important that I live near you when I have my family. I don’t think that it would be right for me to hide your grand children in some faraway place.

Speaking of life... Here in the mission.

Well the responsibilities that I have now are a lot more than I thought. I need to care for the people of the area that I am working in, care for the missionaries that are in my district. I only have one other pair of missionaries in my district right now. I am having a fantastic time in my area and with my companion…. But my other two missionaries are struggling. The problem is this: of the two missionaries that are in my district, one of them is from Washington and the other is from Nicaragua. Well the missionary that is not from the United States has a lot of really big issues. He is really prideful.  He has about 2 months in the mission.  When he started this mission he was sent directly to the jungle. He then was transferred to Lima after 2 months because the people in his ward were complaining so badly about how he treated them that they went to their stake president. He then spoke with our mission president and the mission president sent him here so that he could be retrained. As of this last week he has become impossible for Elder Divis (Washington Elder) to teach. I think that the Lord has given me a new challenge. I don’t have any problems with my companion or my area. I am super happy and excited to work with my companion. NOW I have got to find a solution to my new problem. I have been praying a lot for them… mainly for Elder Divis that he can have a little more patience and not kill Elder ñurinda( Nicaragua). I know that you probably don’t want to hear about this stuff, but about the more exciting things that happen.  This is just what is happening right now, what is on my mind and I need to it figure out.

I am so excited and a little bit nervous for Christmas. We are going to have a super tough Christmas here this year. First off, Christmas and New Years are both Sundays. I was thinking about it. I am pretty sure that we are not going to have very many people come to church those two weeks. We are going to have to focus really hard on how we can help the people get there. I am really looking forward to having the chance to pass another Christmas… because that means I really only have two really big holidays left….. Easter and my birthday, Wow time is really quick.

I will send a picture of my pensionista this next week. I don’t have a picture of her right now. The pictures that I am sending are of a really messy service project that we had.  The second picture is one of the typical dishes that we eat here.  The third picture is of the elders in my new district.

Just so that we can get a conclusion on my future occupation; the doctor, lawyer, and FB I agent dilemma, I think that of the three right now that I could most see myself is a Lawyer?!?!?!? I don’t know whats wrong with me.  All of my life I have wanted to be a dentist.  A short while ago I changed to be a anesthesiologist… then I wanted to be James Bond and now I want to be a lawyer. I think that I am suffering from a quick spell of trunkie-i-dus and it doesn’t want to let me go. I would like to study and go to BYU Provo. I am going to take the Spanish test that is available here so that I can pass the classes, and get like 25 credits for free. I am going to study really hard on the grammar and on the punctuation and all that good stuff so I can pass the test.  

What else….

I was thinking well do you know what the blog really needs really bad, a super awesome video of me bearing my testimony in English and in Spanish. I am going to film it this week. I will send it through Noe. I think that it would be really cool.

I want to see pictures of Josh Harris. (my future brother-in-law ) Haleigh you know I love you and that I am just pulling your chain, but seriously I would like to see at least one picture.

I have been reading a lot of the scriptures… a lot more than in any other time in my life. I have some to a very humbling conclusion. I have been wasting so much time all of my life doing a whole lot of other stuff that I really didn’t need to do. Ok I will be honest. I love watching movies, playing video games, listening to music and I don’t think that I will ever stop loving that stuff. But I have found another love, it is reading the scriptures. Ok, I know you must be thinking ….. PRAISE THE LORD!!!! THE MISSION REALLY CAN CHANGE MY KID!!!!.... But to be honest it’s really true. I have found so much joy in finding the mysteries that are hidden away in the scriptures. I Know that they are the word of God and as we study them he will unfold the secrets of the heavens. I know that it is by our knowledge of the scriptures that we will be judged in the last days. I know that the same principle applies two ways. If we don’t read the books that we have been given we will be judged for what we haven’t read. So I encourage you to read the word of God to his prophets. I am super excited to come back and share with you what I have learned, all those small gems of knowledge that comes through digging with a lot of diligence, mining for jewels from God. I cannot help but be excited for that day when we have family home evenings and I get to talk about all of the things that happened to me while I was here on the mission, but through my voice in person and not just through words on a computer screen.

About the Christmas call… I will call you in the night this time so that you will get the call. I am not going to call on a Saturday or a Friday but I think that it will be a Thursday. One or two weeks before Christmas, I will make the call… don’t worry about it. I do need the new number to the house so that I can call you though. I forgot the number. I miss 406-454-2790, but I guess not all of the things in this world can last.

 LOVE AND HUGS  ELDER HARRIS 

New Companion and Responsibilities

WOW, what a fantastic week!

