Crazy Weeks And Christmas Parties

Hello All!

This week has been pretty crazy, but there've been some awesome things that have happened this week. Not a whole bunch of proselyting work was done, but we did get out as much as we could have, and we were striving really hard to do so because we had Elder Quayle, an Elder who was ending his mission but had a few days before he left, and we wanted to give him some awesome last days. He's amazing and I really respect him.

So! The thing that has taken away our time this week has been the Ward Christmas Party! It has been nuts. There was a play, a choir, dancing, food, talking, and it was just a huge event. We were working with member to get people there, and people came! Francisco never came to Church, but he came to the activity! It was so great. I had to do a whole bunch of stuff for it, but the sad part was that people didn't show up until like 8:30 and so it didn't start until like 9:00 at night, and we had to go before seeing hardly any of it. But everyone today has said it was an amazing success and that they enjoyed it.

Other than that, there wasn't a whole bunch to tell about the week to be honest. We kept on fighting and today we got to clean the house. It's been a nice week and we're waiting for lots of good fun this next week to come.

So, that's a short one, but I'm here wishing you merry Christmas!

I love you guys so much and hope your week is wonderful!

Love,

Elder Harris

Blessings Undeserved

Good Afternoon Everyone!

This week has kind of been all over the place, but there have been so many amazing blessings, some of which have really just come out of nowhere, but for all of which I am immensely grateful.

I've been really trying to emphasize member missionary work since I got here in the office and on Saturday and Monday of this last week we finally had our first lessons with active families to help them to share the Gospel. It was so amazing! They both had people that they were trying to prepare to receive the missionaries and we were able to help them to plan and feel the Spirit about getting started in Missionary Work. Familia Gamarra was especially prepared with lots of people that they wanted to invite and it was something that really strengthened me personally.

Then I received the biggest news just a day before it was told to everyone. I was in the office on Monday and President called me into his office and sat down to ask to see what it is exactly that we're reporting each and every week in every sense and then he just dropped a bomb:

We're getting rid of almost all of it.

No more lesson numbers.

No more investigators with baptismal dates.

We're not even going to report how many contacts we've had each week.

Instead, we'll report three different numbers:

1. Church Attendance

2. Percentage of Retention of Recent Converts in the last year

3. Number of Baptisms that week

And that's all.

It blew my mind! But it's such a good thing. It takes away any crutch we were using and lets people to look at the root. 

The next day, President started telling everyone in our Zone Conference and told us a lot about the Area's (our Area is South America South and includes all of Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay) vision for this big change. It starts in January and the focus is that we keep ourselves consecrated as ministers who minister to people's needs with the Book of Mormon. It's a really amazing change and I left that Zone Conference just ready to get out and help people.

The next blessing was totally unexpected. On Wednesday, we couldn't really work much, but we went out and knocked once more on the door of a man that I've never seen before, but Elder Billings, when he was showing me the area, always indicated that house as a house of a less active member who was pretty cool. In all my time here, I've always clapped and rung the doorbell, but never once been able to find him.

He was sitting outside the office on Thursday morning and said he'd wanted to meet with the missionaries. I didn't even know it was him until Elder Valenzuela talked with him and came in to tell me who it was. My companion was gone getting the mail with the Cartero, so Elder Valenzuela sat down to a lesson with him in the waiting room and it was so beautiful and so inspired. We have a return appointment coming up here in about ten minutes and I'm so excited for him! He's had a really difficult history, and wasn't even looking to make a big change when he came to meet with us, but then we taught him and he just wanted to make a change in his life! It was amazing!

Other than that, the work moves on bit by bit. We're getting ready for a big Christmas activity, but I'll have to write you all how it goes next time! (Hopefully with pictures).

I love you all so much and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Harris

Change Week

Hello All!

This week was probably the most full week I have ever had in my life. Let me tell you how many things had to happen all at the same time. This list isn't to brag, because I haven't been accomplishing all of these things, but the Lord has provided so many miracles and made so many wonderful things happen. By the end of the week, I'm left with desires to just sing praises to God and then raise up a general chorus of an LDS edit of "With A Little Help From My Friends." That second one is because one way in which the Lord has blessed me has been through the other missionaries here.

First of all, the moment you've all been waiting for:

Araceli's baptism!!!!!

