August 15th

Mommy, Dear Mommy,

Mission life is good.  Thanks for telling me about your seminary fireside. I love your concept for that talk! Thats the biggest thing we deal with is helping people understand that we're not coming into their homes to tear away their faith and throw it out the door. We want to help them build on that foundation. We INVITE others and thats all we can do as missionaries. I like that idea that the Holy Ghost brings things UNTO but not INTO your heart. That they can only get INTO your heart if you do the work and then let them in. Thats awesome about accountability for the seminary kids reading. I think that would be interesting to tell them that so they know that their nightly reading is something that Salt Lake, the Prophet wants to know about!

 

The weather just got crazy out here! We're looking out the door of the church right now and its practically flooding outside! I'll send some rain and puddle pictures too!

 

I can definitely tell how a mission would be AWFUL if you're being disobedient! If it weren't for the uplifting feelings I get from the spirit, I could NOT stay here. And the spirit will only be here if I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm grateful for your guys' prayers, especially about me getting a good trainer! I couldn't have asked for a better trainer! Hes so obedient but hes friendly and loving and helping me be more healthy! I'm developing more patience and understanding! I felt so bad yesterday, we asked the Bishop if he could get us an Elders Quorum calander and he sighed, looked back and forth and said "Brethren, lets do it on Wednesday." We walked away and I said "So I guess the Bishop is the last person we should ask for things." I was grumpy because he wouldn't help us but Elder Christensen said "Only because hes so busy, its not fair to ask him to do things for us unless we absolutely have to. We should really only ask him for counsel." That totally hit me in the face! DUH! I felt so bad! Its exactly like how some people treat Dad and I felt awful! I just wanted to let Dad know that I'm sure there are a lot of people that take him for granted and don't even realize it! I know he's doing a good job and I'm so grateful for the hard work he puts in and I know Bishop Daniels here is a great man!

 

So my exchange was in Chambersburg, PA with Elder Gowdy. Hes hilarious! We were tracting and knocked on this door and this guy answered. His skin was sickly grey with splotches, he looked really dirty and he was ROCKING back and forth, staring at us. Elder Gowdy said "Would you like to hear a message about Jesus Christ" and the guy said "I don't believe like you do!" And Elder Gowdy said "Ok, well...do you know someone who would benefit from this message?" And the guy replied, "I would, he would, we would but I don't want it." And closed the door. As we were walking away, Elder Gowdy was stunned. "That guy can't be real." I thought it was very funny!

 

Speaking of funny stories, Elder Christensen and I volunteer at this Food Bank and we got invited to a luncheon for all the volunteers so I ordered a salad and he got something else. When the salad arrived, he stared unblinkingly as I proceeded to take the tomatoes, the crutons and the Bell Peppers off the salad. He stared at me, the salad and back at me. "Are you serious?!?! Everything that excites that meal...trashed!" We were laughing really hard and the elderly, retired volunteers watched us awkwardly.

 

Last thing, I promise I'm sending birthday cards to Dad and Shelby! I feel like its gonna be hard for me to stay on top of that since we only shop once a week! I need to plan ahead, but I promise I didn't forget! Happy birthday to them both and they will soon receive cards!

 

I think thats it, I love youins and I promise I'm doing smashingly!

 

Feel free to give my email address to anyone I guess. If anyone wants to write to me, they can. I have kept up that everyone that writes me does get a response and so far with email, I've done the same thing. But I don't promise everyone will ALWAYS get an email response but I will respond. Especially with letters!

 

Youins are awesome!

god speed

Onward and upward

Faith, hope, charity

Love one another

 

Sinceriously,

Elder Harrison

August 8th

Ok, so we only had 3 investigators at church again. Same three. I think that first week with lots was just lucky. It was interesting. We feel like we worked super hard this week but our numbers don't reflect that. However, our first week we didn't work very hard and had appointments fall out of the sky. So I definitely feel strongly that numbers don't actually represent the work you do. But Seanna and her husband haven't been coming to church lately but she DID tell us that if she got an answer to her prayer, she would be baptized. Same thing with another woman named Trudy (OH MY GOSH, I LOVE THAT WOMAN). She needs an answer to her prayer, but yesterday we taught her about temples and eternal families and she started crying! Shes a hilarious woman and she super loves us! I'm gonna cry like a baby when she gets baptized! Shes amazing. Can you add her to your guys' prayers?