Well I have a super great new companion. His name is Elder Lucas.  I pretty much think that he is the man. He is from Ecuador.  He is super great. I am really happy that he is with me. He is super short, super humble, and I think that we are going to have a lot of success. Why is he so humble? He was born on a farm in the middle of nowhere in the middle of Ecuador. How fetching awesome right?  He never finished high school so he can’t read super great, but he is super intelligent. He is really quick, and witty, so we have been joking a lot, which makes the work great. He loves to dance. He was basically a professional dancer which is cool.  He doesn’t know how to use a computer very well.  I have to teach him how to send pictures easier.  He is making me laugh because he uses one finger to type.  He gets out one or two words every 2 minutes or so. I am going to help him use word.  

Well I do have a little bit of news. I have been made the district leader. I have been bumped up and now have a district that I need to watch after. I am pretty excited because this will give me a chance to pump up some of the other missionaries that are in my area. I really like animating the missionaries to work harder. It makes me really happy to help a missionary understand his purpose a little bit more so that he goes out and works harder. I think I learned how to be a great motivator from you, Mom and Dad.  You always knew how to motivate me. I am excited to have this opportunity to work with other missionaries. I hope and pray that the Lord can guide me in how I can help them.

Yes, I received the package you sent. Yes, I totally love those new shoes and they fit just perfect.  I am really happy with all those candies, and so is my COMPANION!

Well, we had a really interesting experience this week. We had 15 investigators come to church. That was a handful. That’s my record too!!!!!!!!!! I was super happy because we have three people right now that we are helping to be baptized. We had an entire family of 5 people come to church today, so I am excited to see if we can help them want to be baptized. They have to get married first.

 Super cool story…..

When we arrived at church there was a lady there that showed up with her brother that is about 25 years old. We started to talk to him.  Come to find out that he is not a member of the church but wants to start investigating the gospel because every single person in his family is a member of the church. We set up an appointment with him so that we could visit him. We went and we talked to him about the church, what he liked and what he didn’t like, and then we explained all of the first lesson… He loved it… we talked about baptism…. He loved it… now he has chosen to be baptized on the 3rd of December. Perfect! I feel like God just gifted us this guy. His name is Marcos, and he lives in an area in our district that is super far away. We have to take a bus for about 20 minutes and then we have to walk for 10 more minutes to get to his house. I will send you pictures of where he lives when we visit him this week.

Well that really stinks that Haleigh didn’t get the chance to have the dance (MORP) but better still that they got to watch scary movies. Reminds of someone else that used to watch a lot of scary movies with someone named Brooke. HMMMMMM who’s that guy?

Well I am still undecided on the whole future job thing. I don’t know what to think yet.

I love you all and I hope that you have a great week.

P.S. It’s almost Christmas, dang!!!

He Will Deliver Us From Our Bondage

One difficult week

I have a confession to make… I have been having a lot of problems with my companion. Elder Vasquez and I have very different personalities and styles. I like to do things the way I have learned and have been taught, and well sometimes not everything works out like he wants it to. I have been having a lot of problems with him for quite some time now. We haven’t been really talking about it all that much because we both cannot come to an agreement on a lot of stuff. Well, this last Thursday, I just couldn’t take it anymore and I exploded.  I expressed all of the little things that have been bugging me.  He explained to me all of the little things that I do that bug him. We talked for more than 2 hours. We talked for so long about all these little things that we had to get ready to leave or we would have been late to lunch.  We are doing a lot better now… we are coming to understand a little bit better the perspective of the other person so that we can come to agreements. Many times in the last few days I have thought about what this experience has taught me and how I really am grateful for a companion that has been a little bit hard for me to handle. I can imagine that what I have learned now will be a great help to me when I am married and I how to come to agreements with my future wife. I don’t think that I have fully mastered the technique… but in all things, if we put our trust in the Lord, he will deliver us from our bondage. Well I am not saying that a future wife is going to be a burden…more that feelings of remorse and frustration are a heavy burden to bear all day long. Yes, I think, I am learning here on the mission.

I had an interesting experience happen to me the other day. I was working in the area of my district leader for a day. Sometimes we do exchanges like this so that he can see how we are working. My companion was with our district leader in our area and I was in his area with his companion. They have a family that they have been preparing for baptism. The Family has the Mom, Dad and a older daughter. Their daughter is a Mom too, having a little girl that is 9 years old. So if anyone is counting that is four baptisms. Elder Quispe, the companion of my district leader, was verifying who was going to baptizing who. I was just sitting there letting him do his thing. He asked the Father first and the Father said, “Elder Peña” (my district leader).  Then he asked the Mom and she said, “Elder Quispe.”  He asked the other mom and she also said, “Elder Peña.”  Then he turned to the 9 year old girl and asked her. She sat there thinking for a minute or two and then pointing at me she says ¨HIM¨. I couldn’t help but laugh… I exclaimed, but you don’t even know who I am, this is the first time that you have ever seen me. BUT…SHE HAD CHOSEN. She would not let anyone else convince her, it was me or nobody else. So this Saturday I baptized the little girl. I am sending pictures. I would give you more of the story but to be totally honest I have no idea how to explain. I felt like I had seen her before and she had seen me. I guess that’s just how things work out sometimes.