She was baptized just this last Tuesday, with all of the new missionaries present (see the second picture) and, more importantly, lots of family and friends who are all nonmembers. Also, President McMullin was present. Also, tons of the Ward. It was the biggest baptism I have ever seen. I was super nervous while conducting, but it went really, really well. There were some crazy emergencies before though. Like the fact that all the water was terribly filthy, and there were only two hours before the baptism. So, to empty it out in time, we ran the pump and started to bucket water out of it and it was crazy. Fortunately, Elder Day, then assistant and currently a good friend and amazing missionary, filled every single bucket. Then, we started to fill it again and had to bucket water in. It was a crazy ordeal. But, half an hour before the baptism, it was all ready, and all the new missionaries were eating pizza upstairs totally unaware of what had just occurred below their feet.

It was so wonderful. Also, I don't know if all of you have heard about it, but we took the baptism (and the already set up projector and big screen) as an opportunity to promote a gigantic missionary outreach program that the Church is employing found on this link. It's called He is the Gift, and it's something really beautiful that reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas. It also extends the invitation to learn more about this beautiful Gift that our Father has given us. I love it so much. We showed it to all present and handed out cards. We invited all to come unto Christ as Araceli has, and even President McMullin stood to teach the crowd. It was the most beautiful baptism I have ever attended and I hope that it gives real fruits.

Anyways, there are lots of pics from Elder Valenzuela.

That was awesome.

On Monday I had a small miracle. We had lots of new missionaries coming in this change and not enough houses, so we for sure needed certain houses in certain locations so that eveeryone would have somewhere to live. On Monday, I got a phone call saying that one of the landlords was randomly backing out, and we wouldn't have a house somewhere that we needed one. My heart sank.

So, I went into the waiting room and said a prayer and asked what I should do and asked for a miracle. After that, I stood up, grabbed the Cartero, Elder Ramos, and we went to the area to find a house. We could only look for like forty five minutes and the hermanas had been looking for days, so there was very little hope for us. After thrity minutes of searching, Elder Ramos said we should walk a certain way, and that's when we saw a house that was really, really fancy and would be normally overlooked, but it said it was renting, so I called to ask for how much, and it was cheaper than what we'd been looking at and was totally empty. The owner liked the idea of missionaries living there.

It was a miracle! We got back on time and the house was moved into the next day. I couldn't believe it, but I said a strong prayer of thanks.

Then Wednesday was change day and we found our changes!

Elder Valenzuela and I were split up! Why? He's training his new office replacement! His replacement is Elder Aldaraca, from California. He's a really good missionary and just got done training a new missionary to be called here into the office.

So I'm with Elder Monzón, and no longer in the part of the Ward that gets to visit Araceli or Victor Fariña. But, the work moves along! I'm not sad about the change, because I know that they'll keep on progressing and keep being strong. Victor is now counted as active as of this Sunday, and we're so happy for him. I love that man and I'm so excited to see them go through the temple in six months (or however long it may take).

I've been so busy here and there's just so much to still do.

I don't have any more time this week, but that's the update this time! I hope your weeks are going wonderfully and I really hope that you are all becoming stronger and fighting harder. I hope that God be with you and I pray for all of you. You are all wonderful children of God, and I love every single one of you.

Sincerely,

Elder Harris

Día de Acción de Gracias‏

¡Buenas tardes!

It's the afternoon for me, hence the greeting for the afternoon instead of the morning. The subject of the email is how to say Thanksgiving Day in Spanish, for those of us who are among the Spanish-impaired ;)

But this email is to tell you all that I am well down here! The work is moving along, though this week was doing so in an INCREDIBLY slow way. There was a LOT of office work to get done around here. Why? Because not only is it about to be change week, but it's also the very end of the month, which means that all the rent money for every missionary needs to be sent out, all baptismal records from November must be finished, and I have to make an epic movie featuring all of the baptisms, reactivations, and retention successes that we have had as a mission in November while getting mission records prepared for the Leadership Council that's happening on Monday. All of that on top of finding, making and signing contracts for, furnishing, and moving into five different houses! And on top of the regular weekly tasks! That sounds overwhelming, but this time it was calm and just fun. You just do your absolute best and I feel like the Lord really has provided some amazing miracles for me, and I cannot in any way take credit for the fact that the mission is running right now. This is the Lord's mission, and He's running it.