 

Also, sadly, Josh smoked again. And he hasn't been keeping very good contact with us lately which is really bad while hes trying to quit smoking but we're praying for him and hopefully hes still ok to get baptized...I don't know really. Hes been working more and we're just going to try as hard as we can. Greg's parents are super against him getting baptized and its been about two weeks since we saw him but we're meeting with him this week.

 

I leave today to go on my first exchange! Yay. I super love our District Leader. His name is Elder Gowdy. I definitely am excited to learn a lot and see another area's experience since I've only ever seen Waynesboro.

 

Speaking of which, Mom, if you want to look up the other missionaries in my district and see if their mom's are on missionary moms, feel free. Greg Gowdy, Jason Bluemel and Zach Dastrup.

 

Also, we went back to talk to this guy we had met while tracting who had had 6 deaths in 5 months and had no interest in a God but we basically talked to him for like 2 hours. He was still pretty stubborn and not super interested. But we feel like if he thinks at all about what we said, our message could REALLY help him. His name was J.D. and if you guys want to pray to soften his heart, I know we could really help him.

 

Oh! Some interesting things that have been happening here, I ate crab for the first time. Like...out of the crab. Like, step 1: snap off legs. Step 2: snap off shell. Step 3: remove intestines, lungs and fecal matter (I KNOW). Step 4: work tirelessly ripping off little pieces of hard shell for little flowers of crab meat. End result? You're still hungry and you're now surrounded by dozens of disembowled crabs staring at you...People who live by oceans are weird people.

 

Also, did you guys know that Mennonites have a yearly pilgrammage? Where every single one of them across the U.S. meets somewhere thats been planned ahead of time 3 years in advance?? Crazy stuff! Apparantly theres one happening around here soon, maybe I'll get to go. Elder Christensen are going to hopefully get to go to a civil war reenactment on Saturday with a member! Thats exciting! They have things like that out here!

 

Also, I was super bummed not to get a picture of this but I saw a man who was basically Grandpa Larsen but 6 times his size (big boy) riding a wheel chair down the street, super blinged out with a cockateil on his shoulder! I NEED a picture of that man. He's a neighborhood regular. It WILL happen.

 

Well...thats all I've got this time around! I'm super excited and everything is going well! Oh! Elder Christensen did indeed get your leter, didn't think it was weird! I'll definitely send home anything I don't need! Tell Dad we're going today to make copies of his scripture study guide and the Fruits of the Apostasy story (one for me and one for Elder Christensen) and then I wanted to send the originals home cause they're on old, typed paper and I think thats super cool and don't want to ruin them. I might also send home some of the mail I've gotten and stuff but probably nothing for awhile!

Oh! I almost forgot. Yesterday, we went to Kingdom Hall, which is Jehovah's Witness worship. We're trying to learn more about all the religions in the area and we decided to start there so we can know how to set ourselves apart when asked to do so. Sometime this week, we're hopefully going to get the opportunity to attend Catholic Mass with the non-member husband of one the members. Thats exciting!

I love you guys and I'm grateful for your prayers. I've only been on my mission for a month and a half!! Crazy stuff!!

 

I'll talk to you guys soon and I'll be on for a while! Love youguys

 

Elder Harrison

August 1st

Hello Hello!

