Brisas - Week 33

Me and My Companion (Hermana Pitcher)

¡Bueno!

Hermana Pitcher and I definitely had an unforgettable Christmas! The whole week we were laughing because Christmas Eve and Christmas day we had VARIOUS meal appointments.  We both thought we would be able to handle it, but I really suffered, haha. Christmas Eve we made pancakes and had a normal morning contacting people. We were pretty hungry when we got to the food, but when we got there, they said they had a surprise for us. Some of their friends went out of town and left their house keys, so we went with them to the friend's house. The house was REALLY pretty, so while the mom cooked, we went and explored the house with the daughter. After about an hour of being there, the mom fed us a little to hold us off until the "real" dinner was ready. We hadn't planned for that though, so we had to leave to go to another appointment at 5pm, and then told them we'd come back. At the next house, we visited Henry and Susi (investigators) and ate dinner with them. They made a broth with chicken, lettuce, corn chips, avocado, and lime (very typical). We only stayed there about an hour, then had to go back with the family we had been with before. We couldn't stay that long with them again because we had ANOTHER food appt at 8pm. I felt bad because I think they had thought we'd just be able to be with them all day. At 8pm we ate with another investigator family who is really awesome. It was a struggle eating that last dinner, but we both managed to eat everything and not let it show, haha. :)

Christmas day we got a surprise from the Zone Leaders and a member who inspected the house and asked about repairs that we needed.  After they left, we went with an investigator (Alma) who has a son on a mission and had "breakfast." I guess breakfast food here isn't really a thing because we ate dinner leftovers, haha. That was at like 10:30am and at 12pm a member family came and picked us up to have lunch with them at their house. If their food hadn't been so good, I'm not sure I could have done it, but it was delicious! After, we watched the video with them "He is the gift." Everytime we watch that video with someone the spirit really hits the people watching it...and I love it! Once we finished up there, the wife took us across the street to her husbands family because they were they ones who were going to lend us their computers for the Christmas Skype call. Hermana Pitcher decided she wanted to test it before, so she did a test call to her family, but right as they answered I think she regretted her decision. Haha her dad answered and was like "Hija bonita!" and all the members of this family who's house we were at were laughing. I don't think her family knew a bunch of people were right there so they started freaking out all excited and asking questions and Hermana Pitcher was super embarrassed. Once she hung up, one of the members was helping me set mine up and I didn't want to call yet, but he hit call anyway! Haha it was a little awkward because everyone was watching at first, but I'm glad I did because I got to see Drake for a minute! After that, they took us home to drop off MORE food that a different family had dropped off for us and to leave the computers at our house until 6pm. We didn't have much time when we got to the house, so we hung out at the house for a minute, and around 5:30 went to the other member's house to Skype. It was definitely a fun couple days, but I think it threw us out of our missionary groove a little!

The rest of the week we did our normal missionary stuff. On Friday we went as a zone to a tianjis, which is like a flea market,  pretty much. They´re pretty big here and they're kinda fun. We sang as a zone, then after contacted those that we could.

That same day we went and saw our recent convert, Jose, and to our surprise, he wasn't doing too good. I think he was a little hurt  we hadn't come by the two days before because he got really critical of us and told us a bunch of doubts had come into his mind. He said he felt confused now because he felt like he was still catholic in a way and he told us our time should be used to look for people who don't know anything about God. He said he felt like we didn't seem real because we don't share that much about our personal lives and he feels like we're always disappointed with him because he feels like he can't ever be how we are. We had a long lesson and apologized because we don't always do things perfectly and reviewed the restoration with him, because I think he had been forgetting. The lesson ended pretty good, and he apologized too for being critical. On Sunday he came and brought his mom even, so that's a good sign!

Other than those things, nothing else was too out of the ordinary. Starting in January, church starts at 8am, so that will be fun getting all our investigators there so early! Haha. I think our next baptism will be the 10th of January. We just need to get Henry's family to church one more time, and I think they'll be ready! Then the week after, we'll have another baptism for Leticia. She's been an investigator for a while, but has just been waiting to have her divorce finalized so she can marry the guy she's living with, who's a member. Hopefully we'll be starting off the new year good with a few baptisms!

¡Hasta Luego! Hermana Harper

Fancy House - Taking a Swim!!!

The Fancy House!

Christmas Food!

Christmas Food!

Christmas Socks!!!

Brisas - Week 32

Merry Christmas!!!

It's crazy to think Christmas is almost here! Yesterday, we celebrated Christmas as a mission and all got together in the Stake Center in Centro. ALL the missionaries were there, so that was really fun! It started at 10am and the President and his Wife spoke, and then after  we took turns going up as a zone to sing.  Later two missionaries shared an experience they've had sharing the new video "He is the Gift." I think there are like 11 or 12 zones, so the meeting lasted for a good 3 hours. After, a professional choir from Merida came and sang. There were several people from our ward, so that was neat listening to and seeing them. After the devotional, we ate. I LOVED the food! They had salad, potatoes, meat, vegetables, rolls, and chocolate cake and ice cream. Haha,  something funny though is that everyone got sick from the food. This morning our entire zone had diarrhea, and at the store today we ran into 2 sisters from a different zone and they said their zone all got sick too. Fun present to all the missionaries, right !?!  Really, it's not too bad though, me and my companion are surviving!

After the lunch yesterday, we had a talent show which was super entertaining. Most people sang, but there were a couple of  hilarious skits mixed in. After the talent show we had a gift exchange. All of us were assigned another missionary and had to buy a gift that was as close to 50 pesos as we could. I put together earrings and candy and stuff like that and the gift I got was basically the same, haha. It was a lot of fun! That ended about 7pm and from there we went to a park to sing and contact people. That turned out pretty good because there were tons of people to talk to.

