Oct. 27, 2020 -- They Grow Up So Fast

We have been dealing with incredible cold temperatures today and yesterday. I think it got down to a grim 55° F, which is a good thirty degrees colder than normal. We were biking in our short sleeved-shirts feeling sure that our ears would freeze and snap off. If anyone goes outside, they have coats and beanies on. I realized though, that that was probably the coldest it has ever been in my entire time of being a missionary here or in El Salvador. I don't think I'd even been below 70 before.

They other day we brought some cookies to a neighbor to try and do something nice, but somehow, despite our best attempts at refusal, we walked away from their door with a bunch of chicken patties and a frozen pizza. People are too nice.

You may have heard of people crossing the street to avoid missionaries, but we were biking along and another biker came going the other direction but on our side of the street and told us rather angrily that we needed to be on the other side of the street. So people making missionaries cross the street to avoid talking to them might be a new one.

A couple minutes ago I looked out our porch window and quickly did a frantic double take when what I thought was a leaf blowing in the wind was actually a three-inch cockroach lurching towards the door. We were luckily able to turn away that unwelcome guest.

Early this week we had a super busy day, where we didn't even have to go back to the apartment and make phone calls or anything because we were just out teaching all day! We started off with a super awesome couple we are teaching that actually have a son on a mission calling us to say they had a box of food they wanted to give us, which was super nice. Later we visited some member families. We then decided to call someone who's phone number we had obtained. We got his phone number from his wife, whose number we got from her sister. It was quite the chain. But we called this guy and he told us that he often enjoys listening to the Mormon Channel! Not every day that you meet someone like that. Right after that phone call, the member whose house we had been at just half an hour ago called us to say that they had a nonmember friend coming over and wanted us to come teach them, so we went over, where we got ice cream and shared a message. Then, that family came to church on Sunday for the first time in months! It is hard to explain, but there are very few things that have ever made me as happy as seeing someone come back to church or visit for the first time.

Later that night we had another lesson with a family that recently moved to our ward and hasn't been very active. There are two teenage daughters in the family that have grown so crazy much since we've been visiting them. Usually in our first couple videocalls they were sleeping or something and wouldn't come, but now they are always ready with their Books of Mormon in hand when we call and do an awesome job at participating and sharing their thoughts about the scriptures too. They haven't quite got daily scripture study down, but when we asked how they'd been doing, the older daughter said that since they couldn't go to church this Sunday, she thought it appropriate to read some in the scriptures, and opened them up! We were so happy. They've been coming to mutual activities and progressing a lot. It was super heart-warming in their closing prayer when they said, "Please bless our missionaries and thanks so much for the time our missionaries give us. We know they have lots of people to visit, but we hope we can have another appointment even sooner. Please bless this virus to end so we can all go back to church together." I think the greatest miracle of being a missionary is just seeing these little changes people make in their lives.

Our main man from Guatemala continues to progress so much. He is the coolest. Yesterday we had a lesson at the chapel, but we forgot it locks on Mondays. We had to just do it in the back of his car, which just has a constant beeeeeeep noise that it makes. It was a very memorable lesson. The other day we had a lesson where he brought us some traditional Guatemala bread and some sodas. We planned another lesson with a member family that has seven kids, so we had him, their family, the ward mission leader, and the sister missionaries and their family all together to eat tamales and get to know each other. Our ward's the best. He hadn't been able to hit his baptismal date because he needed to come to church for his third time first, so we asked him when he thought he would be ready for baptism, and he said November 27th, which seemed reasonable enough. The next day we got this super awesome text:

"Do you know how I chose my baptismal date........?"

Us: "No, how?"

"It's my birthday."

Us: "NO WAY HERMANO! That's so special! We are so excited for you."

"My baptism will be my best birthday gift."

He is so cool. We are planning a song to do together in the upcoming ward talent show. Nothing is more awesome to see than people changing their lives through the gospel.

So, yesterday we also found out about transfers! And.....I am becoming a grandfather! I just finished training my own greenie, and he is going to train another one! With how many missionaries are in the US now, things are just growing like crazy and over half of the companionships in the mission have someone that is in there training. There were 6 elders in my district, and all but one is going to train. So anyway, Elder Parker is going to North Las Vegas with his new missionary tomorrow, and I am staying here to make 6 months in good old Paraiso. One of my current zone leaders is Elder Gastelum, and he is super nice. Tomorrow, he will be moving in here with me and we will both be zone leaders, and to top it off we will take in a brand new missionary from the home MTC too! My first trio. It'll be a little crazy I'm sure, but I am very excited to have another trainee and keep working here. I just hope they give us another bed and desk soon...

