By way of introduction, we are a family here in Las Cruces where your son has been serving. Just want you to know that he is a good missionary.
As you probably know, this week, Elder Harris' companion, Elder Vermillion is going home and your son will be getting a new companion.
On Monday we took them out for dinner at a local restaurant that is said to have been originally the outpost for old Mesilla. Supposedly Billy the kid and many others had been there. I took some pictures that I have attached. The group pictures include our son, Trey, his wife, Yvonne, and their son, Tallin, as they also joined us. I know you will enjoy the pictures.
Sorry my letters haven't been super up to date at all but I'm just no good at writing letters. I greatly appreciate all the stuff you guys sent me. Especially the bread. I was going to buy bread that week but I didn't after reading your e-mail. All the candy and cookies spoiled my appetite for a while. Thankfully Elder Lybbert ate a large amount when he went on exchanges in my area so it didn't spoil it as long as it potentially could have.
Thank you so much for sending all the spanish stuff I look forward to getting it. I've been working with a spanish Book of Mormon and Liahona magazine. My reading is back to where it was when I was in Mr. Smith's class, but my understand when someone talks to me is still pretty poor, not to mention my speaking. I'll get better though!
As for the Temple. I miss that place alot. They finished the outside of the Gila Valley Temple not too long ago and should be done with the interior next spring. That will give us a temple in the mission that we can now go to. Mom, Dad when you come to get me, we're hitting as many of the temples along the way as we can. Gila Valley, the three in Pheonix, Snowflake, Saint George, Manti.... as many as we can.
This week has just flown by. Elder Vermillion is going home in a couple of days and I'll find out who my new companion is tonight. Chances of me leaving? Slim to none. I'm excited to get a new companion. I've spent half of my mission so far with Elder Vermillion. I love him to death but I'm getting to the point where death sounds like a good expression of my love. Just kidding, I'm going to miss Elder Vermillion.
Nothing super exciting has happened this week We found a couple of shakey investigators and are working with those ones that we still have. Real quick, Israel is still awesome but is held down by the man. Johnny is doing better at remembering but still slow. Adrianna said she would TRY to keep the Law of Chastity and then we' havn't heard from her since. We hope she wasn't offended but we'll see.
We just got done with an appointment with Israel's probation officer and it looks like we're waiting for a while longer, maybe not until December. It's kind of frustrating since we've been working with him since July and he's been ready since August, but oh well, all in the Lord's time.
It's really cool to see that Lord's hand in a lot of little things. For a while we've been teaching a man named Johnny Garcia. His ex-wife and all his kids are members of the church but he never joined because his mother-in-law got mad at him for not dressing up for church. Johnny has had three strokes in the past few years so teaching him hasn't really been effective. We were able to sit down with his kids, who have been less-active since their teenage years, and come to find out that they want their kids to be taught and baptized! We're excited to help them come back to church and help their kids to experience the joy of the gospel.
Adrianna, Tyrel Andreason's (the less-active son of President Andreason) girlfriend is also doing well. Tyrel even came to church this week which is a huge improvment. He moved in with his older brother, Monty who is a big influence on him and I think Adrianna learning is a big help too :)
Not much else to report other than I Love you tons Elder Harris
PS. transfer calls are next week and I'm 99.9% sure I'll be staying. The only way I'd leave is if President wants me to be a Zone Leader somewhere.
PPS. Here in the southwest we run into alot of spanish people and I hate not being able to communicate with them. I've been trying to remember some of my spanish and I've been reading the Book of Mormon in spanish, and I'm to the point where I can explain who I am, bear my testimony of "El Libro de Mormon" and give them a pass along card but I want to improve. I was wondering if you could send my/a 501 spanish verbs book, and/or anything they gave Sam in the MTC. President told me that I should try and pursue this and I feel it's something the Lord wants me to do also.
This last week was alot of fun. I went on a couple of exchanges and got to go up to Cloudcroft. It was way nice up there and for the first time on my mission I was cold outside.
We found a new investigator this last week. Her name is Adrianna. She is the girlfriend of the Andreason's "Alma-the-younger" son. She is way cool and really wants to know and to learn. She agreed to baptism on the 7th of November but we might be moving that up with how well she is progressing.
Israel is still doing well and we're looking forward to this Saturday, when, if all goes well, he'll be baptized!
Also something cool. Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi of the Seventy is coming to the mission next transfer to do a mission tour.
I loved how your e-mail was entitled conference but there really wasn't much from conference in it :D
Well Conference was amazing. Not only was it spiritually uplifting, we also had a baptism on Sunday in between sessions.
Marcy Gullett, Israel's Grandma had a converting experience and so we scheduled her baptism... not a moment too soon either, she is going in to have knee replacement surgery tomorrow.
Israel unfortunatly has to wait a little while longer, but he should be baptized within the coming weeks!
Other than that, all is well here in Las Cruces I especially loved Elder Anderson's talk on repentance and it being a representation of God's love. That, I feel was the overwhelming lesson of this last conference is that God loves us!
This last week we had dinner with the Andreasons 5 out of the 7 days of the week. A few weeks ago when we were passing around a new dinner calendar, I saw President Andreason (1st counselor in Stake Presidency) up on the stand and took the calendar up to him because I hadn't eaten dinner with him the 3 months I had been here. To our suprise he signed up for a whole week. He informed us that we'd be having grilled cheese and Tomato soup all week.We talked to his wife and she said, "If that's what he said thats what we'll do!" Our first night they spared us with a good Sunday ham and funeral potatoes. I spilled my second helping all over my pants trying to cut my ham while my plate was hanging half way off the table. The next night when we had the tomato soup and grilled cheese, they put a rubber mat under my bowl so it wouldn't slide and outfitted me with an apron just in case. The next night we had tomato soup and grilled cheese again but that was the last night. I loved going over to the Andreasons, it felt just like home.
We just had some changes here in the district. Because they closed Truth or Consequences and put spanish elders in Hatch (Chile captial of the World!) They put Hatch in the spanish district and put Alamagordo in our district. Interestingly enough in Alamagordo is Elder Lybbert, my first District Leader. It's kind of weird being his District Leader now. But I'm way excited to get to go on exchanges with him again. I'm going to Alamagordo tonight so that should be a lot of fun.
As for the work, we're waiting on word if Israel can be baptized this weekend or not. I'm not sure how much I've told you but I'll give a brief summary. Israel is 17 and is awesome. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people and was charged with a felony. As such he has been on probation and as a rule can't be baptized until he is off parole or has 1st Presidency aproval. He originally would be off probation if he paid a fine and waited until the end of September. We found him work and he was able to pay the fine but his probation officer changed and now we're not sure if he will get off in a couple of days. If so, he'll be getting baptized in between sessions of conference on Sunday. If not probably not for another month at least...:( We're praying hard for him and we would appreciate your prayers on his behalf as well.
Not a whole lot to report other than I'm still here in Las Cruces and probably will be until mid December, late January... Elder Vermillion is still my companion.
A member here wants to start a New Mexico division of the Temple Riders and wants info. Dad, his name is Randy Andreason
Also if the next time any package comes this way if you could throw a couple of rolls of magic tape in that would be awesome. Elder Vermillion and I have had a couple of scrapes from bike accidents... don't worry nothing too big :)