We also had another sudden baptism this week. One of the ladies in our ward has a son that turned 8.  She asked us if we would baptize him and of course we did!

Well I was doing some thinking about the future again. Let me just tell you that there is lots of time to think here on the mission. There is no TV, music and all of that other stuff to keep you constantly distracted. The only things we think about are the people we teach, the gospel and the future. Well, anyway, the future… I was thinking about what I want to be… I am seriously stuck between three things…Doctor, Lawyer, and FBI agent. That’s serious… I don’t know what to think yet. Give me some feedback.

Love ya, Elder Harris

The Rock…

Hola!

Well I am happy that all of the family is well and that all of the people in the ward are ok. As an answer to your question about my glasses, they broke a while back.  I had to go get some new ones. I really like them a lot.  I have been using them a lot too.

So about the family that we baptized, Victoria and Isidro:

Well, Victoria and Isidro are two of my best friends in the whole world! We found them one day when we heard about the family that they live with that are LDS, but they weren’t. The first time that we met with them I can remember thinking that it was like teaching very small children. It was really hard because they don’t know how to read or how to write.  It made it a challenge for them to accept the book of Mormon. We had to focus on small things that they could understand. Can imagine a 65 year old woman, and a 55 year old man trying to learn the gospel without reading the pamphlets or the scriptures? I realized that it is super difficult to memorize and/or capture the message if you cannot read it for yourself. Some of the best lessons we had with them was us trying to teach them how to pray. We just kept repeating, and repeating, the different steps so that they could organize it all in their heads. The first prayer that Victoria said went a little something like this, ¨ Heavenly Father……… bless us with baptisms of bread and families… Jesus…. Amen.¨ I almost couldn’t hold in my laughter. I had told her that she should thank the Lord for the bread that she had, and for her family, and to ask about where or not she should be baptized. Well… she had the words right, at least which counts. Isidro was always really silly and like to say jokes but not when we ¨talked of God¨. He used to make me laugh so much because he can’t see very well, he has nervous habit of always looking up. What I mean is he doesn’t like to look people in the eyes. For some reason he just can’t do it. I loved hearing him share stories about when he was little and see the pictures of when he and Victoria were younger. I really don’t think that they will ever fully understand the gospel completely in this life, but I think they will gain more understanding of what we have taught them in the next.

I am getting really close here to 13 months in the mission. By my count I have 340 days left.  This last Thursday we had the opportunity to go to the temple.  I had the opportunity to do sealing ordinances. What a very spiritual moment I had. The temple worker only asked from our group for two missionaries to do the sealings.  I was chosen and another missionary from my zone named Elder Narvaez. We were there on behalf of children. I had some things running through my mind the entire time that I was in there. I was thinking that this is the first time that I have seen this ordnance and this is what I missed when Aubrei got married. That made me a little sad. I also thought about the future, that someday this is what I am going to do with my future wife and my children will be sealed to us. Yes, somewhere in the very near future… sometimes it hard for me to realize that I really am 20 years old and that half of my mission is over… that I have to go home to study, to work, to find an eternal companion. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All in all it was a very rewarding spiritual experience.

Pictures...Two of them are of the temple and one is of a really big rock that I was trying to move.  Let me just tell you I think that Hercules would had have problems with this one too!

The Rock…Imagine it like the story of the man that was commanded of the LORD to move the rock. I don’t know if you have ever heard this story, but there once was a man that was really obedient to the Lord. The Lord commands him to move a massive stone in the middle of the field. All day long he is there trying to move it but couldn’t because it is so big. His back starts to hurt and his arms start to ache, but he never gives up. After a few days of trying he starts to get upset, after a few weeks he starts to murmur.  He knows that he shouldn’t, so he kneels to pray.  He asks the lord why he can’t move the rock.  The Lord then says to him... good servant, I knew that you could never move the rock... I was just waiting for you to ask me how... what took you so long? 

What are we waiting for... do we want to do things our way or the Lords way? 

You know that I love you!!!!! All of you!!!!!  Elder Harris

Victoria and Isidro… and Aldair

Hey family

What a great week. Well I am super happy that you have the package that I sent. Just a heads up that necklace is made from PURE SILVER. I was talking to a lady and she explained all of the different metals that they have in South America and there being more here than in the United States, it is a lot cheaper. The necklace is made from real silver of the highest quality… I was afraid that it would be too small for you to wear because it is not very big. But, I am glad that you like it. And it is always really cool to see you wearing it in your photo.

I didn’t even know that there was an earth quake until you told me… I didn’t feel anything

Well we had three baptisms this week. We baptized two older people that I love with all of the tenderness of my heart, and one really little that I also love to death. Their names are Victoria and Isidro… and Aldair. 