So, this week was indeed Thanksgiving, and that means pretty much nothing for us missionaries down here, but being in the office has special privileges: the mission paid for us to have a big Thanksgiving lunch here in the office with all of the people who help out the mission (an Hermana named Vilma, who trains the missionaries on cleaning, Julio Sanchez who cooks occasionally but is the mission electrician and repairman, Willy, who is a gardener, and others). Also, President, the Hermana McMullin, their two kids and a nonmember friend of their daughter's were all there! It was a big thank you to everyone who helps to make the mission run and puts in a chunk of the work so that we can have an army of youth here in this country opening their mouths and proclaiming the Gospel of Peace. It's wonderful and the workforce is so tiny to be managing so many, but it happens. 

The food was delicious! My pickiness is all destroyed and so I just ate all that was there. Unfortunately, Turkey costs like 16 $ per kilo, so if you wanted a turkey for dinner, you'd spend waaaaayyy too much money, so we just ate chicken. I had some good old-fashioned gravy over my potatoes for the first time ever, and it was amazing.

Also: Pumpkin Pie is definitely a favorite.

Also: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are more favorite.

The office keeps on rolling, and the District here is progressing in a lot of ways I feel, but we're also failing in a lot of things. It's sometimes tough to see any progress through the thicket of daily ups and downs, you mostly just feel like you're not moving, but I know that God giveth increase as we strive to do what's right, so we just need to fight harder and refine our efforts and I'm sure fruits will soon come of it.

And the most important part: The Work.

Well, if you all remember, two weeks ago, someone was prepared to be baptized, and that person will finally be baptized this Monday! She needed her parents to be there, and so that couldn't happen at all on a Saturday, and so it's moved to this Monday. I have to tell you about the last lesson we had with her! It was Thursday night, and we couldn't have it with the family we usually teach with, so she had to come to the Chapel/office for the lesson. But! No men in the Ward were willing to come! We were calling around frantically to get a hold of someone of the male gender so that we could actually have the lesson, but no one could!!!! So, we were so desperate that we called the American man who works int he Embassy here, Brother Craner. I personally felt bad to ask on Thanksgiving Day, which was why we weren't going to call, but he came and wanted to bring his wife. We said that that was fine, even though his wife still is a little shy to speak Spanish, and the lesson turned out beautifully.

I was so stressed out because we had to teach a lot of material to get everything ready for the baptism, going from tithing to chastity to word of wisdom, and then teach almost all of Lesson 5 (which used to just be for Recent Converts and covers things like what temples and family history work are, eternal marriage, learning and teaching in the church, service and callings, endure to the end, etc.). But, the Spirit was with us. We taught with power and she understood better than we were even teaching things. And then we kept asking Brother Craner to bear his testimony, and when we hit Eternal Marriage, he gave an incredibly powerful and sincere testimony and you could just see his love for his wife and their dedication to the Gospel. It's such a wonderful example to see them, because though they're all the way in Paraguay, they haven't skipped a beat in Church activity.

Anyways, it made me tear up. Then, we went over all of the questions in the Baptismal interview together, and she's sooooooooooooooo prepared. Her testimony is so strong in so little time, and it was just wonderful. Her closing prayer made me tear up again because it showed a huge difference between when she was starting and now. Now she has a real and tangible relationship with her Heavenly Father and it's something that I find so beautiful. It'll be awesome.

That's this week's message from Paradise! Let me know it there's anything I can do to make your days better!

¡Buen Provecho!

Love,

Elder Harris

Another Week, Another Once In A Mission/Lifetime Experience

Good Afternoon All!

Thank you for your letters and messages of support and encouragement, they inspire and strengthen me each week. I love hearing how fares the war at home.

The title of this week's email comes from something I said to one of the Assistants yesterday. I said that many Elders would participate in some of the things we do and think, "Wow what an awesome once in a mission experience," but when you're in the office, the thought is more along the lines of "Wow, I can't believe how amazing this week's once in a mission experience is!" Every week there are new lessons and adventures, some internal, and some external, and the office is just the right chemical pot to churn them up in.

This week's? It's external and comes in the form of taking care of six Nivaclé Native Americans who are committed to leaving on a mission. They are coming here (hundreds of miles away from home in Abundancia, in the Chaco Paraguayo), to get their dentist work and their physical examinations to be able to go out on missions. It's so amazing to be with them. There are two who haven't learned to read very well in Spanish (those two don't speak a whole bunch of Spanish either) and for personal studies we were teaching them how to read! It was so cool. They're really, really smart too, picking it up super well. And then we took a turn and they taught us some Nivaclé. It's super cool! I love it. I'm not going to lie, coming out into the mission, Guaraní was kind of not what I thought it would be, but now that my expectations are adjusted I've come to love it. But Nivaclé I have loved just hearing it. It´s a really harsh language that includes a few clicks and difficult sounds for us Americans (or latinos for that matter) to make. It's super cool.