 

So many questions... So many answers!! Haha. Um..Yesterday, we had a slow day at church. We expected 4 or 5 investigators and only got 3. This whole week has been rough but its been a huge testimony builder that God will give us a good week and inspire us to be good missionaries and then test us to see if we'll be good missionaries even when things aren't going so well. We had a lot of cancelled appointments and Greg Henry was set for August 13th to get baptized but his parents are hard core against it so he didn't want to make them mad and he went to their church yesterday. He still wants to get baptized but because of the 3 times going to church rule, we have to push his baptism back. BUT, we set Josh Swope with August 13th as his day to get baptized instead! We told him we could do it either the 13th or the 20th and he said "the 13th. I want to do this as soon as possible!' So we started the Quit Smoking program with him on Saturday and he has to be clean for 14 days before he can be baptized and the 12th will be day 14.

 

It was actually rather shocking. Sunday morning in ward council, we told them about Josh's baptism and then in sacrament they announced they would be having the ward pool party and picnic the same day...we were like, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! I was really concerned about it but that night we ate dinner at the bishops house and as soon as he heard that he said, "We'll change the day of the party. We know our priorities." So that was super cool! We're actually going to try and see if we can do it Friday the 12th because Josh wants to do it ASAP anyways so that will be cool!

 

Oh, so that marking set you got me? It was like blue with a highlighter and pen in it? It is literally the perfect set for Preach My Gospel. I'm going about marking Preach My Gospel with the same fervor that I did the Book of Mormon in seminary. Its awesome. And I used Mosiah 24 and D&C 121 in a lesson about asking for help! It was super cool.

 

Its funny out here, Elder Christensen and I ate at a Mexican restaurant and on the front of the menu, it had a warning that basically said "Not all Mexican food is hot. It can be prepared like normal food." So apparantly the Pennsylvanians are so scared of spicy food, they need to be reassured its...normal? Ha. I actually eat all the spicy stuff out here. Its not near as weird as at home. I'm trying a lot of new things and I drink a lot of water. I'm losing weight but not enough to jack up my clothes. And Elder Christensen and I started a new "spartacus" workout. I haven't been this sore since the first day of wrestling when I was a Freshmen. And hes super gung-ho about it, very intense. He strongly desires six pack abs to the point where he rarely accepts desert anywhere...I really just want ice cream. Sigh. But hes convinced me to be a little bit more healthy...Sigh. I don't like it. But I guess its good for me.

 

We had one on one interviews with President Topham this week. I guess this is the third time he's toured the mission in like the last month! Crazy!

 

I love the greenie package you sent! I especially liked the water bottle and the floss things. I don't think I had ever seen those before so it was super awesome to get those. It just added to the heavy amounts of green I already see in the hills and the trees up here! The card in the package also made me laugh! And the little notebooks! Basically, if I could get one of those every few months I would greatly appreciate it! I love getting those! I also got letters from Lauraun, Matt, Linlea and Heath and...oh, Sis. Begay? Not Joan, but Karen. She talked about really liking to read my blog. So that was exciting.

 

Thats awesome about Shelby taking Organ Lessons! She could play in sacrament! That would be soo cool!! Its definitely one of those numerous things where Mom and Dad could say I told you so that every missionary out here (including me) wishes they could play the piano and a lot of them try to teach themselves. But skills like that are SO awesome to have! Its crazy to look back at all the things I've given up. Bummer. Speaking of raising children, so apparantly the Bishop up here made his son move out as soon as he turned 19... like, hes living with members and moving around to different houses paying rent and he just sent in his mission papers. And we heard the Bishop saying he would NEVER co-sign anything with his kids. We thought that was super harsh. Its crazy all the different parenting styles you see out here.

 

I don't know if I already told this story but its my only "memorable" story so far Haha. We knocked on this door and this guy came out and said we didn't need to bother, he was agnostic. And we said "Oh, ok. So you do believe in some higher power though?" And he said "I do not believe in some mythical being that controls the masses." We were stopped at that...he obviously didn't know what agnostic means. He started to turn around and I said "So you believe that people are successful in life based on their own decisions right?" And he said "Yes, just like I'm making the decision to close this door." And we said "Have a good day sir!" With big smiles on our faces.