Today we had our P-day and it’s been a crazy day to say the least. We had district meeting as usual and after went to the plaza to buy food. The last thing we always buy is fruit and Hermana Pitcher was picking out her bananas and got her wallet stolen right out of her hand! I was on the other side looking at something else, so I didn't see anything, but when she came to put her bananas in the cart she realized she didn't have her wallet and started freaking out. She keeps evvvverything in her wallet so that really stunk. We had even just pulled out money so she had like 80$ in there- 900 pesos which is A LOT as a missionary! We went to security to see if they could look at the cameras, but they couldn't figure it out, so we just had to call the mission offices so they could cancel all her cards.  Hermana Pitcher was pretty upset, but after we got things figured out she was ok.

Something super exciting this week is that we had a baptism on Saturday!! That morning we were in a pueblo called Tixcocob and it was ADORABLE! People don't really use cars there, so the roads are all really little and everyone goes around walking or on bikes. There are these tricycles here that people use all the time and I saw tons in Tixcocob. They make them into little bike taxis and they're so cute! (I need to take more pictures of those)  When we went downtown it reminded me of Disneyland or Lagoon when you walk down the little fake streets and all the stores are right up against the street with stuff out to buy. It was really cute!

All the missionaries in the stake and some ward missionaries went to the Tixcocob activity and we all took a bus there. We first met in the prayer house they have there (which makes you super grateful for chapels) and from there all split up to contact and search for less actives. I went with one of the young women from another ward and we had lots of fun. We talked to just about everyone we saw and invited them to meet us downtown at 5pm because we were going to be singing and giving out gifts. We talked to lots of people, but we didn't seem to have a very good turnout by the end. We still sang though and handed out wrapped up Books of Mormon to those that were nearby.

We got back from the activity around 6:30 and the baptism started at 7pm. We were a little stressed because when we arrived, Jose (our investigator that was getting baptized) wasn't there and wasn't answering his phone. At 7pm, we left with some members to see if he was home.  When we drove by his house, he was outside all dressed up and he was getting in his car with his mom. I was happy he hadn't forgotten, but a little frustrated because nothing seems to go smoothly here! We got back to the church at 7:20ish and they had all waited for us, so that was nice.  From there, everything went really good.  Jose seemed really happy! It was neat because another youth did the baptism and it was his very first time baptizing. I love seeing the ward members welcome the investigators into the ward like they do, because it really strengthens them both,  and the missionaries too! :)

Well, I hope everyone enjoys their Christmas!! Haha, my companion and I have 3 meal appointments (2pm, 5pm, 8pm) Christmas Eve, so we'll definitely be enjoying our holiday here!

With all the presents you're getting and receiving, don't forget about the most important one. One thing I've come to understand is that for me, Jesus Christ is a gift because through Him, fresh starts are real. I can change things about who I am or bad habits I've had and the changes are real. When I'm held up on Judgement day, if I've done everything I could to make good decisions, and really changed, I won't be held guilty for all the bad decisions. I've realized that nothing is immediate though. You have to constantly to work at things and not let yourself believe that you've already done enough and you don't have to keep working on it. The hard work is what really makes you happy in the end!  Being lazy about things doesn't!

Feliz Navidad! Con amor, Hermana Harper

Unexpected House Guest!

Bedroom in Our New House

Study Area

Kitchen in our new house - BEFORE!

Kitchen in our new house - AFTER!!!

Our Beautiful Christmas Tree!

And the Stockings were hung...

Tixcocob

Bus to Tixcocob

Tixcocob Activity

Tixcocob Activity - Wrapped Book of Mormons

Jose's Baptism

Missionary Christmas Party

Christmas Party

Christmas Party

Puss-In-Boots Kitty!

Our Adopted Dog - His name is -Carlos Juanito Harper Pitcher

Brisas - Week 31

IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!

This transfer is starting to feel like Christmas because we finally got all moved into our new house, and we set up the paper tree mom sent and have presents under the "tree" haha. It took two days to get everything moved over, but the members we awesome to help us out. We also discovered how to hang our stockings and wrote "MERRY CHRISTMAS" above it. A lot of the houses have put up Christmas lights and its super cute because they don't have much. Usually its just a little string of lights and that's all.  It's been fun this transfer because the other half of the ward I'm getting to know really well and it's way more humble. Sometimes I feel like we're camping when we walk into some of the houses because its literally just plain cement walls and it feels the same as when we're outside.

This coming week we have lots of fun activities planned to take advantage of Christmas coming up. When we left district meeting today, my companion and I and another set of elders and sisters all got on the same bus, so we decided to sing and hand out cards that advertise "Él es la dádiva" (He is the gift) video and ask who wanted to hear more. Its surprising how many people don't really understand the true meaning of Christmas. A lot of people don't like Christmas because they say its just an excuse to get drunk or have parties. Its been fun to tell people why Jesus Christ is important and can actually make a difference in their lives if they let him.

This week has gone really good because my companion and I are both on the same page with things. Its fun because we both feel like we have a new area, but at the same time not, too. And we both know all the members and they all know us! We met out new Zone today and except for 4 elders, everyone is American. I'm not sure how the other zones are, but it feels like the Americans are taking over! Haha

One miracle this week is that the guy Hermana Suarez and I were teaching, Jose (the 20 year old that's sick with a heart  problem), we started teaching again, and he's ready to get baptized! For a good week or so before, he had completely lost faith and decided he would just wait to get better and then maybe starting listening to us again, so we had decided not to teach him anymore. It turned out that (I didn't know this until after we'd already gone back to check on him) all by himself he had gone to a members house asking for us. When we went back he said he realized he needed to have faith if he really wanted to start getting better because he knew that was the only thing that would actually help him. We have been teaching him again and he made it to church Sunday, so his baptism is set! :) We're going to combine his with 2 others in the zone, so there should be LOTS of people. The morning of his baptism all the missionaries in the zone and a bunch of ward members are going to a pueblo to help out the elders there. We're going to contact and hand out lots of pamphlets and liahonas and stuff like that. So that will probably be really fun! And then we'll all be back just in time for the baptism.