They are super fun. I explained a little about Victoria and Isidro, but just in case, they are brother and sister. They live together in the house of a member.  We have been teaching them for more than 4 weeks now and they finally got baptized. They both cannot read and write so it has been really challenging for them to understand the gospel. Yet the lord has blessed us with the challenge and we got there. I really loved teaching them because we had to teach them so slowly and simply. It forced me to teach the gospel in a new way so that they had the ability to understand. Many times we had to wait and teach something again so that they could understand the importance and not just memorize that we were saying.

Aldair was a lot easier be was simple and basic. The best part was that he was able to capture more of the lessons… he is only 9 years old. We taught him in a way more complicated than my two old people. Just imagine the irony of that. I don’t have very much time today so I am sorry if this isn’t very long but next week I will explain better their stories.

Tomorrow we are going to go to the temple so I will send you pretty pictures next week.  

Hey I love seeing the pictures and I have not gotten the package yet… because my leaders haven’t gone to get it yet, but don’t worry it will come. I love you all and I hope that you had a great birthday mom.

Elder Harris

Mom’s million questions

HOLA!!!! FAMILIA!!!!

Happy BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!! I LOVE YOU, I MISS YOU, AND I HOPE THAT YOU HAVE A TON OF FUN WITH THAT CRAZY NEW I PHONE.

FIRST OFF, well, hold up!!..on the sassy sauce, on that photo of Saydi… I think if she was any more man killer in that photo one of the Jonas Brothers is going to start asking her out on dates. 

YES, the million answers to Mom’s million questions:

How do you get around your area since it is so big? We do a ton of walking… but we also use a lot of bus. I think that we are going to ask for bikes here soon but I don’t know yet.

Do you knock on doors or do you clap your hands like in other South American countries? Well a lot of places have doors here but a lot don’t. I have developed some new talents here in Peru. One talent is I can now whistle in various forms. The people here whistle for everything and there are many different ways to whistle and different times to use a specific whistle. I will have to teach you all when I get home. Not a lot of clapping here just a lot more whistling.

How big is your area exactly? My area I would guess to be around 10 miles long with 500,000 to 600,000 people.

Are you presently teaching anyone? We are teaching some great people right now and I think that this next week we are going to have 4 baptisms.

How is your ward? The new ward that I am in is the stake building, so it is really big. There is a lot of people attending so I am pretty happy… I just hope that they start helping us out a little bit more.

Do you teach classes on Sundays? Well we teach classes sometimes in church but they are little bit more organized here and the missionaries do a lot less on Sundays.

We noticed you have been wearing your glasses in pictures a lot.. Why? I have been using my glasses because there is a lot of dust in the air and my eyes get really tired during the day. Also I like my glasses a lot which is unusual. But… Elder Harris is not the same yesterday, today, and forever, so I have changed.

Do you have someone who does your laundry or do you do your own? We have a lady that does our laundry. She is really nice and gets it all done on time.

How is your new pensionista? Does she cook anything special? My pensionista is nothing unusual. She cooks the same things that I have been eating my entire mission, which I know I don’t have to say, Chicken, Rice and Potatoes. I am so excited that you are sending me Tabasco sauce and Taco bell sauce; however, I am a little worried that my mouth cannot take that much fiery explosion, just kidding!

I don’t know, I just don’t have that much to say this week, sorry for the short letter.

LOVE YA CHAU,

Elder Harris

I became a parent before Aubrei!!!!!!

Hey family,

Well you didn’t say anything about the letter I sent last week maybe it was really bad and nobody like it.  Crap, I will have to send you a better one soon. Hey just while I am thinking about it I would like you to apply me for both Provo and Idaho in the future.

I feel like sometimes you must think that my life here on the mission is all flowers and unicorns, but to its not. I have been telling all of you about the great and marvelous things that happen here… all of the wonderful spiritual experiences. I have been thinking about it a lot lately and really I can make a comparison. Nephi wrote two different sets of plates one that was the actual history of his people and one that had all of the spiritual experiences that he had. Well I have exactly the same here… I tell you about all of the experiences that I am having through email and writing all of the things like, we visited this family today, we ate this today, and I almost got bit by a dog today, in my journal.  I would call this literally applying the scriptures in your life. I feel a little odd sometimes that I have a fan base. Hahahaha, that just seems silly for me to write (fan base). To be honest, I think you guys are lying to me just so I’ll write more and more every week. Well this week was really tough… we have been spending a ton a time running from mountain to mountain. Like I explained in a previous letter… the area that I am now in is the biggest in the entire mission.  It is massive, we have to use a bus to get from one place to another, and it’s so big and undeveloped there is no light in some places at night.

So in other words…Lima’s a city that is basically covered in SMOG all the time, at night doesn't have street lights and sometimes we can’t even see the moon. SOOOOO in other words, we literally walk in pure darkness. It is so dark we have a really hard time finding our way back. At night we have to find a major road… or sometimes we have to get on our hands and knees to climb down a mountain side.  This new area is a huge challenge. My last area the biggest obstacle was ¨finding time to teach all of the investigators¨ here in my new area its ¨find the houses that have lights and hope you can find your way back to the house after teaching¨.

