President told me this week that I will be needing to stay with the mission doctor for a while . . . because he's my new companion!
Let's jump back in time:
This week we had transfers, so on Monday night they called us up and told us to be at the terminal in San Miguel at 8 in the morning on Wednesday. Then on Tuesday night they called us again and told us to be at the terminal at 3:45 in the morning! So on
Tuesday we bid farewell to the many wonderful members of the Jucuapa ward. I will really miss them and hope that everything goes well there. We got back to the house, and after planning and verifying the day with the zone leaders, I wanted to write a couple
notes to members that I didn't see to tell them thanks. Then I packed up all my belongings which I didn't finish until about midnight. Then I took a shower (Bonus fact, when you shower in the middle of the night, there's water pressure! Maybe because nobody
else is using the water.) And slept for like two hours so I could wake up and eat something before we left. One of the members in the ward came and picked us up at three in the morning and we were off. It was exciting, because his headlights didn't work! It
was kind of like driving through Logan Canyon without any lights. Very interesting. We debated over the scripture about how a blind man can't lead another blind man and how that applied to us. In San Miguel we took another bus to get to the mission offices
in centro at 7 in the morning.
In the mission offices were all the new missionaries that just arrived and those that were going to train. That was when the APs told me I was the doctor's new comp. I am pretty excited. This should be fun. So the mission doctor, the secretaries, and the
APs have P-Day on Friday and not Monday, which is why I am writing today. But it is kind of fun to have things mixed up a little bit. Sometimes we have meetings with the secretaries, the APs, and the doctor, so I am there because I am the doctor's companion.
Thus it was that I became secretary for their meetings, which makes me the secretaries' secretary. But I like the secretaries and APs and my comp a lot. They are all super cool and I'm excited.
So my new area is in centro, as opposed to oriente. Or city in the middle as opposed to more rural. Most of all this means one thing: no salsa negra for my pupusas. This is a minor tragedy because nobody in centro likes it and everyone in oriente does.
I am in a nice place that is called Las Arboledas. It is in Soyapango, which is commonly considered one of the top 3 most dangerous cities in a country that is one of the most dangerous in the world! So that is very cool as well. But it is really not that
bad. The gangs helpfully paint their symbols on the walls, so you never have to wonder which territory you're in! How nice. No, but I am really excited to be here. My new companion is Elder Bowman, from Arizona and slightly taller than me. I like him a lot.
It is also interesting here because there is a lot here close by. There is Papa John's, Wendy's McDonald's, and a bajillion other things to eat! It was like "What? We have more options than Don Pollo or Don Pollo?" And, best of all, there is a Walmart
in my area! I think there are like 3 in the entire country, and it is within walking distance from my house. So we went there today and I bought Tostito's chips and queso along with some Nutella. Very excited. For P-Day we watched the new Lion King, because copyright laws are different here. It was good. We also cleaned the house a lot because it was pretty bad. We also get to write
home on the nice computers in the air conditioned mission office, which is pretty great. We ate some pancakes and everything is going pretty good. I am still a little lost in my area. More urban and no dirt streets or cows. I am also realizing right now that
I haven't seen a chicken in a while, which is surreal. Last week every day I would see women with baskets on their heads with their purse and live chickens and food or whatever. Pretty different. We had Burger King for dinner, which has never happened to me
before. This is crazy. Not so isolated. But, more on all that next week.
For now, just a small thought that I liked. I heard someone say that you can't run with your companion before you walk with him. Success and miracles all start simple, with walking next to your comp and getting to know him. Another little thought is that
there are so many people here that are very poor, but very happy. Happiness really depends on our attitude and our commitment to the gospel, not on our circumstances. Sometimes if we say we'll be happy once we graduate or have a house or get a better job or
when the mission is over or something like that, we are really just choosing not to be happy. We have everything to be grateful for, especially because of the hope Christ offers us for free. Even if you live in a sheet metal shack. We are happiest when we
are obedient.
Elder Harris
More pictures next week. For now, just a rabbit and a nice view.
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