 

We've also had people drive down and shout out "DEVIL!" or "SATAN!" My favorite response to that is "You too!" or "Thank you!" We're never really sure if they're just stating a fact or they have turrets... A lot of people think we're crazy or magic or magically crazy. I've heard stories about people who won't look us in the eye because they think we can still their soul and convert them if they make eye contact. There are like, 200 churches in Waynesboro and it is definitely not a big place! There is even one church called the "Otterbein" that actually teaches anti-Mormon seminars! I would be interested to know the route of the word Otterbein. Any ideas?

 

I actually enjoy the crazier people because hopefully they get to see that we're not crazy! That talk that you told me about sounded awesome! We're actually trying really hard right now to work on the ward council and invigorate member missionary work with them, helping them and giving them the tools necessary! I would love a copy of that talk if you feel so inclined.

 

We did 15.5 hours of "Finding" this last week. The usual goal is like 14. Its funny that we did like 8 hours last week and got 6 new investigators and 15 this week and no new investigators. I feel like maybe those numbers don't correlate. President Hinckley said finding is really just a last resort. The better way to do missionary work is through the members! I'm definitely grateful to have grown up in a missionary minded home but theres always so much we can do! People here are so afraid of ruining their relationships! If people cant get over the fact that you were trying to make them happier, then they're probably not great friends and if they DO accept the message, they'll be eternally grateful!

 

I love you guys and I've had nothing but good experiences thus far! The easy ones are exciting and the hard ones are rewarding! I did stub my toe this morning...that was neither exciting nor rewarding. BUT...mostly nothing but goodness.

 

As far as big hitting investigators, I was wondering if you guys could pray for 3 people specifically.

- Josh Swope: Quit smoking successfully and feel welcome at church

- Seanna Walker: Get an answer to her prayer and want to get baptized

- Greg Henry: Be able to soften his parents hearts or figure out a way to still get baptized

 

I would appreciate it!

 

I keep forgetting to bring my camera. I promise I'll email some pictures home soon. I just need to take some...Haha. I have quite a few from the MTC but not a lot out here. I'll try to take some this week!

 

I hope I answered all your questions and if not, definitely I'll try next week.

 

Thanks to everyone for the support!

 

Love you guys,

- Elder Harrison

24th of July

Oh Mommy, my Mommy-

 

How art thou? I'm doing well. It is indeed very hot and humid here. I've thus far lost 5 pounds from the sweating. This is the first time I've weighed below 160 Ibs. since I was a Sophomore. Pretty crazy. But I like it here. It was 115 degrees (if you account for the humidity, some kind of heat scale...I don't understand it.) But the actual temperature was 100 degrees. We have a car so its not so bad. But usually, we go tracting anyway because when we knock on a door and somebody says they're not interested, we say "actually, we were just hoping to get a glass of water." It doesn't usually work, but someday...hopefully, we'll get some water. Haha. But we've had no health problems. Its just a wee bit uncomfortable. Actually, President Topham told us that we get the 2nd least amount of sun (second only to Seattle) and so its a requirement to take Vitamin D pills because without seeing the sun, people get depressed...but with weather like this, I feel like I would be giddy if I never see the sun again. Haha. Just kidding...I'll take my pills...vitamin D pills are good.

 

I did get your package, thank you so much. The postcards were awesome! I might ask for more of those in a few months but right now I'm definitely set and I love the pictures! Thats exactly what I wanted. Don't worry about anymore. I loved the one with Hagmaier and I showed the first one, our family picture, to Elder Christensen and I was like, "this is my family" and then I showed him the crazy one and I was like, "this is my real family." It was funny. And thats a bummer you guys felt like it was a long week. For me, I feel like I was just here! Everything goes so fast. I just need to keep working hard and I'll have nothing to worry about!

