Sweet is the peace the Gospel brings! Week 36

So this week we're only emailing for 1 hour so I don't really have much time left but I'll give you some basics:

-We were heading off to contact someone and there was this little girl that started talking to us. She told us her mom was home, which was random, so we asked which house was hers. So she pointed to it and we figured, well, why not? So we went and knocked and had a sweet lesson with her about prayers and how they're not some recitation but a personal conversation between he and her Father. She prayed at the end and it was so incredibly powerful. She was looked super happy and was just glowing. It was incredible. :)

-Yesterday Sister Contreras and I took a Spanish tour with these two people from Mexico City and 4 people from Spain. At the end, the lady from Mexico City was SO EXCITED. She wouldn't stop saying 'Thank you SO MUCH. Seriously. Thank you. You have no idea how much I loved that. It was a beautiful story. Mil gracias." etc. Eventually she even said "I'm just so full of joy and happiness and LOVE. Thank you!" It was super sweet. :)

BIG HUG!

-We met this cool guy named K. He used to serve in the army but he left for a while. He's planning on going back. It was just really neat to get to know him. He said he's saved someone's life once, but the other times he was unsuccessful. He acts like a tough guy at first but he's an incredibly caring and loving individual. By the end of our discussion I wanted to adopt him as my uncle. He was so sweet! It just always amazes me how incredible all these people are. I love getting to know my brothers and sisters. :)

-WE HAD OUR FIRST INVESTIGATOR ATTEND CHURCH WITH US!! :D Well, last week C. came to a class, but this week T. came with us to Sacrament Meeting, and stayed for the first class! Afterwards he said he really liked it, and that it was different than he expected. He's such a good kid, he just really needs some good friends. (He's he 17 year old that told us that he sees himself in jail in 5 years.) C. came too but only to the first class, then she had to go.

-We went to talk to an investigator and afterwards saw this other guy outside smoking. My initial instinct was to get away asap cuz I hate that smell but instead we stopped and talked to him. He's angry at organized religion because he says it's caused so many wars and deaths. We just talked to him and had a good convo and at the end prayed with him, and after the prayer he looked so different. He thanked us for the prayer, but it was way more than just words. When he said it he was looking me straight in the eyes and I could feel that something had touched his heart. It was an unforgettable moment.

Well, I love you all! Have a fabulous week! :D

--Hermana Harris

PS>>>Journals are so important! We talk about that in the tour. There are actually almost 80 surviving journals from the men of the Battalion. That's why we can even have the museum - because they took the time to write down those precious experiences that helped their faith grow. :)

Week 35 Feeling my Heavenly Father's Love!

I've been trying to talk to people more because Elder Ballard told us that we can do more than we are doing. It's definitely true. There are so many people I've just walked right past. But I'm getting better. I even talked to this guy in the laundry place this morning who was shaving his face in the sink. He had a few tattoos and owns a shopping cart. His name is D. Anyway, it's been really neat because I just feel this love for Heavenly Fathers' children. As I talk to them I feel His love for them and I just feel like I'm surrounded by friends. I love it!

 1 Are you teaching anyone? If so who and how and what!

2 Are you working with ward members / less actives? How is that going? 

3 Any near fatalities on the San Diego craziness roads or is it pretty calm and relaxing to drive these days?

4 Do you email the mission president every week? If so what do you say?

5 Do you have a planner or are you keeping a journal (I really hope you are writing every day!)?  

1 We are teaching. XD Lots of people! We try to teach everyone we talk to. On Saturday we had exchanges, so I went with Sister Frampton to my area and my companion went with Sister Hall to Barrio 20. We had so many awesome experiences, but one that is super exciting to me is we finally met this family that the previous missionaries in Sweetwater were teaching for a while but dropped because the mom wasn't going to church. Well when we met them on saturday, the mom wasn't there but the daughter was, and she said her little brother won't let her read the BoM because he wants to finish first. XD He's been reading and praying and loves it. How amazing is that?? :D So we gave them another one and we're going back to teach them soon. :) So exciting! I love teaching families! :D

