Feliz Navidad!!!

                                                                                                           Dec. 19, 2016

Hi Everybody! Thanks so much for your emails--I loved hearing from everyone!

 

This week was a really special week and we have seen so much progress with our investigators!

 

First of all, thanks for all of your prayers because Sonia came to church yesterday! She came with us to sacrament meeting and made friends with some of the members of the Ward. After sacrament meeting we didn´t see her for a few minutes. We went to the Relief Society room and she wasn't in there. I freaked out like someone had stolen my child, haha. I whipped out the phone and we ran outside the chapel to find her! She was walking home and said she had to give the keys to her pharmacy to someone, but we encouraged her to stay so she could meet her baptismal date! She decided to stay for the second hour and we were so happy! She will be baptized either the 6 or 13 of January!

 

Also almost all of the familia Vaca Mendez went to church and the kids stayed all three hours! The Ward helped us out a lot  and I was so happy that they came!

 

Unfortunately, we couldn´t do our booth in the caminata because the assistants didn't give us permission. Bummer.

 

Quick side note before I forget but lately I have been complaining that we never eat anything weird and telling my companion how I thought I was going to eat dog and guinea pig and stuff. Well, yesterday we finally got to eat something semi-weird: cow heart! Some of our investigators from Peru fed us cow heart, haha. I freaked out when I heard it, but it was pretty good.

 

This week I felt our Heavenly Father´s love so powerfully and I just wanted to share two experiences.

 

On Wednesday we visited Hermana Carabajal. She is a member that lives by the Bishop.

Remember the picture (above) I sent of the service we did recently was for her. On Tuesday she was robbed and they stole everything of value she had. Her husband who lives in Paraguay recently took the children so she is alone. She was so sad and I decided to share Doctrine and Covenants section 122 with her, one of my favorite scriptures. It describes all of the trials the prophet Joseph Smith would have to endure, and then says "Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good" I felt so much of His love as I testified to the Hermana that He will never allow anything to happen to us that is not for our eternal well-being! He loves us and that is all we need to remember when things get hard!

 

Last night we visited Selbi and her family (we are now teaching her brother and dad which is super exciting!)

Picture of Selbi's family at her baptism.

We didn't have much time so we decided to watch, the "Light the World" video with them. I love that video so much! As we watched I was brought to tears because I felt so strongly the Savior´s love. I love watching the scenes from His life as He lifted others up and held them in his hands. Until he comes again, we are His hands. What an amazing opportunity we have this week and throughout the year to pick up our brothers and sisters and lift them to new heights! We can help them feel of His love with each thing that we do!

 

Thank you all for sharing your light. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and can´t wait to talk on Sunday! Light the world!

 

Love,

Elder Harris

He is the Light!!

                                                                                                                 Dec. 12, 2016

Hi Everyone! Hope you had a great week! Loved hearing from all of you!

 

This week was really good! We are struggling to find new people to teach, but we are continuing to learn and improve in our finding and teaching! It is so fun being two new missionaries because we both recognize that we don´t know how to do a lot of things, learn from preach my gospel how they should be done, and then try our best to put it in practice! I'm so grateful for my companion and his humility! He is a great friend and source of strength to me. 

This week on Wednesday our Ward mission leader told us there was going to be a big caminata, or walk, on the highway near our house. The purpose was to show faith in the Virgin of Cotoca so it was practically all Catholics, but we decided to go anyway to check it out.

 There were thousands of people walking down the highway (they walk from Santa Cruz to the catholic church in Cotoca, more than 10 miles) Anyway we were able to contact a lot of the venders and find a few new people to teach! They are going to do the same exact thing again on Wednesday of this week so we are teaming up with the Elders of La Pampa to have a booth there! Hopefully it will be really good for finding people! I also bought cotton candy there which was so good and brought be back to my childhood haha.

 

Sadly, Sonia didn't come to church yesterday! Her brother got sick and she had to take care of him. It was really frustrating but we are not giving up on her! Please keep praying, this week she will go for 3 hours for sure! Yesterday was our primary program and it was so good! My favorite part was when they sang I love to see the temple! I miss the temple so much. The covenants we make there are so special and it truly is the house of god.

