Let the Holy Spirit Guide

                                                                                               March 13, 2017

 

Hi Everyone!

 

This week was great and we have a lot of unforgettable experiences! So many that right now I don´t remember a lot of them, but I will just describe a few haha.

 

 First, a few pictures to share: 



Elder Wirthlin and me with our Bishop as we take cover from the rain



We got pretty creative at our District activity. Can you guess which one is me?

On Monday we hiked Monte Cristo with 2 other Elders from the district. It was a really tough hike, but so worth it for the view! And Cristo is written on the mountain kind of like Y mountain (hopefully you can see it in the pictures).

But the view was incredible and I don´t remember it being very sunny, but we must have been pretty close to the sun at the top because I got really burned (see picture of my tri-colored neck) Wear sunscreen kids.

This week we had a lot of great experiences! Familia Gonzales have come to a halt as far as their progress for baptism because we are trying to work with the Dad, but he keeps failing to meet our appointments. Hopefully this week we will be able to teach them.

Familia Humacata are really not keeping their commitments so we will most likely have to leave them this week which is tough.

One family we taught Monday night is Familia Martinez. They had watched the testaments movie so we decided to read 3 Nephi 11 with them. We were able to teach the doctrine of baptism and the importance of the authority Christ gave to Nephi. The wife is strong Catholic and had a lot of doubts and questions about original sin and baptizing children. I was a little worried about being able to answer them, but then I remembered Moroni chapter 8. We read three verses with them, everyone understood very clearly, and I felt so grateful for the Book of Mormon in that moment! It was a great teaching moment for them and for me about the power of the Book of Mormon to clearly and powerfully teach the gospel of Jesus Christ!

I also have a stronger testimony now than ever that we are being guided by the Spirit. As we contacted in the park this week, we were about to leave, but decided to stay a little longer. Two less active members found us a few minutes later and asked where the church was. Later as we were contacting a man, a girl from the other Stake came up and told us she had a reference for us. Now we are teaching her cousin! It was an amazing miracle!

Yesterday one of our investigators told us his grandpa had died and asked us to go and comfort his family. We didn´t know anyone there, but decided to go to the viewing a few houses down. We felt super awkward and uncomfortable and had no idea what to do, so we said a prayer asking for help. As we finished, a man walked up and asked us if we needed anything. He called out some of the family members and they let us enter. They gave us each a plate of food and when we finished we shared a scripture and our testimonies with the immediate family. I know Heavenly father loves us and answers prayers! He will guide us in each moment if we are humble enough to ask for His help.

I know that no one is more interested in my success as a missionary than my Father in Heaven and He is watching over me in each moment, especially in the most difficult ones.

 

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! Things are looking up here and this truly is the work of the Lord that will roll forth until it fills every corner of this earth! Have a great week!

Elder Harris

Nowhere I'd Rather Be!

                                                                                               March 6, 2017

Hi Everyone!!! 

So Carnaval was great! We got permission to watch a couple of Disney movies, took some solid naps, ate a lot of Ramen noodles, and cleaned our house. But as fun as that was, it was really good to get back to work on Wednesday!

Here is a picture of the parade outside our window on Sunday.
(We live on the 5th floor and have a sweet view.)

Companionship study (totally not staged at all). But we did actually study there on Saturday I promise.

This week has been difficult, but I have also had some really amazing experiences and have felt the Spirit so frequently!

The Ward is working hard and doing a lot to help us out and this week our area got a lot bigger because they have added a neighborhood to the grupo familiar, so we have inherited some investigators and potential investigators. But we still only have about 3 or 4 people we are teaching so please pray that we can find more people this week!

We realized we haven't really been talking to people this week and that's probably why we aren't finding (complex, huh?) So as sad as it is that it took us that long to realize that, we are going to open our mouths more this week! We set a goal of talking to ten people each day and I am sure that will help us find more of those people who are prepared to receive the gospel.