In gospel principles class, I saw how much Jose has really blossomed. Our ward mission leader talked about obedience and it was a REALLY good class. It turned into a conversation about faith and that we're obedient because we have faith that God will bless us. Jose joined in a lot and said how its sometimes hard because friends sometimes says things to discourage you, but that if you don't have faith in Jesus Christ, you don't have anything. Jose mentioned how Christ suffered a lot, but he pushed forward, and if he did, we can too. During the week when we went to visit Jose, he showed us that he was making a frame for the picture of Jesus that we had given him. It touched my heart because he'd kept his picture of Jesus in his Book of Mormon with his other pamphlets and every time we'd tell him to take it out and put it in his room, but he'd always forget. That night he decided to frame it and put it in his room. We've been pushing him to look for a job or help his dad with his carpentry because he does NOTHING.  He thinks he's too sick and its not good for him. He's starting to take a hold of his life and it makes me happy! Another thing that was kinda funny, was that he showed up to church with his little gangster outfit on and earring in, but when he walked in I think he felt a little funny and asked if he should take his earring out, so we told him yes. In the gospel principles class he mentioned that part of the change he was making, he realized needed to be external too. He said he loved to dress gangster for the music he listens too, but was willing to sacrifice it. That make me so happy that he decided it all on his own. My companion and I died laughing because our ward mission leader said he was exactly the same before he got baptized. Down to an eye brow ring and everything! I never would have thought he was that type of person before, but I liked that he explained that when you choose to really follow Christ, you lose interest in things that you may have liked before, and that's really true.

If any of you haven't seen the video, "He is the gift," go and watch it! And share it with everyone. And after you watch it, think of how you can choose to really follow Jesus Christ and accept the gift he's given you. Think of what you're lacking, and do something different to repent and change for the better. Remember that choosing to follow Christ will ALWAYS be the easier path in the end, and is the only way to be truly happy. Don't forget the simple stuff like studying the scriptures and praying and fasting.

Until next week, Hermana Harper

Brisas - Week 30

 TRANSFERS!!

So, my poor area of Brisas hasn't been doing too well and the mission President decided to cut a companionship. President Garcia interviewed the other Brisas companionship Tuesday and called me on Thursday to make the final decisions. He asked me if I felt like I could be effective with Hermana Pitcher (from the other Brisas companionship) and if I wanted to stay. I told him yes, so that's what happened! By the end of this transfer I'll have spent half of my mission in one area! Not many missionaries do that in this mission, but I'm okay with it. I'm excited to spend Christmas with a ward that I already know really well!

Today we met at the stake center for transfers.  My companion, Hermana Suarez, went to Mashkanu with her new companion. She was REALLY sad to go, even though she only spent 4 weeks with me in Brisas. Transfers are always tough for everyone seems like :(

I'm actually really excited for this transfer, even though there's A LOT of pressure. The President told me on Thursday that if we don't get the ward moving and start having baptisms he's going to shut down the area and Brisas will be left without  missionaries!  I have been worrying about a lot of things since I found out when transfers were.  Hermana Pitcher is really good to tell me to stop worrying so much haha. I'm excited because we had the same trainer, and like to work the same way, so I'll think once we start working we'll have lots of success!

We have several people from both areas that are close to getting baptized, so our plan is to organize our ward plan so that the members can work to excite all of these people to go to church and start progressing!

This week was a lot like our last week.  Not much happening. It felt like opening an area again because alllllll we did was contact. Unfortunately all the people outside were grandpas and grandmas or people who were too busy to listen. We've been passing out lots of little cards to advertise the Mormon message "He is the gift" and it's been pretty successful. I like it because now we've been targeting people on their phones, instead of not bothering them, and have them open the video right then and watch it with them. We found a super cute little family that way, but of course they live just outside our area!

At church Henry and Susi came for the second time! After 3 times they can get baptized, so I'm hoping we can re-put in a baptismal date and that they can get baptized already! They really want to, but the husbands work schedule is just so unpredictable.

We had a stake baptism and we brought Jenny and her 2 daughters. They're super awesome and actually all of Jenny's family are members, but she doesn't want to get baptized yet. She likes going to church and stuff though for her girls sake.  She likes to have them involved in good activities. I'm hoping that she'll have more of a desire to get baptized soon!

Hermana Harper

Family Home Evening in Brisas, Mexico! 

Moving to a different Apartment in Brisas

Ward Members helping us move!

Brisas - Week 29

I hope everyone had a fun Thanksgiving! I forgot until morning of that it was Thanksgiving, and then forgot again until that night. Oh well! I don't think it would have even felt like Thankgiving here because 1) the weather and 2) no one would have the least idea of how to make a true Thanksgiving dinner,  haha.  It would just turn into frijoles and chicken! Christmas on the bright side is very much celebrated here.  Lots of people have put up lights and the plaza here in my area has a huuuge Christmas tree and it looks like they're putting together a cute little village thing too.  I'm hoping I don't leave so I can see how it all turns out!

Well, this morning I honestly couldn't think of anything positive that I wanted to write about from the week.  As of right now, we have NO one with a baptismal date and yesterday, not even one investigator or less active came to church.

