Doing What You Don’t Want To Do, But You Know You Have To!

Greetings from the great city of Lima,

 Well once again I have returned to the ¨Big Mango.¨ I find it just as dirty and smelly as when I left it.  My new companion is a really cool guy. He is from Guatemala, so if anyone is counting, this is my fourth Latino companion and the fourth that have come from Guatemala.  I really need to go to Guatemala some day. I have made a ton of really cool friends who live there. My companion’s name is Elder Bonilla.  He is a really strong and obedient worker, which I like a lot.  I can really rely on him to get things done. I really realized this week that the Lord works in really strange ways and most of the time not in the way we expect him to work. I really didn’t want to go back to Lima.  First of all because my experience before wasn’t all that enjoyable.  I have a great love for the people of Iquitos.  I know that the Lord knows this about me and I hope that one day he will bless me with the opportunity to return there. I am sending you a picture of my new companion.

 So … today my focus is really on a subject that all the people in the world know about. Basically I want to talk about what I have phrased… Doing what you don’t want to do, but you know you have to. Sometimes in our lives we have to make decisions that in the here and now we can’t see the meaning of but in the long run we can see the blessing. What it really comes down to is the ability for us here on this earth to have humility. Humility defined by Elder Harris is simply being unpridefull. Humility is an attitude of Christ that many find extremely difficult to obtain. Why? That which is always affecting our choices in reality is personal pride.  For example when I was in seminary how many times, Mom, did I not want to go or I was just too lazy to get up. My personal pride was my downfall.  The reason I didn’t want to get up was because I wanted to sleep. Thus inferring that sleep was more important to me than was spiritual knowledge, a lack of humility always results in prideful actions. I was thinking just now about how you told me about how you, the girls, and Dad were sucking water in our flooded basement this week. Literally I felt really bad, deeply upset when I read that in the letter because I was not there to help… I can just see in my mind what it was like… and I want you to know that I really will pray that it stops raining because I don’t want that to happen again. But to come back to humility I know this… if pride is the cause of all sin, AKA root of all evil, what does that make humility..?.. The opposite of pride, the root of all that is good???  I love you guys and I will send some super sweet pictures next week.

Con Amor Elder Harris

Questions and Answers:

So how is Lima?  Lima is cold.  (See picture..Jaren is wearing a sweater)

What is your companion like?  He is super funny.

Where is he from?  Guatemala

Do you get along?  We are getting along great!

How long has he been in Lima?  He has been here for one and a half months.

What are you planning for your P-day?  I don’t have a clue.  I hope something fun.

How is your new pensionista?  My new pensionista is super tiny.  I will take a picture of her.

Did you ever take pictures of your last pensionista in Iquitos?  No, I forgot to.

How was the plane trip?  The plane ride was dull.

Are you happy to spend some time back in Lima? Well, I guess we will see.

How is your health?  My health is improving.

Did you get over your cold?  No, not yet with the cold.

How is everything else? Everything else as of today is great.