 

I'm still super tired but I have DEFINITELY seen an increase in my ability to get up so hopefully I'll adjust pretty quickly. I said a prayer asking for help getting up and that definitely helped. I feel like things that are definitely miracles. And I'm grateful to know that I'm not the only one praying for me. Thanks so much! Oh, that woman you taught, is her name...Tina? I think. I think I went with the missionaries on their first visit there! I would love to hear about how things went with her. And thats awesome about your Relief Society lesson! I love those scriptures! With Joseph and the people of Alma. God doesn't always answer our prayers in the way we expect (as has always been said) but if he can change our perspective, thats not a better way of answering our prayers. Its ANSWERING OUR PRAYERS! We ask for deliverance from a physical difficulty. What will always be able to overpower a physical difficulty? A spiritual strengthening! I think thats awesome Mom!

 

Ok, I'm just going to go off this list of things I wanted to say and hopefully that answers your questions about who were teaching. First of all, we had 6 INVESTIGATORS at church yesterday! Seanna Walker, Analyse Hissong, and Ed Bonebrake (bonebrake...no joke) are all part member families so they usually come anyways. And then Kathryn Snowberger has been coming to church for years but is getting baptized in August (hopefully). She has to get medical clearance before she can do it. But even though shes been coming to church for years, she only just recently decided to get baptized. Its the weirdest thing! There are a bunch of active non-members out here! Its ridiculous. And then Greg Henry is a guy who had been taught before and he was actually the first lesson I taught here and we set a date for him my first time (but he had been taught A LOT before). So he has to come to church for the next two sundays in order to get baptized on August 13th. We prayed and fasted for his work schedule to line up and so far this week and next, hes off and can come to church! (The rule is you have to come to church at least 3 times before you can get baptized). It was definitely a miracle to see his schedule work out because he always says he usually can't get work off! And he was talking about what he wants to happen at his baptism and he said Elder Christensen would be dry and I would be wet...either he wants me to baptize him or hes planning on splashing me...hes a little off sometimes. But regardless, we're just trying to get him coming to church every week before we get into details.

 

Ok, so Josh Swope is the 6th person we got to go to church but he gets his own paragraph thingy because he has his own miracle to go along with! So, I might have already said this but I'll say it anyways. Elder Christensen and Elder Soleberg (the guy I replaced who went home) were just giving out pass along cards, gave one to him and he called and we've been teaching him. Every question he asks leads DIRECTLY into a gospel topic! Its ridiculous how prepared he is! He feels like the Book of Mormon makes sense and answers all of his questions. He had this question about why God did what he did to Job and he had asked his pastor and he had said "because God is God." Josh didn't like that answer. We were teaching the plan of salvation and afterwards he was like, "see, you guys answered that question for me."...We still can't figure out how we answered that question! But the spirit did! And thats fine with us!

 

Another miracle, we were walking down this street and saw this guy fixing a dent in a car. We walked up and said "Hey, what're ya fixing?" And he looked at us, realized we were missionaries and said "Ya, go ahead." Thinking we had said "Can we talk about Jesus Christ?" And I said, "are you fixing a light?" And he said, "wait..what?" he was totally caught off guard that we actually wanted to talk to him and not preach to him. His name is Titus and we went to his house to talk to him and his girlfriend walked out and said, "what Branch are you from?" We hesitated and said "The Church of Jesus Christ of-" "No, what BRANCH?" she interrupted. "Oh... the Fairview branch?" Apparently she had been an active member until just a few years ago! We didn't use ward records or anything to find her, we had just stumbled upon her boyfriend fixing a car! And she was excited to talk about the church and was basically teaching him for us. And we could tell this was his first experience hearing about her being Mormon or anything!

 

In your letter with the package, you asked about Laura. We're going to go try and see her tonight, just visit her and rebuild that trust. Antonio, we're not sure what were going to do because he literally speaks no english. Maybe we can get a spanish speaking member to go with us...Pennsylvania doesn't have a lot of those. But I've definitely seen how much the missionaries REALLY need the members help! Its a huge support when we have members to help us.