Our investigator that I wrote about last week (Jose) has the thought that if God is really so great, why hasn't he healed him yet? He's been sick with chest pains around his heart for the last four months and what he's been hoping from the lessons with us is to get closer to God so that he can be healed.  He started out super humble and sincere and wanted to just get his life going in a good direction, and those first 2 weeks, everything went perfectly. This week is when he started saying that he feels like he can't go to church anymore or be baptized because he's too sick. He feels like he's done his part for God to bless him, but hasn't received his health yet. Our last lesson was really frustrating because we taught faith, but it was all in one ear, out the other. We explained that you need to act first, and the miracles follow, but he was really stubborn about it. He just kept being superficial and saying "I know, I have to have faith, but..." My companion also told him the story of when Jesus was in the desert and Satan was tempting Jesus, and how that is exactly what  Jose is doing with God. When we want a sign for selfish reasons, that's when we're tempting God. Then I told him that right now he's too focused on himself, and that if he wants to get better and be happy, he needs to forget what he wants and do what God wants.  My companion and I were both feeling the spirit really strong, but I could tell he wasn´t. The majority of the time he had a smirk or seemed bored with what we were telling him. It was all super disappointing because things started out SO good with him. Too good honestly, but now we can't continue with him.

So, since we haven’t really been teaching anyone, we have had lots of members and less actives written in our agendas, with the goal to contact everyone along the way. Contacting really isn't much fun.  95% of the people are just content being catholic. Catholic here means "I don't go to church or read my scriptures, but I believe in God and loving my neighbors, that I don't know.”  There are some devout Catholics and other religions here and there, but the majority is like that. Another challenge is that there are lots of grandpas and grandmas in the part of the city that I'm in. I usually don't like spending too much time with them because they all have the mentality that they've lived their life and God will judge them how He will.

Another thing this week is that Saturday and Sunday the members who we were supposed to eat with forgot, and when we showed up, no one was there. It's never happened before, but for some reason this week everything seemed to happen! Saturday, when we discovered that the members weren't home, we left and decided to eat at our house.  On the way home we ran into a family of investigators who needed our help. We originally stopped by to invite them to church, but it turned out that 3 of their 5 kids were really sick and throwing up and the mom needed to take them to the doctor. All 3 were crying and didn't want to walk and she didn't know how she was going to get them all there. Her dumb husband had completely checked out from his parental responsibilities and was drinking in the front yard with 3 friends. I was glad to help the wife, but at the same time it made me so mad that a dad of 5 little kids wasn't willing to help his poor wife. My companion and I each carried a kid and we walked all the way to the doctor, which was closed, so we walked all the way back to get some papers so that she could take them to the hospital, since they had insurance.  From the house they had to take 2 buses to get to the hospital, so we took the first one with them, but only could go that far with them. It worked out though because the second bus left them right in front of the hospital.

With everything that happened this week, I'd been feeling super down. It was super frustrating to have no one to teach, and be stuck with contacting people that don't want to talk to you. Plus it felt like nothing was ever working out how we had planned and I just felt frustrated with everyone, and especially my companion! Its hard because I've tried to just ignore it and not let it show, but things like that do just come out in one way or another. In district meeting today, we were doing our practices like we always do and they decided that instead of playing the part of investigators, we would just be ourselves and tell the "missionaries" who were being the missionaries our "need." It actually was really cool because I played the part of "coach" for one of the practices and I watched two elders try and help one of the sisters. Her "need" was that lately she hasn't felt useful because her companion always has the better ideas and she feels like she doesn't know how to contribute. One elder went off and shared the scripture about the sons of Mosiah and how they prayed and fasted and were able to teach with power and authority, but you could tell it didn't really make her feel tons better. Then the other elder took things and simplified them. He just asked her, "who gives us thoughts that we're inadequate?" And she said, "Satan." Then asked, "Where do thoughts of hope and confidence come from?" "Heavenly Father." Then he asked who she felt like was speaking louder to her, and she said, "Satan." And then he shared a scripture in D&C 10:7 that says that Satan is wicked because he seeks to take our gifts from us. It was a really cool moment because it totally hit her and even I felt the spirit just watching it all. That experience, and also when i took my turn in another group to say what's been hard for me lately, really strengthened my testimony today. I think I sometimes forget that the gospel is to bless ME, and not just everyone else I'm teaching. If there's something we need, we can always find an answer if we're sincere and put in the effort.

Well I guess that is all for this week! Me and my companion are going downtown to this place called Paseo Montejo that is super touristy. Hopefully they have some fun clothes or Christmas stuff!

Adios!! Hermana Harper

Brisas - Week 28

Hello,

This week, our strong point turned out to be reactivating our less actives! We pretty much have NO one that we're teaching because we've dropped pretty much everyone who's been listening, but not acting.  We've had a lot of extra time for less actives!  We didn't do anything really out of the ordinary for them, but we were super direct. My companion has a knack for that, haha. She's super bubbly and happy, but when the investigators/less actives aren't doing their part she tells  them like it is. We've explained to them that we really want to keep visiting and teaching them, but if they don't do their part we can't continue.  We really need to be searching for people who really want to follow Jesus Christ.  We also explained that the commitments they're making aren't with us, but with God.  If they don't go to church, or keep their commitments, it's really God they're letting down. So far it's worked really well.

The two investigator families we were hoping would come so we wouldn't have to drop, didn't show up, but LOTS of less actives came! The lady we found and invited to be baptized, but was already a member, came and brought her 5 grandchildren who live with her.  They have been going to their old  ward. They're thinking of transferring to Brisas, so we'll get more young single adults and YM/YW.

Hermano Seguro came (but not his wife). I was SUPER impressed with him because he's still recovering from an eye surgery, but he decided to do away with his excuses and come. His wife didn't come because they had family visiting, but I'm hoping she comes next week!

Also, Eva and her two daughters came (Cecilia and Alison)! Eva's mom is super active but the only active one of all of them and FINALLY her family is starting to turn around. Eva and her 2 daughters have all kinds of problems, but its honestly a miracle that they've decided to step up and start doing things right.

Also, Shirley is going strong, even though she's pretty alone with things. Her husband couldn't make it, but he wants to be baptized, he said. Leonardo (recent convert) came with her and received the Preisthood!!!

The 20 year old that we found 2 weeks ago is doing REALLY well. He has lots of time on his hands, so he's really enjoyed the family home evenings that we've invited him to on Monday nights.  We've been teaching him almost everyday. His baptism is set for the 6th of December.

