Greener Grass

Hey family!!! 

I just have to say it was amazing to see your faces yesterday!!! I miss you all so much and it was so great to be able to talk to you all even to just tell you about my day and hear about yours!! 

Another week has gone by. Honestly, this was the hardest but most blessed week!! I had been a little bit distracted because last Monday, I received the news that Kody (a boy Saydi and Haleigh knew from Elementary School) had committed suicide. It was so hard to think that someone at 16 yearsold could make a decision so severe. It was so sad to think that maybe there was even something small that someone could have done to help him. Maybe if he knew the love of his Savior. Or if he could have known that someone knows how he felt and can help him! So my week definitely didn't start on a great note…

I just felt a deep sadness come over me this week. It was disheartening to think that everyone doesn't have the chance to know of His gospel in this life to make things better. For this, I am so grateful for Sister Pardo. She really tried everything to try to get me out of this weird funk. This week was one of the most important for our investigator as we where preparing for his baptism. 

It seemed that Satan was fighting really, really hard against us.

Juan Manuel got food poisoning one day so he was having trouble concentrating because he was so sick. Thank Heavens, it only lasted a day! All week long, he kept saying that he was completely ready to start this new life, to start a life devoted to Christ and to never look back. He has had a troubled past in drugs, family problems, and a lot of difficulties with getting a job. So the gospel for him really came at the perfect time!! He had never told us but before the baptism he bore his testimony that he felt that in the past 6 months that there was a bad spirit in him. It was incredibly strong to see him crying after he got baptized to know that through Christ and the priesthood that he can be clean and be separated from this bad spirit. 

The bishop, while he was sharing his testimony, had the impression that he should be given the Holy Ghost that same night, not the next day to be sure that he has been completely free from the spirit. It was an incredible blessing that they gave him as Juan received the Holy Ghost. The next day in church the bishop interviewed him and gave him the priesthood. Juan told us that every hour in church that he was there, he just felt like the spirit stronger and stronger. He was to the point of bawling by the end of sacrament. It was so nice to see someone that really has changed their whole life and as seen the blessings in his first day. Just think how many more, he will see in the eternities.

So what started out to be a rough week was really a week full of blessings. Sometimes, life needs to start with a trial to be able to see the green grass on the other side. I really got to see the green grass and all the blessings that come with one person making their life more devoted to Christ! The cherry on top this week was that I got to see my beautiful family!! It was so amazing to hear all our your voices and know that you all are doing okay!! I love each and everyone of you!! I can't wait till Christmas when I can talk to you all at the same time! 

Con Amor Siempre,

Hermana Harris

Always a Missionary

Hey family!!  

Wow, the week has really flown by!! We really have had another week full of miracles!  

First, the grand news is that we have a baptism this Saturday May 9th. His name is Juan Manuel. We have been working with him hard for about three months. He has been incredible!! I have truly seen his faith grow in Christ. I know without a doubt that he is ready to take this jump to take upon himself the keys to open the gate to return to our Father in Heaven.

Wow, it has been an incredible journey to actually get to teach him the past two months. He has been in and out of living at the hospital on the bed ide of his sick father, so he was always very difficult to find. Now, he is more then ever ready to take the baptismal covenant. I am so excited to help him and to be there for Sister Pardo's first baptism!! It will be so great to see her start her mission in her first transfer with a baptism. Aren't baptisms just the best!?!

News from the island…everything is smoothing sailing! We have had a great week working hard to get more help from the members. Each day, in the area that we are working, we have been stopping by to make visits to the members just say hi and to try to leave with a couple of references to track. We also have made it a goal to visit the bishop every week or every two weeks to create a confidence in us to know that he can trust us with the less-actives in this ward. It really has been making a difference to see him open his doors and talk to us. When we started, it was only the wife talking to us and we would only get to talk to him for like 10 minutes. But the last time we visited, he told us all about their history in the church and callings. We are slowly but surely winning his confidence! Really this work can't function without the complete confidence of the bishop. I am so appreciative of the opportunity to work hard next to great leaders in this ward. Sometimes, it feels like we are all running in the same race but it just takes a while for everyone on the team to realize that we aren't running separately for ourselves but that it is a relay race. We have to pass on the baton but it there are times we want to hold on to the baton for longer then necessary. That is one thing that I have really learned here in Ponce. 

There are times that I personally have thought “Well, we can work all day long teaching people. We don't really need the members. We just need then to, on Sundays, help invite them into the family.” But really it is everyday that we need the members. First, we need them to show us the area. We are foreigners in a land that they have lived in their whole lives. Second, they can tell us more then anyone who will accept and reject our message, who they feel may be ready now for our message. I have really learned what it means for it to be every member’s duty to help in missionary work, not just the missionaries. I feel like I really was a horrible member before and can't wait to be the member that can help in every phase of missionary work just like a missionary but with a normal life. Hahaha!

So, I can't wait to see you all this Sunday!! I am more then excited to be able to talk to you all and get to hear your voices!! I love you all so so much and hope you have a splendid week. I challenge each of you to be the member that I want to be. Help the elders in our ward with a reference to someone you know that could benefit from this gospel!! 

Con Amor Siempre

Hermana Harris

PS Only nine months to go!!

Miracles

Hola!!! 

How’s it going, family? How has your week been? Have you been reading and praying? 

I can't believe that I hit my halfway point in my mission this week! Chacho! That was the fastest 9 months of my life!! I can't believe that I left the house and was in the Dominican Republic only 9 months ago! Sometimes, it feels like that was just yesterday but then other days, it feels like a century ago. I have come so far in Spanish, in my testimony, and in my faith. 