Some of my favorite moments from this week:

Thursday, I interviewed a young man for baptism who has some things he still needs to repent of before his baptism. It was such a special opportunity for me to testify of repentance and the atonement. I love testifying of repentance because it has truly changed my life! It is so amazing to look back and be able to say that I am no longer the same person I was a few years ago! And we can all say that each and every day as we choose to repent and follow the Savior daily!

One of the families we are teaching is Familia Gonzalez. Cristian and Maribel are 14 and 11 years old and their grandma is a member. Their parents are not interested, but this week we read from the Book of Mormon with them. One of their cousins was their reading with us from the first chapter of Nephi. His mom came to the gate and called him to go and he didn't want to leave. Sitting there with these three kids and reading from the Book of Mormon, the thought came to my mind " There is nothing I would rather be doing" The Spirit quickly confirmed it and I am so grateful to be here! I am grateful to be able to bring light into the lives of my brothers and sisters. These kids are remarkable and hopefully they can continue to prepare for baptism!

Lastly, yesterday was a great opportunity to fast! The law of the fast is the lords way of caring for the poor and needy! I have really come to love this commandment on my mission as I have the chance to pay a fast offering to help those people all around me who stand in need of so much. This is a divine law and there is no better way to sanctify ourselves and bless our neighbors than living this commandment!

I love you all and hope you have a great week! This church is true and Christ is at the helm! He loves us and will not let us fail in this great work of salvation!

Love,

Elder Harris

Carnaval Party Time

                                                                                                  February 25, 2017

Hola Family,

Tomorrow is the first day of Carnaval and so our P-day is today as we are preparing to stay inside over the next few days. Carnaval is a huge celebration before Lent that consists of parades, partying, and alcohol and is not appropriate for missionaries. It is basically a huge water fight/alcohol fest that lasts three days! So tomorrow we will go to church with a member, return to our homes after, and then stay in the apartment until Wednesday morning. It is going to be pretty crazy.

But, I am excited to work on my Spanish, watch church movies, clip my fingernails, and all sorts of other fun stuff during these three days!

This week has been pretty exciting...we started teaching a part member family and the kids are progressing really well! They have a baptismal date for the 18th of March. The other Elders in our area left this week so we have a huge house all to ourselves. Hmm what else...we saw a dog get hit by a car which was very scarring. And today we have interviews with President which I am excited for!

Here are a few pictures I want to share: 

 

Exciting news--we found a ColdStone this week!

Elder Wirthlin took a picture of me with an old deserted car

 

                                  Elder Wirthlin and me enjoying lunch at a steakhouse
                                  (Best food I have eaten in my mission)

                                Final picture with the crew before we left for Tarija

                                                           
    This place is too beautiful!!!!

 

The work is going well here in Tarija...we are teaching more and more lessons each week and the

Lord has really blessed us to be able to find people to teach!

 

I hope everyone has a great Carnaval even though you don't celebrate it! If you want to participate, throw a water balloon at someone who doesn't want to get wet this weekend.

 

Love you all and Happy Carnaval!

Elder Harris

 

Looking Up!

                                                                                                         February 20, 2017
Hi Everyone!

This week was really good. This morning it got a lot better when Elder Cohelo wrote me telling me SONIA GOT BAPTIZED! I am so happy for her and that she was able to conquer her addiction and receive the ordinances of salvation! Elder Cohelo sent me a picture.

On Wednesday, (our P-day or day off) we went to a place called country club a little bit out of the city and they had a high ropes course which was pretty fun! It was a good zone activity and we got pretty sunburnt which was good too as long as we don't get skin cancer.

We were able to find a few more people to teach this week which has been exciting and the group is getting stronger! Ten more people went to church yesterday than last week and I feel like I did my part this week to be worthy of that blessing.

One good family we are teaching is the Familia Umacata. They have a baptismal date for the 18 of march but are having trouble going to church. The past two Sundays it has rained, which is a really big impediment to going to church in bolivia for some reason. Most people tell us "I will go if it doesn't rain" haha. But please pray that they can go to church this week!