Till we meet,

Elder Harris

Pictured is my jack-o-lantern before and after Las Vegas heat, a can with a good name, driver's test (first time driving in like 5 months!), some Elders in the district (now one trainer, one district leader, one district leader trainer, and one zone leader trainer!), and two good vehicles (which is faster, I wonder?)

Oct. 20, 2020 -- The Miracle Watch

We had an exciting moment last week. I was standing by the counter, munching on some cereal or something, and Elder Parker was across the bar facing me. Lately for some reason we have had a lot of fruit flies in the house. Suddenly Elder Parker has a look of extreme focus on his face. His eyes go wide, and he lets loose a maniacal laugh: "YES! HAHAHA!" He legs it around the counter with his evil grin and runs to our gas stove where an unfortunate fruit fly had landed on the burner. He turned it on and a blast of fire ridded us of one more fruit fly menace as he went down like a burning plane. Quite the excitement. 

We are getting into the Halloween spirit! Today we went to the park with our district and carved pumpkins. We had a great time and made some good pumpkins. They were too good to leave, so Elder Parker and I had to take them home. We jumped on our bikes with a jack-o-lantern under an arm, and off we went! (somewhat slowly and shakily, haha). We ended up biking 2 miles home, but it was definitely worth it. Feeling pretty festive over here. I caught a couple glimpses of people cracking big old smiles as they saw us biking along.

Last week, the money on our cards didn't reset and we were just about to run out of water because we couldn't buy enough. One day, it looked like we were going to run out, and we would be doomed to the ominous Las Vegas tap water and kidney stones. Just then, a member came over and brought us a pizza for dinner. We talked for a minute, and then he said, "Hey, I have some cases of water in the back, do you guys need any?" He brought that over at the perfect time. We were very happy. Neat little experience.

This week I also got one of my greatest compliments ever. We had to call some missionaries we didn't know about a referral we were sending them. The missionary who answered was from Venezuela. After talking for a minute, he asked me, "¿Usted es un Chilango? Suena como es del DF." That means he was asking if I was a Mexico city native, haha. I explained that I was in fact a gringo from Utah, but I was very honored to have at least fooled one native into thinking I was a latino.

We had a funny phone call when we were calling people from our records. One phone number had a little kid pick up and yell, "WHAAAAT DO YOU WAAAAAAAAAANT!?" Haha, he didn't know who we were, but we talked to him and the little guy told us that his feet just really hurt, so he was having a bad day. After asking him about his favorite videogame, he seemed a little happier. It was just a funny start to a phone call with him yelling his little lungs out.

We have enjoyed teaching one guy that is just super cool and is progressing a lot towards baptism. He is the one who we invited to be baptized and came to church. This week out of the blue he just sent us a text that said, "I want to tell you guys that you are my best friends in the whole United States." Just melted our hearts. He is the best. He showed us this crazy mariachi version of "I Am a Child of God" that he made on the piano. 

Another awesome experience was with our next door neighbor. They are just this super happy and cool family. (They are the same ones with the dad who after our first lesson said, "I just feel GOOD!") We always see the little girls who are 7 and 8 running back and forth down the hall in their flip flops (or roller skates or scooters, depending on the day). They always say funny things. We made them cookies once, and the next day they yelled to us, "Thanks for the cookies!" and "Cool bike!" Another time they asked us what we do for work. I said, "Nothing! We just do this alllll day!" They seemed to mull it over a little before saying, "Oh! That's weird!" and going about their business. Anyways, we went over and read about when Christ came to visit the Americas. It was a good lesson, and it is just fun to have all the kids there. Afterwards, the dad was just shaking his head and said, "Man, we were just talking about that prick in your heart, and I just had that. That's why I'm smiling."

As we were biking home one night, we saw a sign that said, "Choose Joyfulness" at a bus-stop and thought we'd snag a picture with it. As we did, we saw a man sitting on the bench. He was a sort of a broken looking man. Probably homeless. Been through a lot. He kind of hunched over and seemed to try and shrink into himself. We introduced ourselves and talked for a minute, but he was pretty quiet. We were about to go, but this humble man looked up and shyly said, "I know a little about the Mormons. I am from Illinois, close to Nauvoo." We talked some more and he mentioned he had read a little in the Book of Mormon before. We asked if he would like one, and he said, "Yes, yes, I would." I could tell it meant a lot to this man, just to have somebody notice him and ask his name. Take a minute to care about him, even though we really didn't do a whole lot. A little more and off we went. We pedaled away and a soft, "Thank you! Have a nice night! God bless!" trailed after us. Hopefully we brought a little drop of light to someone having a hard time. 

