Things are still going great with the Herrins. Bro Herrin cancelled an extra shift he picked up after we taught him Keep the Sabbath Day Holy which was awesome! He and Jesse are still excited to be baptized.
Lexi is still not wanting anything to do with the church which stinks but what makes it worse, shes now telling Kiana not to be baptized. Kiana is also getting alot of smack from some of her Catholic friends about how they don't want her to be baptized. It's so sad to see the prejudice that has been passed on through generations. At only 13 and 14 and people are already hell-bent against the church and are trying to convince Kiana not to be baptized.
The only other thing to report is that my bike got stolen. Elder Clark and I had to leave our bikes out side and normally we take to seats off to prevent people from stealing them. The one time we don't, someone comes and steals my bike. I have no idea why my bike. Elder Clark's is much newer but for some reason they took mine. It'll be ok though. Here in Thatcher there is a shed full of bikes that missionaries have left. I'm just going to pick up one of them.
Love you all hope all is well!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Another Crazy Week
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
fun stuff
This last week we had a couple of really funny experiences too.
They finally decided to give us a car. unfortunately it's in pretty bad shape. A lot of missionaries don't take too good of the mission cars. Bro Taylor in 2nd ward tried to help me fix it but no dice. :( but that's OK because The Elders in the area next to ours lost their driving privilege so we ended up getting their truck. We have it until Elder Ricks gets his license all worked out or until new missionaries come in. I like having a truck. We don't really need it but that's OK, it's still nice having it. I feel bad for Elder Ricks and Elder Christensen though because their area is huge and mostly dirt roads out in the middle of no where. Not very accessible on bikes.
Elder Clark and I were trying to visit a part member. We knocked on the door and from inside we heard him yell "come in!" The screen door was locked and so we yelled back in. After a couple of exchanges through the door he came and opened the door. He looked at us and said "Oh, I don't want YOU to come in" My companion looked back at him and said "Well good thing the door is locked then isn't it?" He slammed the door and we went off chuckling. One of those moments where you don't mean to say what you're thinking but it turns out really funny.
Also, at a dinner appointment, in the front room was the coolest things ever. This lady had taken and old bath tub and turned it into a bed (see picture) it was so comfy I don't know if you have any old bath tubs lying around to make one, cause if so, you need to do it!
Butter my butt and call me a biscuit, look what happened!
We worship a God of Miracles!
This last week Elder Clark and I were abundantly blessed. We found so many investigators and many of them are truly prepared for the gospel. The first is a family that has been coming to church since August. Lorie (mom) was baptized a long time ago and recently decided to come back to church. She has been bringing her two daughters with her, Lexi (15) and Kiana (14). A neighbor finally asked them if they were ready for the lessons and Lorie said yes. We went over on Friday and were able to teach Lexi and Kiana. Kiana(Key-ah-na) has a date for March 6th. Lexi is being a little more difficult. She is definitely more in tune with the spirit than Kiana but, she doesn't want to be baptized. Her dad, who died about 5 years ago was Catholic and so she is bound and determined to stay Catholic. When we went over to teach the first lesson her mom called her down and after making a scene and leaving, she came back, and left, and came back. Her mom told her to stay or leave and she decided to stay. During the lesson she was involved and her boyfriend even called twice but instead of taking it she stayed and listened. I asked her to pray and ask God if she should be baptized. She said that if God told her she would do it. I asked her again last night if she prayed and she said no. I asked her why not, she said because she didn't want to be baptized. The spirit is working on her though and soon enough she will be baptized also.
On Sunday Elder Clark and I decided to fast an extra fast for the new investigators we were finding and also to continue to help us find more. After church we got a call from Sister Herrin, a part member, letting us know that her step-son wanted to get baptized! We went over to teach Jesse and committed him for baptism on the 20th of March. We had tried to teach his father Gary but he had been resistant. I asked him again about baptism but he said no. We went over last night and with his son's good example he wants to be baptized with him! It was such exciting news. He was asking us about the temple and when he could go to that and be apart of that. We have 2 more dates right now also.
James is a kid we met on the side of the road. We taught him and committed him for baptism there on his porch. We haven't seen him since but we're not giving up on him.
The last investigator's name is Andy.... yeah weird... He lives with a member and is going through a divorce right now. His friend called us and wanted us to come over and teach him. Andy grew up going to seminary and stuff but the time never presented itself for him to be baptized. Now the time is right and he is preparing for the 13th of March!
We found a few more that didn't accept dates but we're gonna keep on working with them. It was an incredible week.
To finish it off, yesterday we went up to Mount Graham (about 9000 elevation) and played in the snow. It was so nice. Snow up to your knees but warm enough out for shorts and t-shirts. After playing in the snow Elder Clark and I took our shoes and socks off (because they were soaked) and it wasn't even cold on our feet. It was awesome. Elder Torres is from the Philippines and has never seen snow before. We built a snow man which I then tackled. It was a lot of fun.
Love you all~
Elder Harris
Change to the Tucson Mission
With the creation of the new St. George Mission, some of the other missions have been realigned, including the Arizona Tucson Mission.
I don't know the specifics of the change but it appears to have taken the eastern most part of New Mexico and the El Paso, Texas areas away from the mission and included it in the Albuquerque Mission. I'm sure that if the Las Cruces area is no longer part of his mission, Andy will be sad but at least he was able to serve there before the change.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Super Bowl Sunday
Hey everybody!
Nothing too exciting happened this week.
Elder Clark and I are still trudging through the refiners fire as we search under rocks for investigators. We started teaching a lady named Robin this last week but the next day she dropped us. It was sad. The first lesson we had with her was very spiritual and she said that she believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet (we had her pray right then and there). The next day though she told us that she was tossing and turning all night and that she had an uneasy feeling all night. We tried to convince her that it was satan but she wouldn't listen :( We'll still be going by once or twice a week to teach her a little here and there but she won't be too big of a focus.
The Super Bowl last night was a pain in the neck.... nobody wanted to answer their doors :(
Also this last week, Bro Palmer invited us to come and teach the Seminary at Safford High. It was a way fun experience and we got to know the youth in our wards alot more.
Anyways, I love you all! Hope life is treating you well!
Elder Harris
Monday, February 1, 2010
One More Baptism:) - No More Investigators:(
Unfortunately with Chris' baptism Elder Clark and I are now out of investigators. Our days are now spent talking to everyone we can, pouring over old records trying to find new investigators. The Lord is going to provide us with miracles but it's still kind of a bummer.
This morning the Seminary teacher called us and invited us to come and kick off Missionary Week in his classes. We're super excited to do it. I miss Seminary so much, it was the best. Not to mention that the youth are amazing here, bringing Billy and Julie into the church, and we're hoping to start teaching a few more youth soon! It's kind of funny that a good chunk of my baptisms so far have been youth baptisms.
Well, I hope that all is going well with you all at home. I love you all and we'll talk to you next week!
~Elder Harris
This is a mailbox in our area. We ride by it almost every day, and I couldn't resist!!
