Gratitude

Hey everyone!!

I just want you all to know that I love you! I seriously love you all and I am overly grateful that I have a forever family! I am grateful for the best and craziest little sister that I know will always be a forever friend to me. I am grateful that Heavenly Father prepared a way for Jaren to meet Hannah so I could have the best sister-in-law in the world. I am grateful that He lead Aubrei to Aaron so they could be the divinely chosen to be the parents of Charlie Rose who I already know will be an incredible addition to our always growing family. And I am grateful for the best parents in the world that teach us and guide us everyday by there heavenly examples.

The week has been CRAZY!! My new companion is Sister Taylor from Grants Pass, Oregon. She is 20 years old and literally like my twin. We have all of the same habits, likes, and dislikes. Its a little scary but amazing. I feel like grocery shopping is going to be super easy today! Hahaha! So she is what I was over a year ago, struggling a lot to learn Spanish. It has made me constantly reminisce of my first months in the mission. It was a huge eye opener of how much she learned in just a week though. She started on Wednesday not understanding anything that they said to her to Sunday getting the jist of what we were talking about in the lesson. The best moment though for me was Sunday. We were in a lesson teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I turned to her at the end to invite Hayde to baptism. The huge smile that filled her face as perfect Spanish flew from her mouth as she invited her to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. It was the one of the best feelings in the world to know that the Lord was there with us in that moment helping her teach in Spanish. I was seriously overjoyed to see her basically skipping down the street after the lesson. I want her to know that in these short 12 weeks we have together that everything is possible with Christ by our side! I know that He is here when we are trying our hardest to have the spirit in every moment. I am super excited to be able to show her the ropes and teach her Spanish!

So this week, I am focusing on her in my Ponderize scripture. So I can focus on how to help her and what is the best way that she can learn.

D&C 109:36 36: “Let it be fulfilled upon them, as upon those on the day of Pentecost; let the gift of tongues be poured out upon thy people, even cloven tongues as of fire, and the interpretation thereof.”

I love this verse because I really have learned in my mission it is not only to understand but to talk in the gift. I know that if I didn't have the Gift of tongues I would not be able to do the things that missionaries do each day.

I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father for giving me this great blessing! And blessing me with the opportunity to share my knowledge with Sister Taylor! Pray for us. We need all the help that we can get!

Funny quote of the week: Hermana Luz, 86 year-old ward member: I think Puerto Ricans eat more rice then the Chinese! (And it’s the truth!!!)

I love you all and hope that you have a great day!!

Con Amor Siempre,

Hermana Harris

Welcomed with Love

Hey family!!

Happy Birthday MAMA!!!

Mama, I hope you have the best 30th birthday ever!! Another day older and wiser just makes you another day to a better mother, which we all know is almost impossible to do!! Mama, I hope you have an amazing day and that Dad can spoil you to death for me! I am so grateful for this day that the most amazing woman in the world was born! Mama you really are my hero, you are just like the women in the times of Nephi. 1 Nephi 17:2:

“And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.”

Mama you have been strong for us in so many times that we were weak. I am so grateful for the testimony that you have and the way you have helped grow mine since birth!!

This week was an adventure for the most part. We had another week driving to and from doctors’ offices. But this time, it was for me and not my companion. Sigh... but everything is all good, I promise but my stomach is trying to bring its way ou.t Hahaha! So I'm on meds to get me better so by next week, I will hope to be as good as new!!  :)

My miracle this week came Friday. We were in Guayabal visiting our less-actives and I was prompted to visit a sister that is a little crazy. Her name is Micdalia. She really is super sweet but she needs a lot help building her testimony. She was an active member for a while just because she liked the people; not because she felt the doctrine was true. She has been through everything even the temple without the testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet.

She recently has been through back surgery and has only been to church once in about 4 months because of her recovery. She really has not felt the love and support from the members during this time. When we came to see her, she really just lite up to us. She was so happy to just see that a member, even if it was the missionaries cared about her. We came to find out that her mother that is living taking care of her. Her mother has been making comments to her that not even the missionaries have been visiting her and that no one in her church even cares about her! My heart just broke to hear for the lack of love from members can affect someone so much.

We spent a good hour in her house laughing and making her feel better. We left her with a message about no matter what the world does, the church is always the hospital of sinners and you can't lose faith on the account of another. We have to stay strong for our Father in Heaven, not for a friend. To our surprise, who walks in to sacrament and sits in the back? Micdalia!. We almost went running to her to get her to sit next to us. It was great to see the smile on her face as the members welcomed her back with love and warm hugs! It is moments like this that make the Spirit’s impressions not only a part of my life but makes it a desire to always have the spirit with me!

My Ponderize verse is D&C 38:4

"I am the same which have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom; and verily, I say, even as many as have believed in my name, for I am Christ, and in mine own name, by the virtue of the blood which I have spilt, have I pleaded before the Father for them."

I want to focus more on the peoples needs not mine own just like Christ did. After suffering for all of our sins and bleeding from every pore, he healed the soldier's ear. In this time of sickness for me, the only way I can forget and get better is pleading for them, not myself.

News for the mission, we have a seventy coming this week: Elder Christensen and Elder Cornish, our area president. We are having a whole mission conference this Saturday! So I am super pumped for that!

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

Con Amor Siempre,

Hermana Harris