So, we took them to the temple, which some of them had never seen before in their lives. They're doing well and moving along with the things they have to do. Enjoy the picture by the nativity!

Also, this week Elder Salazar was changed out of the office! He is now in Concepción 3B, where a good friend of mine in the mission (Elder Worsham) was just before. He will be sorely missed here in the office!

I'm doing a lot better administratively, getting organized, and I've even been able to close down on two different house contracts. All we need are furnishings and moving dates! 

The work moves along as well. The less-active member, Victor Fariña, has continued progressing and we feel really strongly that he'll be reaching his goal to be totally active by the thirtieth. Last night we had a lesson about Tithing and how to pay it which also includes a talk about tithing settlement, and it went really well! He understands and is just showing an absolute commitment to follow the Way and make it. We still want to help him to improve his relationship with Christ and gain a firmer testimony, but he's really going well for now.

Araceli Alvarenga, our investigator, had to go talk to her parents about when they would be able to attend her baptism, which was a trial because it was tough for her to tell them that she's going to be baptized in the first place, but things are going incredibly well and they agreed to be there on the 1st of December for her baptism. Even though that date is kind of hectic with our schedule, we are going to move heaven and earth to make it come around! I'm so excited for that date. It feels so much more real and we're going to prepare very well for it.

That's the little update that I have to give to you all! The work moves along and the Lord never abandons us to our weaknesses. God is faithful and He will not fail us when we do as He would have us. I'm so grateful to Him for His forgiveness and His guidance and I want so badly to be worthy of everything He has given me. I know He lives. I know He speaks, and acts. I know He loves me and all of us. I know that He fights so hard and works so much to keep us afloat, to give us our best chance. I hope we all take that chance.

I love you all. I pray that God grant you all peace and reminders to follow His Son.

Love,

Elder Harris

P.S. Awesome Church event: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/vatican-summit-mormon-leader-calls-renaissance-happy-marriages

A Week Finished And A Lesson Being Learned

Hello Family And Everyone!

I hope that you're all doing wonderfully and feel happy. This week for me was a bit difficult in some respects, but nice in others. I'm trying to keep positive about it now, but just two days ago I was pretty distressed about the administrative situation that I've blocked myself into here in the office.

So, the bad news first and then the awesome stuff. The bad news is that I am a still somewhat irresponsible twenty year-old who has a lot responsibilities on his shoulders. To make a long story short, I didn't consult really anyone on any of my decisions, and without realizing it, had moved around missionaries in several houses without advising President when those were actually special cases where I should've been talking with President McMullin. So, what that meant is that we had one not so unpleasant encounter with a lawyer where I just sat there like a helpless child (I was able to go back the next day and be a man and the situation was resolved without pain), and then in another house, it meant that even though we had moved in, I pulled the missionaries out to undo other mistakes. It was a mess and still isn't all cleaned up. Hence, the lesson isn't evidently totally learned, and when the punishment is finished out I can finally feel good about how things are going in the mission. 

Why did I want to talk so much about this trial? Well, I'm learning a lot from it actually. I've learned a lot of humility and more than anything I'm learning a lesson that I haven't been able to grasp for a really long time, or really my whole life. Sometimes, we do things that we really can't excuse. We mess up when we should've known and done better, when we just either sin or make mistakes that are totally without justification and we just have to put ourselves before the Judge and say "I plead Guilty." These mistakes were all my own and I mean that sincerely. But any mistake or sin in which I do as I know I should not has always brought up a conundrum for me. I always get so frustrated and just feel like I should be perfect now. Everyone always says that you can't be perfect now, but I've never been able to understand why not. Why can we just not do things that we know are wrong? I know about making stupid mistakes that you don't catch or for ignorance, but when we knowingly mess up? I've always been really hard on that. 

So, I've just had to kneel down before God and ask Him about that, and I think that even though I still don't understand everything about it, I am able to feel in my heart so much more this simple truth.

The Atonement of Christ is to justify the unjustified sinner by repentance.

In reality, repentance isn't merely changing the sinful thoughts and behaviors that we once were committing ignorantly, but it is much greater than just that. It also is changing and trying to make up for the mistakes we knowingly commit. It is bringing up as much money as we can to buy our freedom from the jail sentence we put ourselves into.