 

We had to leave a few investigators this week and don´t have many people to teach. We are going to focus on finding this week and I know the Lord will provide a way!

 

One of my favorite experiences from this week was teaching an older man named Miguel. We found him in the street and sat down with him to talk. He told us about how his wife had died and we taught him a little about the plan of salvation, especially the atonement. I shared one of my favorite scriptures with him:

 

7 And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.

8 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.

9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death. 

 

It may sound a little cheesy, but as I read this last verse to him, the sunlight came through the clouds and it was such a warm light! He is the light of the world and I am so grateful to know that because of him, death has no sting, and the grave no victory! I hope that we can keep sharing this light with people in so many ways this week!

 

Love you all, and light the world!!

Love,
  

Elder Harris

He hears our prayers!

                                                                                                            Dec. 5, 2016

Hi Family! So good to hear from everyone and glad to hear Collage and the Christkindl Markt went well!

We are excited to take part in this month's "Light the World Service Challenge," (lds.org) and have been working each day on an act of service.

Although this week has been a tough one because a lot of our lessons have fallen through, we still had some amazing experiences and I know our efforts are making a difference!










This week we helped the Familia Carrabajal clean up their yard. It was a fun service with the legendary Hermano Peña at our side.

 

 

On Tuesday we thought we found a baby horse in the street, (which would not have been too out of the ordinary) but as we got closer we realized it was a gazelle, so we cautiously took pictures.

 

 

Here we are eating bananas with the crew...

 

 

We also helped the Bishop cut brillos for his clothing business.

 

On Wednesday we taught a less active family, Juan Carlos and his wife, the message of the restoration. We decided to watch the restoration video with them (I love watching the videos haha I think i have a problem because sometimes I'd rather just watch the video instead of teaching but they are so powerful!) Anyway, so as we were teaching about the apostasy before we watched the video, they expressed to us some serious doubts about the church and the Bible and Book of Mormon. We talked about them and I realized that all of their questions were the same questions Joseph Smith had. We then watched the video with them and it was so powerful!

 

My favorite part is when Joseph Smiths father is carving a wooden toy for his son and it quotes 3 Nephi 14: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" I know that this is true! Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers!

  

Yesterday we fasted with our ward mission leader. As we prayed with him to begin the fast, the impression came to me "The Lord hears the prayers of his servants" The Spirit confirmed this truth to me and I know that he is going to help us find some new families to teach this week!

 

Sonia is progressing well and came to church yesterday! Sadly, she chose to leave after the first hour so she can't be baptized for another three weeks! Please pray that she can come this Sunday and stay all three hours!

 

Last night we had an awesome family home evening with the familia Vaca Mendez and a part member family, the familia Mercado. We talked about family prayer, played a fun game, and ate soda and cookies.  

 

The familia Vaca Mendez also came to sacrament meeting yesterday which was so great! The members are helping us so much and we are starting to discover more and more the secrets of working with members!

 

Yesterday we found two families who are so prepared to hear the gospel! One we met while we were getting haircuts a few weeks ago and another we contacted in the street! We were able to teach them finally yesterday and we are excited to see their progress this week.

 

I love you all and hope you have a great week! Light the World!

 

Elder Harris

 

A Gospel of Doing Your Part!

                                                                                                       Nov. 28, 2016

Hi Family! Glad to hear everyone had a great thanksgiving and enjoyed their birthdays!

 

 

 

This week was a tough week, but also one of the most memorable weeks of my mission. As we witnessed a lot of investigators struggling to keep their commitments, something I learned is that this is a gospel of doing your part. It is so simple! Heavenly Father wants to give us so many blessings and all he asks is that we keep his commandments and do our part! Everything we teach as missionaries centers on keeping the commandments that he has given us and making covenants with our Heavenly Father. He has promised us so many amazing things, but we will never be able to experience them if we aren´t willing to do our part!

 

I am also learning so much from my companion! Elder Cohelo is a convert of three or 4 years and has a powerful testimony of the restored gospel. He also has such a pure love and concern for the people that I have never seen before in any missionary. He is helping me so much to refocus on my purpose and on other people instead of myself!

 

This week Sonia came to church which was such a blessing! The Familia Vaca Mendez told us they were going to come, but didn't which was sad.