Lots of the missionaries in the zone have plans to baptize the 6th so we're going to do a "Noche Blanca" which is a "Night of White." 

On Sunday I got myself into speaking, because we told the bishop we wanted to present our ward plan to the ward of how, as ward, we could find more people that are willing to listen. He gave me and Hermana Pitcher (one of the sisters in the other companionship in our ward) the job to speak in sacrament and the ward missionaries (bascially all new RMs in the ward) taught the members the 3rd hour about the importance of sharing with their friends, and did little practices. And then our ward missionary told everyone the plan we came up with.
We are basically dividing the ward into zones and have zone leaders and assignments of activities and family home evenings. I'm really hoping it all works! I feel like too often we have plans, but no one really carries it out. Hopefully this time is different!

Love, Hermana Harper

Brisas - Week 27

¡Hola!

This week turned out really great! I've been so thankful for my companion's new point of view here in Brisas. Since I got here, I've been training, so I've been desperate for someone with a new take on things. Even though my companion only has 3 months on her mission, we've been using a lot of things she learned in her other mission. We decided to drop some people who just aren't quite ready for the commitment. I've always had a hard time cutting people because you want to say you have faith they'll change one day- but sometimes what the spirit really wants you to do is have the faith to drop them and search for someone more prepared.  So that's what we've done! We were blessed for it too because we found someone new who's really prepared, Jose!

We originally contacted his parents just outside their house one day.  I really didn't think it would go anywhere, but we got there and he really wanted to talk to us. He told us he's been really sick and worries because he needs to take care of his parents because they're really sick too. He's 20, and says he feels like he has a lot ahead of him and worries that he might die soon.  He has a LOT of faith though because he said he knew if he dies, it's because it's God's will. He had a lot of confidence with us right from the beginning and asked a lot of good questions. He told us he could tell something was different and really liked what he's has heard about our church. He's gone to the catholic church a lot, and doesn't like that they worship idols and don't really teach doctrine.  He accepted a baptismal date the first visit and is going strong. He went to church this last Sunday (stake conference) with a member and really enjoyed it.

At stake conference, we also brought 2 sisters, Lupita and Samantha, and Lupita's little girl. They were references from Henry's family (investigators) and live right next door! We went by their house Sunday morning and we all took a taxi together to church. We haven't really taught them yet, but they have liked what they've heard so far. They live with their dad who's not home a lot, and say they have to ask him permission for everything, so hopefully their dad is okay with everything.  Apparently he's been talking to missionaries over by where he works all day, so he's supportive. At stake conference, we got front row seats because we had investigators, so that was fun! There were a TON of people. More than they had at general conference they said. One of the seventies here in Mexico spoke and they had a choir of young men and women from one of the wards, so it was really nice.

Halfway through conference, the member who brought our other investigator, Jose, came all the way to where we were sitting and told us he needed us outside.  Me and my companion were both like "what happened???" Apparently Jose wasn't feeling very good with his heart again, so we pulled two elders out to give him a blessing. He said that helped and afterwards talked to one of the members who's a doctor.  She checked him over and prescribed him medicine. It was kinda funny because the timing couldn't be worse! When we were thinking of doctors to look at him, we first thought, "the Stake President!", but luckily this other member was there who's a doctor too, so she helped.

Something funny this week...in our search for new investigators, we found 2 sisters that live by our house that are active members, but go to another ward. They told us their grandma (that they live with) isn't a member, but listened to elders before and loved everything, just never got baptized. We made an appt with them, thinking "maybe now is the grandma's time, because obviously it wasn't before."  We got there, and it was a tiny bit awkward at first because we were trying to get a feel for how much she remembered and what her attitude towards the church was. She says she loves everything and thinks it's true, but didn't remember a ton, so we reviewed. She agreed to everything about the restoration so in my head I was like "what kept her from getting baptized before??"  Finally I just asked her if she'd like to be baptized in this church and she was like, "Alright, I got to tell you guys something..." So she talked to us about the elders that used to come and how much she adored the missionaries and her experiences with them and everything and how her husband didn't really like it but how she one day just decided to be baptized with the elders and just did it. All of us were just like "What??? You're already a member??"  Even the granddaughter was super surprised. I guess after her baptism, her husband ripped up all the pictures and she hasn't gone to church since, so no one in her family really knew. She agreed to start coming again though. Haha, that lesson was super funny.

On another note, one thing that's kinda fun is that on the 3 of December, all the missionaries are allowed to go to the temple! But, on the condition that we memorize all 25 scripture mastery of the Book of Mormon!  My companion and I are working on it, and so far we have like 8ish. I'm looking forward to that though :)

Annnnd, I guess that's all for this week.

Love, Hermana Harper

Brisas - Week 26

Me and My Favorite 90 year old!!!

This week I started out as a trio with the other 2 sisters in the ward, but Wednesday I received my new companion. Wednesday, after studies, we went to the mission offices and I left with the president's wife, the president and two assistants to the airport. When we got there we had about a half an hour until my companion's flight arrived, so we ordered some food for all of us. I was pretty excited about that because I always hear how anyone who goes out to eat with the president eats REAL good, haha. There was a fancy burger place in the airport, so we all got burgers and milk shakes to-go and by then, my companion arrived.

At the Airport with my new companion and my Mission President and his Wife

My companion is super cute and from Argentina! She's from Mendosa though, so she doesn't have the typical accent from Argentina. I guess it has a lot of influence from Chile where she lives. Before getting here, She was serving in Argentina waiting for her visa and almost finished her training, but not quite, so technically I'm training again! This time is much easier though because she has a gift for testifying, teaching, and following the spirit! I've already learned a lot by her example. Mostly all I really have needed to teach her is the area and how Mexico works...like money and all that.