The other day someone told me that we couldn't be right because there is just no evidence that God exists. I just have to smile and shake my head. It blows me away every day how involved he is in our lives. I feel bad for those poor people that don't want to look around and see it! He is always there.

Till we meet.

Elder Harris

Pictured are several things including how are normal carpet looks compared to the fresh carpet under a mat!

Oct. 13, 2020 -- Single Digits

"So, the reason we are on earth is to AAAHHHHHHH!"

That was about how a recent video lesson went. We were teaching the Plan of Salvation over the phone while we were at a park, but were surprised when the sprinklers turned on and gave us a little dousing. We were able to regroup and finish, though, so no worries. 

Always lots to see here in Las Vegas, like a guy pulling a crazy wheelie on a moped.

Lately the weather has been great! It is usually in the upper 80s or lower 90s, so it is finally bearable to go outside. Today our district went to a park to play some spikeball and throw a football. It was nice to have some fresh air. Also, leaving Walmart, a guy came and asked us for our card! Usually we have to offer, haha, so that was awesome. He said that he used to live in Georgia and the missionaries helped him out a lot when his wife got in a car wreck, and it was the best experience he ever had. I think it was cool that even though those missionaries didn't make much progress visible in the moment to help that man, it had a big enough impact on him to lead him to talk to missionaries on his own and have fond memories of those other ones. That is one thing I've learned a lot. A little example or kind deed goes a lot farther than we often realize.

We have had an odd mystery this week. When we went on exchanges, my companion put the SIM card for another area into his phone while he was over there. Now he is back here without a SIM card, but he keeps getting texts for their area and can respond on his phone even though he doesn't have a card. Pretty strange. 

Man, the other day I hit the 15 month mark, which means I only have single digit month numbers left. That is pretty weird. Mission time goes by so fast. I still feel like I'm just starting and kind of getting into the rhythm of things, but I'm kind of old! Got to enjoy every moment. 

The other night we heard a knock on our door and when we opened it, our neighbor was there! We had made some cookies for them once. She motioned us over to her door, where she loaded us up with chocolate milk, chicken patties, apples, and yogurt. I guess they had gotten some extra from her job or something, and she wanted to share, which was super awesome! A little service goes a long way.

This week I also got a sweet Halloween package from the Junk family! They're the best there is. 

I think the best part of the week is the man we invited to be baptized the other day. He is so cool. The other day he had a day off and we asked what he would do. He texted back, "Wash car, practice music, read Book of Mormon," in half English and half Spanish. Some good plans. He is so great because he always answers our messages and calls (which may sound small, but is a HUGE blessing as any missionary will know). He also came to church this Sunday for the first time! All the members came and said hi to him, and he seemed to really enjoy it. The next day we had a lesson and asked him how things are going with praying. He said, "well, I feel like God is answering my prayers because yesterday in church I was nervous at first, but then I felt sooo good. Just really comfortable." He just had a big old smile on his face and was so happy. I love that. There are so many people out there that are just crazy ready for the gospel. We've just got to find them. He even went out and started teaching himself "I Am a Child of God" on the guitar. I love that man. 

Things are good here on the front lines.

Elder Harris

Oct. 6, 2020 -- "What, you going 100?"

It doesn't get much better than general conference weekend! Best believe that I bought myself some chocolate milk in keeping with tradition (Although with nobody to stop me, I had it for EVERY session instead of just Sunday morning!)

The October weather here in Las Vegas has been feeling mighty fine. The low 90s and upper 80s have felt downright cool, which is odd.

You certainly get a mix of everyone in Las Vegas! When we went to Walmart, one guy marched up to us and accused us of teaching the devil's first lie. The other missionaries in our district told us that he came up to us right after he had gotten done with them, and then we saw the same guy walk up to another pair of missionaries in the parking lot! Haha, that poor, confused man on his solo crusade against the "mormon menace." Then there's the people you wave to and they flip you off. But there are so many more nice people! Just today we talked to this sweet old Swedish lady in the store, who joked around with us and said we made her day. There was another guy with dreadlocks we talked to as we crossed the street, that said, "You brightened up my day a little bit!" Then there is the lady that is our apartment manager that we made cookies for, who unrolled her window and waved to us as she saw us out and about today. We also talked to a big Polynesian security guard on a little golf cart who was a member and wanted to refer some friends. All the good just makes it easy to laugh off the bad.

