So. The final six weeks. Here we are.
I got a nice, very personal email that said, "Dear Elder or Sister Harris." That is how you know they care. It was just some business email about an online course they have you do toward the end of your mission, but it made me laugh.
Also, here is a miracle that happened about 20 minutes ago: we were doing some chores and I was packing (Wait, what? Not so subtle foreshadowing? Hmmm...) and we got a call over Facebook from someone we had never met but had accepted a Facebook friend request. He told us that he had lost his job, his car broke down, and his girlfriend left -- all today. He said he didn't know us, but he was wondering if we could share some godly words. We talked a little and shared some scriptures and will be calling again tonight. I think if you just make it clear who you are and that you're there to help, people will turn to you when something goes wrong (and something always goes wrong).
This week we had Elder Kyle S. McKay come to our mission! Sister McKay has the heavenly glow of an angel and told some amazing stories. Then Elder McKay stood up and thunder rolled from the pulpit with some actual pulpit pounding. He was the most powerful speaker ever. I think he has everything memorized. Like, if you can think of a scripture or a book or a poem, he probably has it memorized. He was really funny too. He said, "We came here to shake the very foundations of the Nevada Las Vegas Mission so that hell would have no power and all hell's demons will want to leave! They probably already do, anyway. It's hotter here than it is there. I look at the weather map on my phone and it says, 'Las Vegas, 106.' Then I swipe over and it says, 'Hell, 102.'" He taught us a lot, especially about having fire in the bones and completely dedicating yourself to the work. On his first morning here was when he interviewed Elder Gastelum and I. I was admittedly a little nervous not knowing what to expect. However, as he and his wife came in, they just emanated so much love and warmth. Any worries immediately went away. It is pretty cool to see someone so powerful and capable who is so kind and uplifting.
We went with him as we visited different parts of the mission. The last day, everything went wrong with technology that could. On our way there, we realized the chapel we were going to didn't have a camera you could hook to a laptop and use with Zoom, so we got someone to temporarily steal the camera from another building. Then, when we got there, we turned on the church sound system, and a horrible screaming came from all the speakers. We hurried and unplugged everything and figured out that something had blown in the speakers, and not even the church microphone on the podium would work without making deafening shrieking noises. Then we couldn't get the speaker to hook to the computer to play the sound from online meeting participants. It was the worst. In the end, we made some improvisations, and had the meeting with Elder McKay, the mission president, and 12 stake presidents preaching (in Elder McKay's words) "like Brigham and Joseph had to."
It was all a very uplifting experience. I liked one thing he said about change, which was that "if you do it, and it fades away after I'm gone, you did it for me. If it lasts forever, you did it for Jesus." He also said that, "nobody is called to maintain the status quo."
On the way back from one of the meetings, we picked up some sandwiches in a small town called Needles, California, which we discovered is the home town of Spike, Snoopy's brother from the Peanut comics. Small world.
This week we also had the best end of the transfer that I could imagine with two baptisms. There is a girl named Dyl'n whose family had not been attending church, but started coming back. We were the first missionaries to teach them. They are now in a different ward, but they asked if I would come and baptize Dyl'n. Her mom is a member, but her dad, who is not a member, also came to her baptism! It was just a beautiful and happy experience. I also realized that I have never baptized someone in English until that day.
A student from our English class also came to the baptism. We just invited him, and he said, "Sure! I've never been to one." He smelled a little like smoke. A scent of smoke in your church meetings is always just a great sign that missionary work is happening. After the baptism, he said, "So, what is a covenant?" We explained, and he nodded. He then looked at the picture of Christ being baptized and said, "When she got baptized, you all had your hands and everything just like they are in this picture." We talked about Christ's example. He then asked, "Why do you think that Catholics baptize babies? Wouldn't it make more sense for it to be someone's own decision?" You could just see all the wheels racing in his head. It was so cool. They say the best way to baptize is to baptize. Or, in other words, when you can get someone to go to a baptism, a lot of them want to be baptized as well. Anyway. We are teaching him and are very excited for what comes next.
And, our great friend, Miss Nancy also got baptized! She met the missionaries who were helping direct traffic flow when she got her COVID vaccine, who then introduced her to us. She was a little distant at first, but then as she went through some difficult personal trials, she felt a lot of peace through the scriptures. When we ask her about her feelings of the church, she often says, "I just know the Book of Mormon is true! It is God's word!" She takes pages of notes as she reads and was ready to be baptized from day one. She met some great members, like a family whose little kids would draw her a picture when she came to visit church. Our ward organist--who plays piano like nobody's business--played at her baptism. She wanted to play something Nancy would recognize, so she played an incredible version of Amazing Grace and Nancy hugged the member sitting next to her and cried through it all. She has incredible faith. Right after, we went over to a ward party and introduced her to even more members. It was a really happy day.
All in all, it was a very happy week. And then, last night President called us in to his office and let me know that I would be finishing my mission in another area. I am off to a Spanish ward in North Las Vegas for my final six weeks. It is a bike area, and I will just be a normal missionary with nothing to do but find and teach. I am excited to see what the future holds.
'Til we meet,
Elder Harris
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