My new companion is a really great guy. He teaches the gospel very well and has a great spirit about him the only problem is that he is a little impatient. I am only his second companion, so that makes me his ¨Step father¨. I cannot remember if I explained this once already but… your first companion in the mission is your ¨father¨ your second is your ¨step father¨ and the third is your ¨uncle¨ but not a lot of people use that. But if anyone is counting I became a parent before Aubrei!!!!!!

A cool spiritual experience… we climbed a huge mountain and when we were way up there we found a house knocked on the door and out came a really big lady. Her name is Delia and in that moment she beckoned us into her humble house almost without asking our names. Once inside we began to teach her about the gospel.  She was so happy to hear our message that she smiled brilliantly throughout the whole lesson. We got to the part about Joseph Smith and we explained the scripture in James 1:5. After reading the scripture with her, she exclaimed ¨Now I understand! The night before I was asking god to send me the truth, because I have been confused for so long, and look what he did!! He sent me two of his angels to give me the truth. Wow, God works really fast.  We laughed and explained to her that we had originally climbed the mountain to look for another investigator but they weren’t home. (This was unusually because it was a set appointment and they are always home). Upon finding ourselves without a plan we just wanted to knock on the door of house that was close by, and that’s when we met her. We have another appointment with her his week… I will keep you updated.   

Well I hope that everything goes really well with Haleigh´s project and that she gets a lot of dresses… but she needs to really be careful with the dresses that she gets from others… specifically the dresses that I like. (Those being the dresses that belong to the girl that I took to prom.) Speaking of her I sent her a letter ages ago and never got a response……………………………. Hmmmmmmmmm……………..

So what are you and dad up to? Are you excited for your birth day…? I am sending you something special. I hope it gets there before your birthday.  Did you get around to sending off the shoes… I love you.

I miss you, love you, and hope that all is well.

Elder Harris

Thank You

Elder JJ Harris

I finally completed a marathon 26.2 miles in St. George this last weekend with your aunt Jill. It was very difficult at times especially the last 3 miles. My calves cramped up so bad that they locked and I had to crawl to a sidewalk nearby and hope they would relax. A gentleman in his 60s walked over to me and said “do you need help to the ambulance? It’s just up the street” I looked up at him and said “this close to the finish line, no way. Could you help me up” So I got up with help and had to walk the last 3 miles. Finished in 4:15 and many times in the last 6 miles or so I said to myself “I will never run a marathon again” – and at the most difficult times “Never run again”. But not an hour after finishing, I was already thinking about next year and how to improve my time!

At your year mark I know you’ll reflect on your first 12 months and look forward to the next 12 months. Remember after every baseball game we would review the game and make corrections for the next game.  It was my way of making sure Jaren was the best he could be, and you were GREAT! Remember to leave it all on the field or mission field. The last 12 months of your mission, now that you have control of the language, is all going to be ESPN highlights. You’re a great son, a great missionary, and a great person – so work extra hard and make the next 12 months the best in your life. Don’t walk to the ambulance when the finish line is so close – RUN THROUGH IT!

I love you! Dad

Hola!

Holy Smokes DAD RAN A MARATHON!!!!

I think that you, Dad, have just given me one of the coolest stories ever. I think that I am going to use that story in many different ways so that I can help people accept the gospel. Thanks for sending all of those totally great pictures of the family. While I was looking at all of them I almost broke down, not to crying but definite sadness. That picture with Aubrei making that face while you guys are giving her a kiss is the best picture I have ever seen in my entire life. I love it and I want a copy bad. I think the family is so dang cute too. Holy smokes it was really nice to see all of the family there together in that big picture. I will be sure to make lots of invitations when I finally get married so that I can have a wedding that is half decent. I just want to tell Aubrei that she made a gloriously gorgeous bride. I am going to have to find an extremely good looking wife just so I can compete. I hope that everything goes well with them.

First off, I got changed…transferred.  I am now in a different part of Lima with a new companion. His name is Elder Vasquez and he is from Argentina. He’s really great.  I like him a lot. He looks like pure bread Lamanite. He is super funny and He works hard so we are having a lot of fun.  My new area is called JICAMARCA, my new barrio or ward is called Wiesse. We have the largest area in the entire mission… it is massive! We don’t know what to do with it all. We have to really think about where we are going to go, and when, and use our time very efficiently. I will send you pictures.

Elder Vasquez

Well I was thinking about what you have asked of me, to write a letter of Gratitude, and I like the idea a lot.

Dear Two Rivers Ward

I have found here in the mission that many of my trials can be solved by some of the principles that my home ward has taught me.  I just want to give thanks to a few people that I hold very dear to my heart.