2. Ward members? Well there was a sister who went on a mission but had a medical problem so she just came back a few days ago and she came out with us and is amazing. She was with us when we met the above mentioned family. ^_^ Not so many less actives in our designated area, and the one we really want to work with will only meet with us on Saturday mornings and so when we have battalion then we can't even meet with her. And then she'll bail on us the other times. It's rough. >_>

3. No near fatalities. I've gotten used to driving here. There are still crazy drivers and people who switch lanes suddenly and pull in front of us w/o signaling and do stupid things but we're fine. :)

4. Yeah, we email him every week. I say basically what I say to you all, maybe a little more, maybe a little less. Just depends.

5. Yes, we have planners. :D I stinkin' love them and want to 'be that guy' who can't stop using them. They're awesome. and my journal is slacking. I write in it every....once in a while...... Well I wrote in it last night for a second. Funny you should ask, though, because this week one of our goals as a companionship is to write in our journals every day, even if it's just one sentence. So I'll be working on that. :) 

So here's a cool story. Today we're getting two mandarin Sisters. :D :D :D For the Battalion! Also, I don't remember if I already said this or not, but they opened an Arabic area and a Mong area in our mission. By the end of next transfer, we'll almost have our 250 complement of missionaries, and that's not including our senior couples. With them it'll be over 300. How incredible is that? :D I love it. ^_^

Mom I'm so excited for you and your pioneer trek stuff. You're being a member of the Mormon Battalion! :D There were about 80 women and children that came along. They all suffered so much. We were reading about them this morning from this book they have us read and it was talking about how from December 19-21 the Mormon Battalion marched 45 miles, without any water. They were on the verge of death when they finally reached Pima something-or-other and the Pima Indians helped them out. I can't even imagine. The point is that I'm proud of you. :)

Romans 8 is an incredible chapter! :) I memorized two verses from there when I was in seminary but I've since forgotten them.

--Hermana Harris 

Week 34 Joy in His service!

I led this tour with Sister Silva! Mandarin Chinese!

Well, last week we visited the sweetest lady ever. She's blind and in a wheel chair and we went to visit her but no one was there to open the door so after we called to tell her we were there she wheeled to the front door and opened it. Now that doesn't sound too hard but it was and it took her a solid 5 minutes to do so. We visited with her and were just in awe of her sweet spirit and her love and diligence in persevering. I was overwhelmed with this feeling of love for her. It was an incredible experience. It's one of those times when you really realize that on a mission you're not really serving, you're being served. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. :)

The arrow to Paradise is pointing the WRONG WAY! But then again San Diego is pretty much paradise on Earth!

I was reading in the Bible about when Joshua crossed that river with the Arc of the Covenant, and how they had to step into the river first and then the miracle would happen. That's how life is - we step into the water, and trust God will do the rest. It's cool imagery that helps me picture my life as a missionary a little differently. When there's something I don't want to do because I'm afraid, I just picture myself stepping into the river, trusting that God will do His part. :)

Love you all!!

--Hermana Harris

Week 33 Preaching the Gospel is fun to do!

Dear Everyone

So last night I tried to make peanut chicken sauce and rice at the same time but then I got distracted with the sauce and so the rice burnt. I hate electric stoves. =/ Oh well. Most of it still tastes okay. :}

Repentance: Stop doing wrong, start doing right!

In terms of doing internet stuff, we haven't done anything different yet. I think if I go full proselyte then I'll do stuff with that, but until then no. We're kept super busy, so we'll see. I'll let ya know as soon as something changes!

So we got calls this morning to tell us if we're changing, but we've escaped unscathed. Still with Sister Contreras in Sweetwater! :D Yaaay! BUT turns out my trainer is going full pros! :( Sad! She'll be amazing though. I'm excited for her. :D

One of the senior couples is leaving on Sunday. :( We're all super sad and we're going to miss them SO MUCH. They live in Utah though (Oakley) so I'll definitely have to go visit them. :) They've got a little farm/ranch out there. They're so incredible. Senior missionaries are the best! ^_^

Cool news for the week: after our sweet lesson with that lady and her family, she did end up canceling our next visit, BUT the good news is she and her family read the Book of Mormon together that night. :D So awesome!!