 

We found a new family to teach. Kathy and Carlos have a 5 year old daughter and they are super prepared to receive the gospel! They accepted a baptismal date for the 13th of January and we are so excited to help them progress towards this goal!

 

This week the Lord truly allowed us to have the Spirit with us and testify by the Spirit! We had to be bold and fearless in testifying this week, especially with a man who has read the entire Book of Mormon, but will not be baptized. We testified of priesthood authority and it was a sad choice that he made not to be baptized, but we did all we could.

 

I am so grateful for the Spirit and the power of the Priesthood! I have such a strong testimony of the power that we hold and have access to! I am excited to start this Christmas season and hope we can all become more like the Savior one choice and action at a time!

 

Love you all! Happy Birthday Hilary and Reuben! Have a great week!

 

Elder Harris

News! First Cambio or Transfer

                                                                                                                Nov. 21, 2016

So this week, I received news on Tuesday that I have been assigned to be a trainer for this cambio or transfer. I'm really excited and happy and feel grateful for this opportunity! I also feel a little inadequate, in that I am still learning and growing, but I know that the Lord will bless me.

 

My companion is Elder Cohelo. He is from Iquitos Peru and fresh out the MTC. He is such a good teacher and so good with all the members and people in general!  He is also 21 so it is a little weird training him, but really good nonetheless!

I trust that the Lord asked me to train Elder Cohelo because He loves me and it will make me into the missionary I am supposed to be. I look forward to serving with Elder Cohelo!

 

In other news, they didn't open an area so we are still the only two Elders in Guapilo. Also I will give the sad news first: Sonia didn't come to church yesterday so her baptismal date for the 10th of December will be pushed back. We are going to try and visit her today or tomorrow and see what happened, but please pray that she can come to church this week!

 

Also, this week we were able to teach the familia Vaca Mendez and more and more people keep coming to the lessons haha. It is a family of somewhere around 12 and many of them accepted a baptismal date for the 6th of January! Yesterday they were going to come to church, but there was some sort of emergency so the adults couldn't. We passed by the house to pick them up and asked the kids if they still wanted to go. Four of them said yes, and so we all went to church together! This was such a great example to me of faith and desire to draw closer to the Lord. They had never been to church before and knew no one, but stayed all three hours. Last night Jose, the 11 year old son, asked us if we were going to have church again next week! This family is super prepared and I am so excited for them!

 

Something I have been really grateful for is the sweet presence of the Spirit. On the first day of this cambio (Wednesday), I received a promise from the Lord that we are going to be successful this cambio! It has been such a comfort for me to know this and I am grateful for the influence of the Spirit.

 

I know that Heavenly Father loves us and His only purpose and objective is our eternal happiness! He does nothing save it be to accomplish that purpose. If we can remember this we will be able to endure any difficult moment or trial!

 

I love you all and hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving! As members of the church we have so much to be grateful for!

 

Happy birthday to Jade, Dad, and Theo. Eat a lot of cake!

 

Love,

 

Elder Harris

Ready To Make Changes

                                                                                                                    Nov. 14, 2016

Hi Everyone! Thanks so much for all your emails and support!

So I promise this wasn´t intentional, but the title of this email is quite fitting because this week is cambios. (Transfers)... 

My companion, Elder Sierra has been here in this Ward 10 and a half months so we pretty much know exactly what is going to happen. He will be transferred to a new area this week and I will be getting a new companion.

 

Elder Sierra has been an awesome trainer! I am grateful that I could speak to him in English while learning and transitioning to Spanish. He has a strong testimony of the gospel and has taught me

a lot. I especially appreciate his sense of humor, as he has kept me laughing. 

Although I will miss serving with him, I look forward to meeting my new companion and setting some big goals for this next cambio!

 

With this being Elder Sierra's last week in the barrio, (he has been here almost a year) our pensionista and Ward mission leader made him a cake. (and even added my name at the last minute hahaha).

 

They are the Nunez family and they are so awesome!!

This week I really came to realize how lucky I am to have these two years to be a representative of Jesus Christ. Only two years to spend my time loving and teaching these people 24/7 and without the distractions of the world. I love the wonderful people I meet each day!