Thank you Brother and Sister Belnap.  Thanks for teaching me all those years in Sunday school. I owe to you the majority of my scripture knowledge.

Thank you Brother and Sister Rowe for being great examples of love and determination.  When you became my pioneer parents on the Stake Pioneer trek without knowing me, you gave me unconditional love and acceptance.  I learned from that example and it allows me now to easily show love to others.

Thank you Bishop Jacobson and Sister Jacobson for your outstanding example of living the gospel with a cheerful heart.  Your examples help me on the days where I feel down.

Thank you President Lies and Sister Lies.  Your have show me the joy of service and the blessings that it brings to others and to ourselves, you have helped me on those days of shoveling sand and lifting rocks to always be ready to do more.

Thank you Brother and Sister Tingey for giving me that small spark of hope when I get the occasional letter from you. Sorry that I am not so good at finding time to write back.

Thank you Brother and Sister Vaughn for your friendship which showed me how to be a great friend, and showing me how through your example to care for others. I have had to use those skills many times.

Thank you Brother and Sister Carroll for giving me that little bit of push to always do things the Lords way. 

Thank you Brother and Sister Matthews… I first learned from you that not everything comes easy, that we have to work hard to receive blessings.

Thank you Brother and Sister Bailey (not the old ones the young ones) I just always knew that you both were shining examples of obedience and it has helped me to follow the rules.

Thank you Brother and Sister Kundis for raising your boys right and giving me a great friend to grow up with. 

Thank you Sister Buck… for your testimony of power, the conviction of your heart, sharing your testimony with me helps me to share my own testimony with more authority from God.

I know that there are a lot of other families that I have forgotten… please forgive me for not remembering. I have had two great influences in my life, my totally awesome parents and my ward family. I will never forget all of your love, dedication and patience.  I love you all so much and miss you.

Elder Harris

My new area!

TAKE MY SISTERS TO THE TEMPLE!

General Conference!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a fantastic weekend. To be honest I love conference.

 Let me give you a new perspective. In the mission how many times a year do we celebrate Christmas? Answer: ONE TIME.  In the mission how times do we have conference? Answer: TWO TIMES. In the mission how many days do we celebrate Christmas a year. Answer: ONE Day. In the mission how many days do we spend watching conference in a year. Answer: FOUR Days. In the mission do we have to work on Christmas day? YES. In the mission do we have to work on conference day? NO! On Christmas day do we listen to the words of the prophets? MAYBE (if we want). On the four conference days do we listen to God´s modern prophets? YES!!!!  Do Missionaries have holidays? ……… CONFERENCE IS OUR HOLIDAY!!!!!!!!

Well I have learned a very valuable lesson while I was listening to conference. Almost all of the conference talks I felt were directed right at me.

I loved that the majority of the talks were about making the choice in our lives to follow the Lord. That really in the eyes of God there is no middle ground.

I also found it so interesting that there were a lot of talks about the Power that the Book of Mormon has as an instrument of God.

One of the most powerful topics in my opinion however was the talks about revelation, specifically one of the talks that was given by Barbara Thomas. I found myself so intently listening to her talk that it was not until afterwards I realized that I was sitting up straight on the edge of my seat and my backside was aching. One of the most inspiring things that she said was the rhetorical question… HAVE YE INQUIRED OF THE LORD? I find that for most of us to have that level of trust in our Lord, we need to show our humble similitude confiding in him our daily problems. One of the things that President Uchtdorf said about this was that the Lord always wants to hear about the small things in our lives and that by explaining these small things we grow closer to him. Thomas S. Monson also said that if he was not praying every day that he would be lost. I felt the impression to really focus harder on prayer with real intent and love… speaking to him that has given us this life. The Lord loves his people and is only waiting to help them return to him.

Another most insightful concept that I learned was from the talk that was given from Elder Bednar. What a fantastic talk about the Spirit of Elijah. I felt so inspired to do genealogy work that I felt like leaving the mission for a week and doing all of the baptisms for the dead that I can possible do in the temple here. I would like to share with you one of the most spiritual experiences that I have had on my mission. While I was listening to that talk, I am not saying that I had a vision, but in the simplest words I can use, that really is what happened. A thought came into my mind about my patriarchal blessing.  Without telling you a lot about it there are some parts that talk about genealogy work. While I was thinking and listening, I felt like I could see in my mind very clearly, I was at home with the girls… specifically Haleigh and Saydi. I, having had asked permission, left with them in the car to drive to Billings so that we could do baptisms for the dead together as brother and sisters. I could see us driving there and on the way listening reverently to church music and talking about my mission. We arrived and I could see the baptismal font… and the beauty of the temple. We were there for the most part of an hour doing baptisms where I had the opportunity to proxy baptize my own sisters. I was filled with more joy in my heart to JUST IMAGINE this moment, that I was overcome with elation, and a massive smile hit my face. I then in my notes wrote down in big letters- TAKE YOUR SISTERS TO THE TEMPLE!