This week we had a lot of crazy changes with the limits and within the Ward. The other companionship of Elders in the Ward are leaving tomorrow. Their area has been closed because a lot of missionaries go home this cambio. So the Hermanas in the ward will get all of their area and we won't have as many missionaries in the Ward. (The situation is complicated haha, we still belong to the Ward and have the same leaders, we just go to church like 20 minutes away with some of the members)

But, the work is really good here! The members are helping us out a lot and we have been able to help reactivate a few of the less active members here. 

I have been able to learn so much this week and I am so grateful for the Spirit! It is so amazing to have an hour each morning to feel the spirit testifying of truth as I study the words of the prophets! I would encourage all of you to look for that time each day to strengthen your testimony and receive revelation! It is so sacred!

I know that President Monson is truly a prophet of God and that this is His true church. The priesthood of God is on the earth and the work is going forth! As we love and serve, we can be the Savior´s hands here on the earth! He loves us and He lives! Remember it each day and you will always have his Spirit to be with you!

Love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Harris

Bienvenidos a Tarija

                                                                                            February 15, 2017
Hi Everyone!

So this week was cambios and I have been transferred to Tarija (Tar-ee-huh), which is basically the most beautiful place on earth!

 On Wednesday we had a one hour flight from Santa Cruz and it was really fun getting to be in a plane for some reason.



It was tough saying goodbye to members and converts in Guapilo, but I am looking forward to new changes.

 

Bishop and the boys together for the last time.

Last visit with the Nunez family 

My new companion is Elder Wirthlin from Detroit and it is really weird having a gringo companion again, but I love it. His trainer just died (finished his mission) so I will be finishing his training and I love elder Wirthlin. He is really humble, super funny, and he has made my first week here pretty great. My new assignment is district leader which has been pretty overwhelming because I have no idea how to be a district leader, but we have a pretty awesome district and I am excited about it!

So Tarija is basically like Utah...it is a lot colder here than in Santa Cruz (like 60-70 degrees in the daytime) which has been super nice. The mountains here are incredible and I love everything about my area. I have been called to serve in a Family Group, which is smaller than a branch. Our grupo Familiar is called La Alianza, or the alliance. So there are about 30 members that go to church each sunday and we meet in a rented out house. This is a really tough area and we pretty much have no investigators right now so that's been hard, but we are working hard to find people to teach and I know things will get better with time!

One of my favorite experiences this week was in Church. There were about 30 of us seated in a small room for sacrament meeting and the high council representative was announcing the new callings of members. As I watched him standing in front of a table and we raised our hands to sustain these members in their callings, I thought of the organization of the Church in 1830. 56 People met in a log cabin and in that moment they could see the church a thousand times larger. I know that the Lord has great things in store for La Alianza and that this work will go forward because He is leading it!

I know that Heavenly Father loves us and because he loves us He sent His son Jesus Christ. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that as bearers of the priesthood we hold the power and authority of the living God to bless and heal his children. This is His work and I love being a part of it!

Love you all and have a great week! Please pray that we can find more people to teach!

Love,

Elder Harris

Omar's Baptism

                                                                                                February 6, 2017

Hi Family!

 

Thanks for your emails! Also, I got my Christmas package and I want to thank everyone for your gifts! We have been enjoying the candy and special shout out to Hilary for the sour patch watermelons...I was really missing those.

 

Also I just want to say, you guys are amazing and so generous for sending gifts for Elder Cohelo! He was really happy and I just thought to myself like Dash from the Incredibles, "I love this family!"

 

Thank you for your love and being so kind to everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week was really great. We have transfers tomorrow and we aren't sure what is going to happen, but they are going to open another area in Guapilo which is really exciting! We have been waiting for this since I got here haha. The area is way too big and has way too much potential for just two Elders. So we will see what happens.