That's the beauty of the Atonement. Now I'm seeing that there are situations when the sum total of our repentance doesn't come close to repairing the damage we've done through sin, but when we bring it before God as our offering alongside our broken heart and contrite spirit, Christ makes up all the difference. We all have heard this so many times, but I know that it's true.

So, I can walk away at the end of this week, and though according to justice everything is not okay, I can honestly say that everything is okay. We have to be diligent and do all we can, but at the same time, when we are doing all we can, we must "be still and know that (He) is God." It's really beautiful.

In other news, the baptism that was supposed to happen was postponed because her family couldn't come and furthermore, she was sick and couldn't meet with us. So, I'll get back to you next week on when it's happening.

Victor Fariña, the inactive member who's striving to come back, now has come to church twice and yesterday came with us (he and his wife I should say) to an Area meeting about strengthening marriages, and it was so beautiful! I got to hear Elder and Sister Christofferson and Elder and Sister Nelson give their best advice about forming a strong marriage. You better believe I took notes for the future!!! But it was really nice, and Elder Christofferson's Spanish is as great as ever. I love this inactive member though, he's doing so much to change and just throwing himself into it without reservation. They both want it so badly that they just don't let things stand in their way. I love seeing their dedication and it's something I want to reflect.

That's going to have to be it for this week seeing as I'm totally out of time. I love you all and I'm so grateful for all that you do!

Love,

Elder Harris

Victory March

Hello Everyone!

So, this week's subject is because there have been many victories this week, and I think that in the rest of my life I've been kind of accustomed to, after accomplishing something, just taking a break and resting for a while. Real life says not so! So, we just keep on marching. We smile a little brighter, and step a little lighter, but we just keep on marching on at a steady, maintainable rate. Not only that, but when we really are anxiously engaged, we don't want to stop and rest. We see the beauty of what God can do through us and we run (not faster than we have strength) to be His instrument. The more we do of it, the more we will want.

That's how I feel this week. Busy, but not weary.

I've accomplished a lot, but there's a lot more to accomplish that I've been taking far too long to get started on. However, I comfort myself saying that even getting started Monday gives me a week more than I had last change (I did everything the last two weeks of it, which sucked). 

Things that I wanted to comment on last week:

District Meeting was so cool! I love being District Leader here, because these missionaries are soooo amazing! I have the Sister Trainer Leaders, the Assistants, and a wonderful office staff as my District. At the same time as being humbled and knowing that I'm DEFINITELY not the "best" missionary in the mix, it's something that elevates me and inspires me to be better. But we had a really inspired one in which I can just leave off saying that the Book of Mormon is so key to everything in this life. Sometimes we get distracted and say that it's major importance lies in testifying of the Restoration, but in reality, it is the foundation of my personal testimony of Christ.

Furthermore, the week was amazing. We had our first lesson with an inactive man who hadn't gone to church for over fourteen years. His daughter and wife are both incredibly active and have been praying so hard that he come back. So, we followed the Spirit, and he followed the Spirit, and that led us to one lesson that was so powerful. It was so amazing and this man is so wonderful.

Well, the amazing news is that this last Sunday, six days ago, he came to church and enjoyed it. His heart is truly broken in the good sense and he's just ready for his repentance process. I love sharing with him and he's learning. He hadn't been able to offer a prayer for all of the times sharing with him and he was kind of shy and scared of really answering doctrinal questions or anything like that. Last Sunday was a Fast Sunday, and he was so impressed to see people bearing testimony, but then when we shared with him, he said that his goal, after becoming active, is to go and bear his testimony. But then, yesterday in our lesson, I asked him who would say the opening prayer, and he just said "I will," and did it. His prayer was so sincere, and he told us the story of how he learned to do it and do it sincerely because he'd read the scripture we'd left with him, Moroni 10:3-5, but after reading it couldn't understand, and so he just knelt down and pled with God to apply it, and then he said that he felt strong and felt the understanding just descend upon him. It was such a powerful moment to hear that man bear witness of the Holy Spirit without even realizing it. I love it so much!

The other awesome news is that we'll be having a baptism in one week!!!! We have an investigator, Araceli Alvarenga, who has been progressing and she's just so ready to be baptized! so, next Saturday, if I write you all at like 6:00 am your time, it's because I'm going to be prepping a baptism for the Afternoon!!!!

I love this work and love the Lord. My testimony has grown beyond what I can express.

I love you all and hope that you feel good and have a wonderful week.

Love,

Elder Harris