BTW, Sister Salinas says that F. is doing really well. :) I get to see him sometimes when he comes to the Battalion. Being a missionary is so sweet!

One thing I've really come to appreciate this week is the foundation that I have been given. I've never had to worry about being addicted to marijuana or being tempted to join a gang or go graffiti or anything like that. It's just never been anything I've ever considered. We talked to one of our investigators the other day and we asked him where he pictures himself in 5 years. (Keep in mind that he is 18ish). His answer: in jail. Not exactly what we were looking for. He said that's where he sees himself if he keeps on the track he's on. We talked to him about how we know that if he wants something else for his life, he can still change. Right now. He said it'd be really hard, and that's totally true. No one ever said change was easy. But it is possible, debido a la Expiacion. Y es vale la pena. :)

I love you all! :D

--Hermana Harris

Getting a Spiritual Education Week 32

Hello Everyone!

 I am reminded me of a time when we were praying with an investigator. We were outside, it was windy, kinda noisy, and I didn't want to pray cuz I was struggling SO much with Spanish. But I did it anyway and in the prayer I said something like, "Gracias por tu hijo, Jesucristo, y por la oportunidad de arrepentirnos" and as I was saying it I just felt that burning and I started crying and could barely get through the sentence as I realized what a gift it is, and what it really means for ME. It was incredible!! :)

I've also been thinking a lot about faith. God cannot perform miracles in my life if I don't have faith. So I need to step it up!

Miguel's restaurant is yum!

We had a Zone Meeting in which they talked about Jeremiah 16:16, and we talked about seeking people, from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes in the rocks. So this week we've been talking to EVERYBODY. We've had some success and some... interesting experiences. But it's good. (One lady we talked to was so excited to talk to us but when we offered to come back she got defensive and said no and then a bird pooped on her. It was...interesting.)

Sometimes it's frustrating when all our appointments fall through, but the we always end up finding people. It's really neat how the Lord just puts us where He needs us. :)

At the temple the other day we got to teach a youth group about the temple. Well, it's a ward, and they bring investigators, and after our lesson they go to the Battalion. It was pretty sweet. We had some of the missionaries there bear their testimonies about when their families were sealed in the temple. It was a really neat experience. :)

Lots and lots of driving experience!

We also had one of the coolest lessons yesterday. It was with a family (those are the best) and the mom really wants her children to have a 'spiritual education.' So she had them all sit down in a row and pay attention. It was cool because usually when we go to teach a mom, the husband refuses to join, and she lets the kids run around the whole time. But they all listened and participated. It was sweet. :)

Well that's about it for right now. I never know what y'all actually want to hear so I never know what to write. Love you all!

--Hermana Harris

Choosing to be Happy and Enthusiastic! Week 31

Alrighty, 

This week was crazy. I've been working specifically on being happier. I realized that I've got everything I need to be happy - so why not be happy? :) It's been pretty sweet. The MoBat has been swamped this past little bit, too. We had almost 900 people come thru on Saturday. That's insane! 

Well, I've had a great week but I never know what to write about. We had interviews with President yesterday. That was pretty sweet. I need to start having questions so I can talk to him about them, though. I never know what to ask so it's always a super short interview. Like. 4 minutes. The rest are like 12-20 minutes. XD Oh well.

We had a short lesson with this lady that wasn't all the way there. She was so sweet though and after we finished our short lesson she thanked us so much and gave us hugs and  just looked so happy. I love being able to bring that happiness to people. I mean, everyone can do that, but I just get to do so with random strangers. :)

I feel like I always need to re-learn to not judge people by their appearance. It's always the big tough guys with the tattoos that look angry or busy that actually take time to listen to us and let us come back and visit with their family. Little miracles. :)