 

We found a new family this week that are so prepared, the Familia Serrate! One of our lessons fell through and as we were walking to another contact we talked with a man who was with his son outside the house. He invited us in and we visited with his wife and their FIVE SONS! The mom has A LOT of questions and they are recently reading the bible each day as a family. She went to mormon.org after our second visit and chatted with three different representatives. On Saturday we invited them to the baptism of Omar and the mom brought all five of her kids! So that was the first miracle...

 

During the baptism and as I was changing after the baptism I closed my eyes and prayed that Omar's parents and Familia Serrate could feel the Spirit. After the baptism, we gave them a tour of the chapel with the Elders Quorum president Hermano Millares accompanying us.

 

We asked them how they felt during the baptism, and the 13 year old son Diego told us he felt good. I asked him if he felt anything different, and he said, "Yeah, like this is the Church I should join."

 

 

Heavenly Father answered my prayers and I am really excited about this family!

 

And more about Omar...he has been going to church for a few months now and he was finally baptized this Saturday! We had to rush a little bit to finish preparing him, but he was ready. His parents are so supportive and even though they have different religions they understand his baptismal covenant and are ready to support him. His mom gave the closing prayer in the baptism and it was really special...she said she knows this is the path that he should take and the path that will lead him back to Heavenly Father! Hopefully we can work with them in the future, for now they are being prepared by their son.

 

Below is a picture of Alfredo, one of our favorite members of the Ward who likes to speak English.

 

     
Here is a picture of our zone:

 

 

I love this work and I love each of you!

 

Have a great week!

 

Elder Harris

An Action Packed Week Filled With Blessings

                                                                                                    January 30, 2017

 

This week was crazy!!!! We had 4 intercambios (exchanges) during the week and I couldn't have imagined a more exciting week. So I will just share some of the best parts.

On Wednesday we had the worldwide missionary transmission! They made some changes in the schedule and now I have more time to sleep each night (hooray!) The transmission was great and afterwards I went on an intercambio with my district leader Elder Owen. He is a super good district leader and although it was short I learned a lot. Also, we both look super gringo so there was lots of name calling and jokes made.

 

On Thursday we practiced our musical number (tried to send a video but the file is too large) and went out for ice cream after. It was my first time eating real ice cream in a long time and it made me miss Coldstone haha.

 

Saturday, Elder Quentin L Cook came and spoke to our mission and the Santa Cruz North mission together and it was an amazing conference! Our musical number went really well and the Lord answered my prayers. I know by the power of the Holy Ghost that Elder Cook is an apostle of the Lord. His wife directed us in singing some of my favorite hymns. Singing "Hark All Ye Nations" with more than 300 other missionaries was incredible. We also sang, "How Firm a Foundation," as the closing hymn and the Spirit was so strong! I love the hymns and the power of music in helping us feel the Spirit. 

 

Elder Cook was great and spoke a lot about love and our divine calling as representatives of the Savior.  One of the blessings he gave of us was the assurance that everyone we love will be blessed by this mission. I am sure of that principle as I have already seen many blessings and continue to be blessed each day. 

 

After the Conference I had an intercambio with Elder Sierra for the afternoon! We got to visit a lot of recent converts and it was so good being back with him!

He was able to stay for the baptism, which went really well!

Marina and her four grandchildren were baptized.

Marina understands her baptismal covenant so well and it makes me really happy! She is going to be the rock of this family and have such an amazing influence on her children and grandchildren!

 

On Sunday we had armadillo for lunch (always a dream of mine.)

 

It was suprisingly delicious and a great memory.

They gave each of the missionaries a claw to keep.

 

We are also teaching an 11 year old boy named Omar. Yesterday we received permission from his parents to  baptize him on Saturday! So that was really exciting. He goes to church on his own each Sunday and is so ready to make this commitment.

 

I am so grateful for the mission and this opportunity to serve the Savior! We have been so blessed here in Guapilo and the Lord's work is going forth until it fills the earth! What a privilege to play a small part in that work!

 

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Elder Harris