Spanish is pretty funny with the two of us. A lot of words she uses are different here. For example, lots of the fruits have different names for her, and other common words like bus and store are different. And, lots of common words here are bad words in Argentina! So it has been interesting!

This week we taught another family that I found with my other companion, like 2 or three weeks ago. It was a really good lesson, apart from the husband being a little drunk. Its funny because everyone is so different drunk. He kept telling us stuff about how he wanted to quit drinking completely, for his family, and he got pretty emotional about it. He also cried when he told us about his brother that passed away. We had him, his wife, and 5 little kids (3 years - 8 years old) all listening to us.  We explained the Trinity, following Jesus Christ, and Baptism. None of them, except for one of the daughters, has ever been baptized.  They all accepted the baptismal invitation, so that was neat! On Sunday we passed by to walk with them to church, but the dad had to leave for something and the mom couldn't leave with all the kids. All the kids were begging to go, and the mom promised that next Sunday they would do everything  possible to go. I'm really hoping things work out with them, because they're a really sweet family.

Our other little family has their baptismal date for the 6 of December, the last day before transfers. They didn't come this Sunday either...I still don't know what happened with them. Ugh...life of being a missionary. It seems like 80% of the time things don't go as planned or hoped for!

One good things though is that Shirley, a less active, is getting activated again. Even though she doesn't have support from hardly anyone, she still managed to get her non-member husband to church with her and her little girl. They even talked to the bishop about getting help so she could get divorced, and marry the guy she's with now. She's so great because she REALLY wants to get married in the temple, just gets discouraged a lot. With time though I know things will work out.

Until next week, Hermana Harper

My last comp, Hermana Huff with her new companion

Psole

Brisas - Week 25

Hola,

Halloween is pretty boring in Mexico! The most Halloweeny people get here is decorating their houses all scary. No one trick-or-treats here. The other Hermanas did come visit us though and dressed up as Jehovah's Witnesses and "trick-or-treated" at out house! That was pretty funny!  One thing that's traditional here for Dia De Los Muertos is a special food called Pib. Its actually not super good, but its OK. Its like a pie made out of thick tamale dough with chicken and stuff inside. It’s a tradition that started with the Mayans, and people still do it today. So far I've eaten that 3imes!

Something very exciting that happened this week,  two investigators that we've been teaching for awhile finally came to church!!!  Henry and Susi! They are the family that Hermana Huff and I found and I'm super excited.  Now that they are coming to church, we´ll  FINALLY be able to baptize them!

Love,
Hermana Harper

Brisas - Week 24

We had transfers! This transfer, I stayed in Brisas and I got a new companion! Her name is Hermana Rojas and she is from Peru! I can already tell that we'll get along super great! :)

Last night it was a little frustrating because Hermana Huff and I stayed up until midnight, waiting to be told about transfers, so we could hurry and pack, but we waited that long just to be told that they were going to notify us in the morning. That's probably my biggest pet peeve about the mission- notifying us always super late at night. Hopefully its not like that in all missions!

In the morning we packed and cleaned and left for the stake center around 10:30am. Its fun seeing everyone together switching companions, but sad too. I saw my old companion, Hermana Tozcano, and found out she's going home! She has the same amount of time in the mission as I do, so it’s pretty sad she has to go home so early. Right after her and I ended our transfer together, like that next night I think the part of the wall where her hammock was hanging fell and she hurt her back really bad. Ever since then she's had problems and finally now is going home because of it. Super sad!

It was also really sad to say bye to Hermana Huff, because she was really a fun companion. I felt like I could do anything with her and we always had fun. I'm excited to see how her new adventure goes because her companion is Latina. She actually got here when I did, so I know her pretty good.  I think Hermana Huff is pretty excited about her new adventure too, obviously super sad also, but she is  ready for it!

I feel like I'm learning a ton right now.  It’s crazy because I really feel like I'm in this area for a reason. For forever, I think I've lacked a lot of faith in God's timing and if things are all really for a reason, but last night some things changed. There's been a lot of little things I've struggled with being here, that I just thought were normal.  I was talking to this less active member  and he told me a few things that I really needed to hear. It's almost scary, but he has a huge gift for figuring people out. He told me all this stuff about me, that I was super surprised he picked up on. I realized that I need to talk more when I'm struggling with things, because everything shows. If you're not ok, it affects everything. It’s such a weird growing experience here because of the rules and expectations... You barely have time to think about yourself it feels like, but you have to sometimes! I really feel like so many things and relationships have happened here for me, and for a reason, and I'm really lucky. Its incredible to know that we really do have a father in heaven who cares for us and puts things and people into our lives for a purpose. You have to trust him though and choose to make something of your circumstances. Not just suffer through life with a little faith that you're meant for something more. I can tell I still have a long way to go, but I guess that's why God leaves us here for so long, haha.

I love you all and appreciate your support and prayers,
Hermana Harper

Brisas - Week 23

Wow! This is already our last week of the transfer! And TODAY I completed 11 months! Next week I'll most likely be writing in a new area with a new companion. That's just my guess though, I very well could stay a little longer. The anticipation of leaving is already making me sad. It is good though, because after a while you start to be more friends with everyone than missionaries, and that's not good.

This week made me think of,  what's become one of my favorite scriptures, Alma 27:26, because we had our first baptism here in Brisas!

"Now  when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."

It was definitely a fight, but we got Leonardo baptized! Its crazy the obstacles that come up right before a baptism. Thursday night we had a correlation meeting with Roberto (ward mission leader), and other ward members and Roberto told us that on the group message board for the ward, someone had posted that Leonardo had an accident. I guess there was a bus of people that got hit by a train because the bus driver was being dumb and trying to beat the train. Leo was on that bus, but we were able to get a hold of his dad and found out Leo was fine. He was on pain medicine, but was alright. It made me remember in my last area when Jesus was about to be baptized, and a few days before he got this super awful bug bite on his back that was HUGE and infected and he couldn't submerge it in water. In the end, God always wins though and we always have our baptisms!

