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
Monday, October 27, 2014
Monday, October 20, 2014
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!
|
 |
| P-Day! |
.JPG) |
| Crazy Kitty!!! |
Monday, October 13, 2014
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
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
Monday, October 6, 2014
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)