Sweetwater Zone

So I had a sweet experience, and it's going to be my story for the week. So on Thursday I was working specifically in the Battalion on being more enthusiastic in my tours/fluctuating my voice. I kinda tend to be monotone whenever I speak, as you all probably already know! So I tried something different. It was painful. It felt weird for me. It was uncomfortable too. But I tried putting more intonation into my voice and changing it up and stuff. And guess what? Someone on my tour filled out a card at the end, requested to hear more, and in her comments on the card said something like "'the hostess was very enthusiastic." So basically when we try to do better, we get better results. Crazy how that works, huh? XD It seems like common sense. But it's a hard principle to learn! Anyway. It was sweet. :)

In my scripture study I read a sweet verse in Deuteronomy that talked about how the children of Israel, in their journey in the wilderness for 40 years, were being tried by God, to see if they'd be faithful. Sometimes I feel like I'm wandering in the desert. I don't always feel the Spirit. I don't always feel that burning in my heart. Most of the time I just have to hold on to what I know I've felt in the past. If we felt it all the time it wouldn't require faith! Anyway. I love when the Scriptures come to life for me. :) I love you all!! :D

Oh hey I have a question. How has the gospel blessed your life? :)

  LETS ALL WRITE HER AND TELL HER! JULIAH@MYLDSMAIL.NET

Oh yeah, and Ammon is pretty awesome. I read a sweet talk that talked about him. If he had let the memory of his past sins stop him from moving on, he never would have been able to bring thousands of the Lamanites to the knowledge of their Savior and Redeemer. If he had said, "Oh, I'm too old to go on a mission, I should've gone back when I was younger," those thousands of Lamanites would've remained en oscuridad. :( It's never too late. :)

--Hermana Harris

Week 30 After all we can do!

Sister Contreras is amazing. Even when we're trying to contact everyone and trying to visit people and yet no one's home, she just keeps going. And it's so true that the Lord blesses us with miracles AFTER everything we can do. One day in particular was pretty rough. NO ONE we had made appointments with was home and the people we street contacted ran away from us all day or even straight up refused to pray with us. Anyway. I was pretty discouraged and about ready to give up and head in when Sister Contreras suggested to go try and visit T, someone we had contacted, set up an appt, and he was never home. Anyway when we got there, this lady in a bathrobe answered (turns out she is his aunt) and we ended up having a short lesson with her and had her pray and she got about 2 sentences into the prayer and started bawling and told us she felt something warm inside her chest and we told her it was the Spirit, etc, and so we're going to go back and teach her again tonight. It just makes the whole day worth it, knowing that we helped her come closer to the Savior.

Something I really admire about my companion is her faith. She has complete faith that the Lord will give her inspiration. Every morning before personal study she has us pray for an investigator together so we can receive revelation for them in our personal studies. She expects that she'll receive answers - and then we receive them. She's taught me so much!

Also in my studies I've recently been learning again about happiness. The gospel really does make me happy - And remember it. I just need to show it.  Sometimes I forget. So I've been working on smiling more and showing that I really am happy! It's so sweet. I love the gospel!

I got to sing the song with Sister Amendola and Sister Romero at the Presidents Fireside on Sunday. It went pretty well! I was super nervous before but Sister Amendola was there for me and I realized that I'm surrounded by friends. I had always heard people talk about the amazing friends you'll make with people on your mission but it wasn't until that moment that I really felt it. It was a cool moment. :)





  In preparation for it, and basically just for fun, the night before I used Sister Amendola's hair rollers. XD Hence the fun pictures. 

Oooh we had a missionary activity at the church on Friday, where the people came from room to room to learn about a topic, and our room was the Plan of Happiness. They had to match up scriptures with the key word and the picture, and then put them in order. It was pretty fun.




 We had our first dinner appointment with this amazing family in our branch. They made us Mexican pizza. It was to die for. Turns out I like jalepenos on my pizza. :) And chorizo. Sooo good. :D Anyway. The last picture is from Sunday. It was super foggy and you could only see half the buildings and that was only if they were close. I love driving on the freeways in that weather - it looks super cool! (Well, riding in the back, not driving. Harder to look at the scenery when driving.) Anyway. I love you all! :D

--Hermana Harris