Saturday we had the baptism and we went during the morning to check on them, because ALL our appointments fell through! We got there and the sister-in-law was doing the mom's nails and Hermana Paula (member that lives with them) was out buying clothes for Leo. It made me so happy that they were all excited about it because they all haven't been to church in like 10 years! When they all got to the baptism that night they were all super dressed up and it was fun. It was a little sad because we had only two other members there (who showed up as it was ending) besides the Ward Mission Leader, Bishop, Young Mens Pres, and the other Missionaries. We did have an investigator there, Conchi, who showed up all by herself though! That was pretty neat. The service was pretty short, but good. What made it good was that all of Leo's family was there. Haha my companion had to give a little talk and found out on the spot, so I think that freaked her out a little, but she did good! 

Leo's Baptism

Ohhh...and something cool...we have 2 new potential investigators that came out of Leo's baptism. Leo´s biological dad (Freddy) and his sister-in-law (Rubi) want to take the lessons. Nothing ever happened with either of them before because Russel, Rubi's husband, told us she didn't want anything to do with it, and Freddy seemed a little special. It was funny because the night before the baptism Freddy approached us and asked if he could get baptized with his son the next day. We explained that it’s a process, so he said we could come by Tuesday to teach him. He can't read or  write though, so we'll have to figure something creative out for him! With Rubi, she just told us she was really curious with everything especially because her husband and in-laws are all technically members. I'm excited for all that because I really love their family!

Also, we had one funny experience this week that I wanted to share! Its just funny because sometimes our life feels like such a joke. We were in a taxi on the way to the stake center and were talking to the driver about Mormons, like always. Right about the end of the ride, I got a phone call, so I answered and it was this guy we had gone to months ago, but we dropped him because he drank too much and kept blowing us off. His name is Roni,  and first thing, he asks why we hadn't visited him in so long, and before I could really answer, I think he heard the taxi driver say something, so he started asking me if our boyfriends were ok with us talking to him. Haha!  I was just like, "we're MISSIONARIES, we don't have boyfriends!" And the taxi driver started laughing so hard. Haha that's why I feel like sometimes were a joke, luckily not to everyone though!

On thing I want to end with is a question that an investigator (Jessica) asked us. We were answering her questions about the plan of Salvation and she was trying to make sense of everything and asked, "well, why didn't God just send us all at once to be tested!" I had never thought of that actually, so I had to think for a second, but then it hit me, its because families really are just THAT important. We always say that to everyone, but it really is true that we needed families to make God's plan work the best it could. A lot of times we forget that too, but our families really are huge blessings.

Well, that's all for this week!
Love, Hermana Harper

Conchi (Investigator) and a Member

The Spanish Hermanas LOVE Post it Notes!!!  Thanks Mom for sending them!!!

Party before District Meeting!

Halloween Decorating!!!

Halloween Fun! 

P-Day!

Crazy Kitty!!!

Brisas - Week 22

Buenas Tardes!

Well, this week wasn't too bad! Lots of little things happened that I wanted to mention.

The first thing is...we have a BAPTISM on Saturday! I can hardly believe it! Its been a fight for months, literally, but finally the moment has come. I think I've mentioned him before, but his name is Leonardo and his family is all less active. Hermana Pinguelo and I had started teaching him right when we first got here and his family wasn't really ever supportive (well, they say they want to be but they don't actually do anything). However, a super faithful couple in the ward moved in with them because they're selling their house.  They've been a huge help.  Last week when we visited him, we confirmed about the date he had agreed to and he said he was ready.  So, we stuck a sticky note with his name and baptismal date on the fridge so everyone would be sure to remember. The next time we visited him, right as we were about to leave, the mom walked in and was like, "I have a question for you two. Who gave Leo that baptismal date?" She seemed annoyed, so neither Hermana Huff or I said anything back right away, but I was glad we didn't because Leonardo stepped up and said, "ME!" I was super proud because I think a lot of Leonardo's family thinks we've been pressuring him into it, but we really haven't. I'm really excited though because even though it's not the ideal baptism I was hoping for,  with Leo's family all getting reactivated too, it’s a step in the right direction for his family.

Other things this week:
We have an investigator named Gabriel who thinks us and him are literally BFFs. We run into him on the street a lot, but still haven't taught him because he's in the process of moving.  He's given us nicknames since we're so tight with him and in his phone I'm "Beauty Harper." The best though is Hermana Huff's. Hahaha, he calls her "Doofy." We met with him a couple of days ago in our area and he brought a friend and introduced Hermana Huff to him as his friend he likes to call Doofy. Haha. This same guy also called me Elder Harper once. Super funny guy.

Another thing this week is that I dumped out a drunk man's bottle of beer. He is a less active that we taught at the start of the week and he told us he was ready to change his life around. I was so convinced by his desire to change that I asked if he wanted to meet with the Bishop, and he told me yes, so I scheduled an appointment  with him right then and there. We felt so accomplished walking out of that lesson, but unfortunately two days later we found him riding his bike with his huge bottle of beer almost completely empty. When we him, we are like "what are you doing???" I asked him if I could dump out his beer for him, and he handed it to me, so I did.  Afterwards though, he was completely astonished and kept saying "You just dumped out my beer.   No one has ever done that before." He said it so much, that I got a little nervous that he was actually super mad and wanted to smack me or something.  I was like, remember you told me I could! And then I gave him a lecture on needing to be an example for his daughters and that he wouldn't find lasting happiness in getting drunk all the time. Haha. When I was talking to him I felt like I was getting mad at Devin or Jace for a min. The big sister came out!!! 

We visited our little golden family and just the mom and daughters were there. The mom has been super shy with praying in front of us for a long time, but she agreed to pray for the closing prayer. That was a super cool thing because its taken her weeks. They still aren't coming to church because little things that keep coming up every week, but this week we're really counting on it! Plus, our normal chapel is fiiiinally ready. No more hassles trying to get all our investigators to the other side of Merida it feels like (haha it’s really not that far).