I know that I still have one more year in the mission. I know that I am a long way from coming back, but I WILL take my sisters to the temple. I will make that vision a reality. I want that experience more than I want to play video games, watch movies, or listen to music. I know it is a long way off but this past year has flown by and I think just as fast, if not faster, I will be back.

Please prepare yourselves to go to the Temple and receive the joy that can only be found there.

Elder Harris

P.S. It was really fun to see all of those pictures you sent. Wow, you all are changing too much back there at home that I really don’t know who you all are. I am looking forward to seeing you all again and listening to all of your stories.

Mix Between a Pig Snorting and a Hiccup-ping Baby

Hello familia and amigos,

GET THAT CORN (rice) OUT MY FACE!!!!

Wow tons of time since I last had the opportunity to talk with you. I think it was exactly one week ago. Maybe I am wrong. Well life here in the mission has been really a whole lot of the same. I think that is a good thing because it’s really spiritually up lifting.

SAYDI I HOPE THAT YOU FEEL BETTER…. I WILL PRAY FOR YOU SHORT STOP!!!!!!!!!!!

Well about the shoes… just send them both at the same time if you can. I suppose that it would save you money anyway. All of the things that I get from Vanessa come without any problems. I am excited to get them… I really need them.

Well I found out some really interesting news. This next Tuesday… there is a really big chance that I will be going back to the jungle. It looks as though I might be going to a different part of the jungle. There are a lot of rumors going around but I guess we will see. This next week I will find out the specifics.

The other day we were walking in a big market center area and came across what I thought didn’t exist here. A movie theater!!! I had seen some different signs to movies and all the people that are young talk about that stuff… but here in front of my very eyes I could see so many things. I am super pumped to see a lot of stuff. I feel like coming home to all these movies is going to be like one of the really big gifts I get after my mission. Of course I am not really thinking about receiving gifts or all those movies that I am missing because I am doing better stuff right now… but I doesn’t hurt to get a little excited.

We had something cool happen this week. We have been teaching a family about the restoration.  They had a ton of questions about the plan of salvation. Well, we begin to teach about the plan of salvation and they liked it so much they we all starting laugh. I really don’t know what happened.  We were talking about Adam and Eve and how everything was really just a part of the plan that god had, and how Christ was sent to the earth so that we can receive this forgiveness for our sins. Somewhere in the middle of explaining these things the mom was so happy, because so many of her doubts were being resolved, she began to laugh. When she began to laugh it was like a chain reaction, I couldn’t help but laugh a little because her laugh was so silly. The only way that I can describe it was like a mix between a pig snorting and a hiccup-ping baby. We all had a really great time. They still have a problems coming to church because they have to work on Sundays but I think that the family is going to get baptized.

Well I ate something that I really liked this week. It’s called Papa Rellena. Basically it’s a mashed potato mix, which they put back into the form of a potato and then fill up with meat and onions. Then they deep fry it.  I AM IN LOVE. I think I have forgotten what it is like to eat really delicious food.  Sometimes I cannot even remember what the house looks like. I think I am getting old.  Speaking of feeling old, I am definitely my father’s son… if it comes to hairiness, and handsomeness that is….. hahahaha.

Well I am excited for next week to see if the lord wants me back in the jungle.

ELDER HARRIS

I love being here… I love talking to the people!

Well what´s it really like.

I wake up 6:30 and I throw off my blanket. I then head over to the alarm and turn it off. I pray by myself and then we pray together. I tend to jump up and down a little bit just so that I can shake off that feeling of tiredness. I usually then head right for the shower… I shower it up for about 15 minutes. After I am done showering I brush my teeth and shave… then I get changed into the battle suit. When I am all ready usually its about 7 o clock. I then write in my journal, and do the missionary paperwork that I need to get done.  At about 7:25 we leave the house and head half a block over to my pensions house. We pray again for the meal. We eat the same meal just about every deal. One scrabbled egg and two pieces of bread, and a glass of Eco which basically tastes just like coffee but it’s not. We then, just before 7:55, head back to the house so that we can start our Personal Study. At 8 we begin to study just by ourselves. We begin our study with a prayer and end with a prayer. Then at 9 we begin to study together starting with another prayer… we talk about our investigators and search for new ways to teach them and we look for scriptures that we can apply in our lessons. We then end with a prayer. At 10 we begin to language study starting with a prayer… I usually read out loud from the book of Mormon for an hour or read from the pamphlets that we have from the book ¨Our Heritage¨. Then we end our studies with another prayer. We then prepare to leave and pray about 10:55 for success throughout the day. We are out of the house before 11. If it is a normal day we begin with the appointments that we have in the morning at 11 and 12… if they aren’t there we go contacting so that we can find some new people to teach. At 1 we go to the house of a member that will be feeding us for the day. We pray and bless the food and the family. Then before we leave again we pray and bless the family again. We then from 2 to 5 visit people, and contacts and ask for references and all that good stuff. At 5 we go back to the pensionista so that we can eat. We begin with a prayer for the food and we eat and rest for the hour. Then we head back out into the field and harvest until 9:00-9:30. It all depends on that last appointment. We then head back to the room before 9:30 because, it is a rule. We then pray to start planning for the next day. We plan and think about all of the people that we can visit the next day. We write down what we want to teach them and we also write down what we want to accomplish with the lesson that we want to share. After we are done planning, we pray so that we can end the day. After the prayer we take off the battle suit and head into the pjs. We talk a little, brush our teeth, and if we are super dirty take another shower. I usually take 2 showers. We say a prayer together and then we pray personally. We then hop into bed. I then fall asleep.  