In this past 9 months, the biggest thing I have learned is that miracles do exist! This week, I was studying in Mormon. I absolutely love this chapter because it gives us hope it gives us the knowledge that we have faith in a God, we have faith for miracles. I love that it isn't just blessings but that we can make miracles come to pass in our every day lives.

 “15 And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.

 16 Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God?

 17 Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?

 18 And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles.

 19 And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.

 20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.”

 How amazing is it to think that we can have these blessings just by having faith in the Lord God. I have really tried to focus on this. One of the biggest miracles is my companion. On Friday, she started to get the biggest blisters I have ever seen on her foot. She has about 5 or 6 on one foot. So, we had to walk a lot slower so she could try to limp to relieve the pressure. Wow, literally I feel like she is a miracle in herself. She not once did she say “lets go home and sleep” or she wanted to wait for her foot to get better. She kept on working. We, of course, needed to take short breaks but she keep on pushing us to keep up the work!

One big blessing is that the people that we had planned to teach that usually are never in their houses were actually there! We also had the opportunity to teach two different people that seem to live in the street.

Another thing that I learned in my 9 months is that without my mission, I don't think that I would ever be as strong in the gospel as I am now. I am so grateful for the less-actives I have taught for their help specifically. I have seen the missionaries that have fallen, I have seen the testimonies that weren't strong enough to face a trial, and I now have the knowledge that with Christ by my side, I can really conquer all. One of the recent converts here has really been the greatest example. From the start, he really looks like a scary dude. He has a horrible background with drugs, prison, and doesn't have a solid home to live in. But with all these trials, he is the one person that I see reading everyday for several hours in the Book of Mormon. He wants to share the gospel with others. He knows that if he was able to turn his life around that anyone else can too. It is that kind of faith that I have gained on my mission. I know that whatever trials lay ahead if you simply put your faith first, the Lord will ease the pain. I will and everyone else can come out triumph on the other side. Just like Mormon said in chapter 9 verses 13-14.

“13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.

 14 And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still.”

We can be happy forever! We can be with our families for the Eternities. We can choose to be happy. With all the different trials that come our way, if we just choose to be positive, choose to see the green hill on the other side, we will make it. Our eternal destiny is what we make of it. We really do need to choose this day who we will serve because if we choose Christ we can have the promise of eternal happiness. Mormon chapter 9 verses 21-30 states:

  “21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.

 22 For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his disciples who should tarry, yea, and also to all his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;

 23 And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned;

 24 And these signs shall follow them that believe—in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover;

25 And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth.

 26 And now, behold, who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his sayings? Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who will despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye who are despisers of the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish.

 27 O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things so ever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.

 28 Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.

 29 See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in nowise be cast out.

 30 Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead; for I know that ye shall have my words.”

I love the inspiring words that are in the Book of Mormon. Truly in these past months, I have gained a love for the scriptures. I have no doubt that with the words of the prophets that we can find peace, we can seek the good out of every situation and we have all the truth! 

I love you all so much and hope that you choose this week to take the positives more then the negatives. Pick up the Book of Mormon again and start reading. It really is the answers to all the hardships you are facing. It has been the key to helping everyone gain a testimony, not only a testimony, but a conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ!!

Con Amor Siempre,

Hermana Harris

Full of Smiles

Hey family!!  

This week was amazing!! Honestly, it was a lot of hard work. We had a week that felt like no one wanted to talk to us. We walked a lot more then we taught. But you know what? It still was a great week! I love being a trainer! It is so amazing to be able to teach someone else. I am so grateful that my trainee is amazing also. It makes it so much easier!

One thing that was really amazing this week was one of our less actives, Sylvia. She is a less active of several years in our ward. To explain, when she visits her kids in the States, she goes to our church. But she loves her Baptist church here in Ponce. The thing with Sylvia though is that she doesn't remember anything. 

She doesn't remember why she was baptized or any of the doctrine. We have begun teaching her like an investigator. We truly saw a miracle in her this week. We were teaching the plan of salvation and she had mounds and mounds of questions. We were stopping at every little point to explain and make sure she wasn't lost. She wasn't asking questions to just ask she started to ask really pressing questions like she had the desire to learn. 

I really have gained a great love for her. She is so lost in all the different doctrines and teachings of every different church that she has trouble finding her own beliefs. We are really just trying to help her find what she beliefs so we can know from there how we can help her. We actually got her to assist in an activity this week so that is great success in itself. Little by little we can show her that there are people that love her and that we can help her to grow closer to her Savior.

Oh, another great blessing this week is that Julio received the priesthood last Sunday. It was so amazing to see the joy on his face as we entered our Gospel Principles class. I could just tell that something was different. He was so happy, with nonstop smiles. I asked him “Whats up? What happened?” At this point, his smiles were reaching his eyes and he was almost to the point of tears. He smiled even bigger then said “I get to receive the priesthood!” To see the joy that it brought to him, made it all the more special. It was so great of a feeling that I got to help him be worthy to receive such a sacred power, the power and authority of Christ. He also had the opportunity to use his priesthood for the first time this weekend helping the other sister missionaries at a baptism. It was such an amazing sight to see him be a witness at the baptism.

Well I can just say I love my calling as a missionary for Jesus Christ. Getting at half way mark of my mission I can definitely say that I have changed so, so much. I will never be able to give back to the Lord what I have gained and learned in this short time. I know without a doubt in my heart now that my Savior lives and loves each one of His children. I know that through the latter-day prophets we can receive blessings by obeying their teachings. I know that my heavenly father is waiting for all of my family to return to him in the celestial kingdom and I know that each day we can work to get there. :)

I love you all so much and hope you all have an amazing week!! Can't wait to see you all on Mothers day!!

Con Amor Siempre,

Hermana Harris

PS We had lots of fun posing for photos!!