Although most of our time, we are either studying, serving, or out teaching, occasionally, on our P-day (our day off), we get to participate in fun recreational activities.
Last month, Elder Sierra and I got to play soccer with a great group of guys.
  

This week we visited a cool zoo or aviary with parrots and toucans.
This is me pretending to feed it a mango.

 

Recently, I had the opportunity to go on splits with another Elder, Elder Santos.
We discovered mangos--a lot of them!!

Just as we want to share the sweetness of the mangos, we must realize how important it is to share the fruits of the gospel with our neighbors and friends.   

This week I was able to study the story of David and Goliath and learned so much. David was so young but had such an unwavering confidence in our Heavenly Father. He said "Who is this philistine to defy the armies of the living god?" The work of our Heavenly Father is going forth and there is no man, no matter how strong or mighty, that can stop it! This week we have been able to work with people that are trying to overcome their own personal goliath´s, and as they put their faith in the living god, they have been able to make changes in their lives.

Sonia is making amazing progress! She has not had coffee in more than 10 days and is smoking less and less everyday. She has also read up to 2 Nephi 3 in the Book of Mormon and told us she has a goal to finish the book before her baptism on the 10th of December! We asked her granddaughter what changes she has seen in Sonia in the past month and she told us that before, Sonia was very closed and wouldn´t listen to anyone. She told us we are the first people to have ever reached her and she is becoming a completely different person. Sadly, she couldn't come to church yesterday so please pray for her that she can come this week or she won't be able to make her baptismal date!

This week we found several great families and invited them to baptism in the first visit. The Lord is preparing so many people here to receive the gospel, but most of all Hermano Vaca Mendez. We found he and his family and he asked us to come and talk with them. He repeatedly told us, "Listen to me, I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to be like this anymore. I am ready to change." He doesn't have a family and has a lot of problems with drugs and alcohol, but accepted the invitation to be baptized.  

It is a witness to me that so many people are just waiting for a message like this. The invitation to be baptized is all they need to change their lives forever! They are just waiting for someone to tell them they can!

 

As I leave my training and start with a new companion I am so excited to see more and more changes in the lives of heavenly fathers children! This is His work and He will not fail us, no matter how great our foes may seem!

 

Love you all and have a great week!

 

Elder Harris

Selbi's Baptism

                                                                                                            Nov. 7, 2016
Hi Everyone! So good to hear from all of you!

This week we had a really great week! Selbi was baptized on Saturday and I was able to baptize her.
It was such a special experience and we are so happy for her!

 

      












      It is such a privilege to be able to hold the priesthood and to exercise it for the salvation of His children!

A picture of Selbi's family coming together in celebration of her baptism. 

On Saturday, we were having trouble emptying the baptismal font before the baptism to put in clean water. There was a problem with the pump and we were trying to unjam it. Before Elder Sierra climbed down into a manhole, we said a prayer and asked for help. Soon after, I tried twisting the handle one more time just in case and it worked! The Lord answers the prayers of his children, no matter how small or insignificant they seem!

Sunday, we had a really powerful fast and testimony meeting. I have never felt with more surety in my life that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ! Simple heartfelt testimonies can be so powerful and invite the Spirit so strongly. For the closing hymn we sang, "We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet," and it was such an amazing experience. I love being here and especially in this Ward! It is starting to feel like home and like it's "my Ward!"

Elder Sierra and me with Hermano Pena and Alfredo.
They are best friends and two legendary older men from our Ward.
They both love speaking English with us. 



This week Sonia has been making amazing progress! We gave her a priesthood blessing last week and for the last 8 days she has not been drinking any coffee! She even recognized how amazing this was because she drank 7 or 8 cups of coffee every day of her life! Not keeping the word of wisdom has really hurt her health, but she is starting to make the changes she needs to! She also has been reading in the Book of Mormon for a few HOURS every day which is amazing! This week we have
to work hard with her to help her overcome smoking!

We have so many great families to teach here in Guapilo and the Lord has blessed us with so much success. I am so grateful for the Spirit and how much it teaches me and strengthens me. It truly is amazing to see how Heavenly Father is changing people here and I love being able to play a part in that process.

I love you all and hope you have a great week! Remember that we belong to the true church of God once again restored to the Earth!

Love,

Elder Harris