This week I discovered the answer to a long-time mystery. One dark night in El Salvador we were walking on a little path to visit a family that lived a good 10 minute trek into the jungle with no other houses in sight. We looked up into the sky to see a light come out from behind a cloud. It looked like a satellite or something, but then there was another . . . and another . . . and another all spaced 3 or 5 seconds apart moving in a perfect line and perfectly distanced from each other. Soon there was a line of almost 20 of the dots silently stalking across the sky. It was kind of eerie, and even more so as seen from the pitch black jungle. The other day Elder Parker and I were talking about space launches and stuff, and somehow it came up that that line was the Sky Link. A bunch of satellites that circle the globe. Kind of cool.

The other day we were biking to church and came to an intersection. We could go either straight or left. Straight is faster and the way we always go, but for some reason we stopped and decided to go left. Not 10 seconds later, a truck pulled up and unrolled the window. The man said he was a member but hasn't gone to church in 10 years. He had moved to Las Vegas the day before, and had been praying. He said when he saw us, he thought it was a sign. We were so happy to talk to him, and if we hadn't taken that left turn, we never would have met him.

Our mission president and his wife always do a little mission-wide zoom call every Sunday night, and it is a lot of fun. It feels a little like family. 

As we were biking home one day, we pulled up to a stop sign at the same time as another car. The guy inside it said hi and just seemed friendly. When we got back home, he was outside, and we realized that he is our next door neighbor! Apparently we had arrived pretty quickly on our bikes, because he greeted us with, "What, you guys doin a hunn-ned (hundred)?" He then asked, "What message do you have for me today?" We shared a quick scripture and gave him a Book of Mormon. Then, yesterday, we went and visited him. They are just a beautiful young family with the mom and dad and four kids that we met, but I think one or two that we didn't. They gathered around and we read the story of Enos. The spirit was very strong as we talked about prayer, and they seemed to really enjoy it. At one point, the mom was just fervently nodding her head in deep agreement, and the teenage son told us that he has lots of friends that are members of the church. They were so grateful and so cool. When we finished the lesson, the dad got up to let us out the door, and he said to himself, "Man, I feel good!"

I think if you can make someone say that after talking about God, there is perhaps nothing better.

Elder Harris 

Sept. 29, 2020 -- A Long Ways From Home

"Alright, Elder Harris!" proclaimed Elder Parker, interrupting the previous silence of thought from finishing a long day's work. He shot to his feet, and said "I've had enough, I think I AM taller than you!" The other missionaries, who occasionally cannot tell us apart, had previously determined that I had about a quarter-inch on my beloved companion. We knew this must be settled, because if he was in fact taller than me, he could rightfully claim the position of senior companion and district leader (this is how a mission works, for those of you who have not gone yet). We did not even have to communicate how this duel would take place, it is just kind of a primal instinct. We marched to the bathroom, stood shoulder to should, and turned to face the mirror. All we could see was from the chin down. This was a very large obstacle to our test of vertical maturity. We then tried to settle it by crouching to be able to see our heads, but quickly realized that this is difficult, as whoever crouches less is guaranteed the victory. For now, I remain unchallenged.

This week we were able to have a virtual mission tour by President Paul Pieper of the seventy, who is the area president. We had a big zoom meeting with the whole mission on Tuesday. He taught us a lot about helping those we teach develop a personal connection with God, prayerfully setting daily goals, and helping people make their own commitments. It was really great. It made me realize how much general authorities sacrifice, too! His wife never served a full-time mission, but with their assignments as general authorities, she has lived outside of the United States for 20 years and has learned two languages in addition to english. They also were assigned to Kazakhstan in a time when there were no members of the church there. When they left, there were 50! Anyway, the next day we were supposed to apply and talk about the things we learned in district council. But, that day, I got a text from President Rodarte, asking if I would be available to plan our district council together with Elder Pieper. So that morning, Elder Parker and I got to be on a zoom call for half an hour with just, us, the mission president, and a member of the seventy. It was a super awesome experience. I was scribbling notes faster than possibly ever before. We then had a meeting with him and all the Spanish missionaries, and one with the whole mission again.

I am super grateful to be training Elder Parker. The other day we had some exchanges with missionaries that were less than obedient, and it felt so good to be done. I love just being able to be on the same page with Elder Parker knowing that we would probably rather just lay down and die than sleep in or ignore phone rules and things. He is a great companion and has learned Spanish very well.