This week we also had interviews with the Mission President. They're always not a big deal though. Basically I get in there and he tells me what a good missionary I am and to eat more because I look too skinny. And that's about it. I wanted his help about what to do with some difficult investigators we have, so we role played and I acted as the investigator, but I didn't learn much that I don't already do. I think its just the people honestly. Some are ready and want it, some are just too content and don't feel the need to change anything.

I guess that's a pretty decent summary of this week. I thought I broke my toe a couple days ago, but I'm pretty sure I'm fine. Haha. I pretty much fell out of my hammock...I was getting out and I hit my toe, oddly enough. It was super purple and couldn't walk that good for like a day, but now it doesn't hurt. This is only like my second time having something like that happen, so not too bad for 10 months I'd say!

¡Pues...amo a todos ustedes! Espero que estén bien! By!
Hermana Harper

Brisas - Week 21

¡Muy Buenos Días!

So we got our P-day schedule switched on us yet again. We're now the same as all the rest of the missionaries in the world and work from 6 - 9pm, instead of having district meeting. It was fun having P-day in the evening, but I think this schedule really is better. Especially because everyone seems to be more available in the evenings!

This week was super fun with general conference! It felt like we were waiting for Christmas day all week! Saturday morning we headed to the Stake Center at 10am and were there until it started at 11am. There were some technical problems, but about a half hour into it, they got it working. Several people loaded it onto their phones, so we didn't really miss anything. Once everything got working, all the American missionaries went into the High Priests room to watch it in English. That's always my favorite about all the conferences, feeling like you’re back in the US for a little bit!

Between sessions, we went with the other two sisters in our ward to Burger King and after got snacks next door at Chedraui (it’s like a Wal-mart) for the next session. I think just about all the missionaries had that idea, because as we were leaving we saw a bunch of the elders with their arms full of ice cream! Haha!

From all the talks, I don't know if I could pick a favorite! Well actually, if you didn't see Jorg Kebingat, go back and watch it because it was good for many different reasons.  It was interesting the emphasis on prophets and strengthening our personal testimonies. I don't know if its just because I'm on a mission or what, but it just feels like Satan is getting stronger. I liked that conference mentioned so much being strong and having our testimonies rooted in Christ.

Sunday, we also went at 10am and were there to greet everyone. Greet/talk among ourselves I should say! All the Missionaries always take advantage of time to spend together, since we don't really get to a lot. All the Americans watched conference again in the same place again, so that was fun. Sunday, the 4 of us (missionaries) that are in the same ward, ate with a couple of the member families that stayed at the chapel to eat. It was a little disappointing because not a single investigator came to conference. We spent the whole week before telling everyone we could, but every single one had some excuse. Its frustrating when you have so much hope for people showing up, but other priorities win them over.

Today during our district meeting I feel like I learned a lot of useful things. I think after a time as a missionary, you sometimes get bored by the things you teach and the investigators don't understand why what we want to teach them is so important. I was the coach for one practice and the investigator for the other, and I realized we really need to do more as missionaries to excite people! We need to show urgency in changing and being better. The best  way to do it though, is start ourselves. I've really thought a lot about that this week. I think there are a lot of things I could do to be a better missionary and as a person, but I procrastinate a lot because I don't feel urgency. But there is! Our zone leader made the comment this morning that if we don't learn to love the mission, we probably won't be very content in the celestial kingdom. This life is to prepare to meet God and prepare to grow up to be like him. I think a lot of times we think little of our callings or what an impact our example could make, but every little effort we make, God can use to bless another persons life. We need to really think about priorities and where we're literally preparing to go after this life. The celestial kingdom will probably entail the same kinds of things that our callings and families ask of us, so why wait to learn to love it?

With lots of love from Mérida,
Hermana Harper

Brisas - Week 20

First of all, I can't believe it's almost October.

There were lots of fun things that happened this month.  With Independence day and all the little Catholic parades for their saints, and now, day of the dead and Halloween is coming up. I haven't heard too much about those holidays, but I'm sure I will soon!

This week I didn't feel too much like a missionary because it seemed like everyday we had errands to run for sick missionaries.  My mission daughter (Hermana Pinguelo) got stuck in the hospital for a couple days because her companion got Dengue. You get it from mosquitos, and I guess it can be really serious if you don't get it taken care of. We went to the hospital twice to leave clothes and let their phone charge. They were fun little trips despite missing out on teaching time! The other sisters in our ward also got sick with the flu, so they've been house bound, and we've had to help them a little bit too. Seems like everyone has gotten sick lately!

With the time we had to teach, we actually found some pretty awesome people. We found a newlywed couple at the start of this week who are really great. The wife is from Colorado and is here learning/teaching Spanish. She was a missionary for the catholic church which I thought was pretty cool because there aren't many of those (missionaries) that I've seen. I think I forget that Americans can be Catholics too, haha!  She married a guy who's from here and they both have lots of really great questions about what we believe. I'm hoping by the next lesson we can get them to accept an invitation to be baptized!

Its been fun with the conference coming up and inviting everyone to it. The less actives we've invited seem especially excited.  Last night I was on exchanges with one of the sister training leaders and we were with Shirley, who's been a member for 14 years, but inactive for awhile. She's been slowing getting more involved though and when we told her about conference and how awesome it would be, she got way excited. She's never been, she said and has several things she's been praying about lately, so we told her to bring her questions to conference.

This week  we went to the Womens' Conference. We brought Conchi with us, who we've taught several times and I think she really liked it. I love having conferences like that to show investigators because they're always so perfect! There really is something for everyone, no matter how much you know about the church. I hope everyone listens and takes advantage of such a special opportunity!

Love, Hermana Harper