THE NEXT DAY….

I wake up 6:30 and I throw off my blanket. I then head over to the alarm and turn it off. I pray by myself and then we pray together. I tend to jump up and down at little bit just so that I can shake off that feeling of tiredness…………………………………………………………………………………………………

The mission when you explain it like this… sounds really boring. The exciting part of the mission is the times that you get with the people. All of the relationships and the friendships that we can make is how we stay happy here on the mission. I love being here… I love talking to the people and helping them understand the importance of the gospel.  This really makes me happy. Thank you mom for helping me to understand really why I should be happy, I could be thinking of all of the things that I miss here on the mission. But I don’t, any reason that I could come up with would have more valor then the people that I have helped. I really owe a lot to you, mom and dad, for teaching me right. And I can see now that I lot of things that we did in our house when I was growing up, has really helped me to be a better missionary. The best teacher of the Lords true gospel, follows the counsel of this loving parents.

Elder Harris

If there is one thing that I am really craving - it is Tabasco Sauce. If you could send me a lot of that I would be really happy and I don’t know what to do but pretty soon I am going to have to buy new shoes.

Love ya 

SPIRITUALLY ADDICTED

Passionately in Love with a book!! Who da thunk!!!

Wow, what a great week we are having… first off I want to say happy birthday to Haleigh. So in other words HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAPPY HALEIGH!!!!!!  I was a little upset that I didn’t have the chance to write and say happy birthday this Monday like normal… but we went to the temple this week. The temple is a really powerful and sacred place. I was thinking of describing the temple as Magical, but the place is not Disneyland… but a whole lot better. 

I have been spending a lot of time thinking about the Gospel. You would think that as a missionary it’s would be the only subject on your mind… but to be honest you can talk about the gospel all day but not really arrive to any profound faults. I have been using the bible a lot in my teachings because the majority of the people that live here are catholic or some other religion that believes in that sacred book. I’ve came to a shocking conclusion that, and it might seem a little bit obvious, the Lord has called me to teach the restoration of the gospel. The most power instrument in the conversion that I have in my arsenal is the combination of the Spirit and the Book of Mormon. I am not saying that I have not been using the Book of Mormon in my teachings, what I am saying however is that my capacity to understand the simple truths that exist in the testimony of the Nephites, has been helping not only me understand more of the gospel but also all of the our investigators. I have been slowly learning a new principle. There are different levels of desire that comes from reading the Scriptures. First, when we really don’t know the importance of the Scriptures we are at level one. The first level is called reading. We just read the scriptures but we are just reading to read and not to learn. Level 2, just barely above reading, that being to read just for the stories. I am not saying that it’s bad to just read the different stories in the book of Mormon. All of the history has a special lesson that we can learn but... well… it’s not going to feed your soul all that much.  The third level is starting to ponder over what you are reading. In this level we begin to think and consider the topics and lessons. We begin to form a foundation of faith and trust in the Lord through his words. Level 4 is to deeply study the pages. Intensely meditate the subject matter… pray diligently for wisdom and knowledge…seek the guidance of the spirit and counsel from our modern day prophets. Really level four is to be in love with the scriptures. If you can believe it there is one level that is just a bit higher than level 4 that being the dominant level 5. I thought about it and came to the conclusion that the most powerful feelings that we have in this world… that truly dictate our actions are our passions and love. Level 5 is to be in love with the scriptures that it arrives to the point of an addiction… that you don’t feel good if you are not reading them. Your heart becomes intertwined with the teachings of the prophets that your spirit cannot function properly, without a heavy dose of SCRIPTURE POWER!!!! We arrive at this point when reading for 15 minutes is not enough, and we begin to do everything in our power to feel the spirit stronger and stronger in our lives. In my mind I can see it as a real addiction… that if we don’t take larger and larger doses we don’t get that same spiritual high. I want to arrive to become SPIRITUALLY ADDICTED. I have decided that I am going to start to reflect, contemplate, and fall in love with reading the scriptures so that I can start to become passionately addicted them.

I hope that sometimes when I am writing you guys I don’t just sound like I am totally crazy… but know that I love you. I am glad that all is good at home.

Hurrah for Israel !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder Harris