The start of this week was a little tougher. We were just having little success and lots of appointments falling through, so we would have to just make phone calls for hours. I was feeling just a little down, but then Sunday was our first week of going back to church every week (and last week of feeling inactive, haha). I think the announcement excited the ward, and all the missionaries in the district have been working hard to get people to come back, so when we got to church, there were so many people! It was probably almost double the attendance in both groups than we have been having in either one until now. We were able to help two young women who got baptized a while ago but haven't gone in a long time come to church with a neighbor family, and it made us so happy. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time we were at church. It just felt so good. The Sabbath truly is a blessing. It picked me right back up when I was feeling a little down.

We had another great experience that same day when a man we are teaching texted us that he got off work early and wanted to see if we could meet up in about an hour! It is always great when they schedule their own appointments.  Previously, we had had one video call, and then another appointment in the church. He is a great guy, and in that last lesson, we felt confident we could invite him to be baptized. We gave him a chapel tour, taught him a little, and invited him, but things just weren't clicking, and he wasn't really understanding what we were saying. We were a little saddened. But then on Sunday, we had this second lesson in the chapel. We went and started talking about the Book of Mormon as we sat beneath a big picture of Christ coming to the Americas. He is interested in learning english, so we read a little in english and spanish to help him practice. After reading and discussing the story of Christ's visit to the Nephites, we asked him, "If all of this is true -- if there really are prophets on the earth again, and if Christ really did come to the Americas, what do you think the next step for you would be?" He responded, "Join the church, I suppose!" He has already been baptized in another church, so this was a pretty big thing for him to say. We then talked about our purpose, and how through baptism, he could not only accomplish that, but could also receive a remission of his sins. We asked if he thought he would like to be baptized. He said, "Well, what is the process like in order to be baptized?" We smiled and looked at each other, because this was one of the exact things Elder Pieper taught us about, and we and knew exactly what to say. We read D&C 20:37, and discussed baptismal requirements. We also talked about things like going to church. He liked it a lot, and we then invited him to prepare to be baptized on a date about four weeks out. We asked what he thought, and he seemed to think it was a little soon, but asked how long it usually takes people to prepare. We told him it usually is about 4 to 6 weeks, so if he wanted, we could potentially put his date a week or so later. He responded, "Oh, well if that is the case, I think I would like to try the challenge of doing it in four weeks." This humble man has such great faith. He is working so hard to bring his wife and young daughter from their home to the United States, and the gospel will bless his family so much. I don't know if it comes across in writing that well, but that baptismal invite was the most normal and natural one I had ever been a part of. The Spirit was very strong as we really tried to listen, ask good questions, and make his commitment something he wanted to do instead of just persuading him to say yes to something we throw at him. It was a beautiful little miracle to tie up the week, and we are excited to continue helping him.

You know, 'home' is a simple word, but one that has a lot of deep emotional meaning. Somewhere your heart stays, maybe. This week I thought about how home is kind of like the Shire. Right now I'm off on a grand adventure, which, like any adventure, has plenty of fun and excitement, but also the hard work of the body, sacrifice of the heart, and effort of the soul that make it real. We're already far beyond the Misty Mountains and the rolling green hills of The Shire, and there is no sense spending every second wishing oneself somewhere you're not. That takes the fire out of the adventure. And I suppose there is no greater adventure than the literal battle of good versus evil, the long road to becoming like God, and the giant task of bringing light to another human soul. Easier adventures aren't so memorable nor so rewarding. I love this awesome journey and everything that comes with it. It is so beautiful to me that those young missionaries are called to rise and sit at the table of those giants among men that bear the title of 'Elder' and spend their days in the service of their God. It certainly is an adventure of monumental proportions. But anyways, I think that 'Shire,' or that connection to home that you take with you, gives a little warmth on the occasional dark, rainy night of lonesomeness or sorrow. Even though now is not the time, there is always that peaceful place of memory that will be there again one day. It is a source of strength to keep pushing, and to know that there is something worth fighting for. To a greater extent, I think of our heavenly home, and the knowledge that though we have our trials and challenges, one day we will return to a place of joyful reunion with all those we love. I read something by President Eyring today: "If you feel a little overwhelmed, take that as a good sign. It indicates that you can sense the magnitude of trust that God has placed in you." So anyways, someday all too soon the adventure will be over and I will be called home. But for now . . .

. . . here's to an adventure.

Elder Harris

Pictured is some exceptional sewing of my sheets, a Sunday bike ride, the best barber shop in the west and my new favorite meal to cook - a scrambled egg bean chicken patty bagel!