 

Also, we had our first (kind of) baptism last night. A little boy named Kaanan got baptized. And we were involved because we taught him and helped get things organized but he came to his mom after going to church once and said he wanted to be baptized. And his Uncle Caleb baptized him. So we didn't have a lot to do with it but it was super cool and he's an awesome kid!

 We got food from a food bank the other day, so I'm officially poor! haha. Just kidding...kind of. We volunteer at the food bank and the missionaries always have since like...the 90's so they love us and let us take whatever we want. So I got cereal and instant taters. That was exciting. And as far as me being starving, don't worry about it. I'm totally content. The only thing is, how much money do I have on my card? Just so I know. I haven't bought really...anything with it, I think. I just figured it would be safer to know.

 

Speaking of me being fine, I'm actually better than fine. Everything excites me. But we had a weird experience. We went to see Titus and he came outside and said he couldn't meet with us (which is always heartbreaking) but he had read the Restoration pamphlet we left with him and seemed really excited about it and said he would like to come to church and before we could even ask, HE SAID WE SHOULD PRAY TOGETHER!! We usually have to fight for that and here he is throwing it out! I was super excited! He read, he had questions and he wanted to go to church! But Elder Christensen was a little put out that we couldn't meet and was very skeptical that he would actually go to church. He didn't end up showing at church but I was still excited. I don't know, am I naive? I feel like that hopefulness is something I want to keep.

 

That's about all I've got for today! I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to do whatever God wants me to do and I know that I couldn't do these things alone. I know the spirit is helping me!

 

I love you all!

- Elder Harrison

First few letters/emails from out in the field

Hello All:

Well, we received a letter from Kyle from the mission home. It said:

Well, I got here just fine. I'm sorry I had to end the airport phone call so quickly but we actually had to run down the terminal and they still had to radio and ask them to open the gate again so it's a good thing we hurried. On the plane from Phoenix to Pittsburgh I sat next to a traveling pilot and his daughter. Their names were Dave and Summer. It was a much longer ride than SLC to Phoenix so we lots of time to talk about a lot of things. At first when Dave realized we were Mormons he gave his daughter the "danger" sign, but once we got to talking they were much more comfortable. We got their address and told them we would look them up and I gave Summer a pass-along card.

When we got to Pittsburgh we drove to Mount Washington to look at the views of the city. When we pulled up, there were two guys outside the bridge to the city overlook and the assistants asked who was gonna go talk to them. At first, we were all nervous but then Elder Sowards and I jumped up. I've realized that I'm not very good at contacting, but every time I do bad, it makes me want to do better next time, so that's good.

I love you all!
Elder Harrison

We also received a letter after he'd been out a few days that told us that his trainer is Elder Christensen from SLC and that they get along great and have a lot in common. They are in Waynesboro, PA which is in the south central part of PA near Maryland. He also said,

"Elder Christensen and most everyone in my district are very health conscious. They drink protein shakes all the time. My goal to be more healthy was to drink fewer sodas so...I may be healthier than I planned." He said he'd taught several discussions and it was going really well.

Then today we received the following email with a picture of him and his trainer attached:

Hi Mommy!!

I don't have a stupid timer and Elder Christensen gets lots of email so this shouldn't be hard to write anything and everything at all!! We go to the Family History Center at the church so no one to bug us. No impossible time limit. I feel like I'm cheating some how, this is so good.

I'm glad you got all my letters and I'll definitely start putting dates on them. And I was bummed to hear that it takes so long to get my mail forwarded from the Mission Home. I'm desperate for some mail!

So, I'm in Waynesboro! I'm in the Fairview ward and...I don't know what else to tell you. You can google the chapel and stuff or anything. The roads are windy and up and down over hills. Its ridiculously green and I love it. People thought I would freak out because its nothing like New Mexico, flat and huge skies, but I love it here.

It's interesting because, I'm not really homesick because I'm too busy. I don't sleep very well and I do want to exercise so we get up at 5:55 every morning (not against the rules, we checked) and then we work all day. We have SO MANY PEOPLE TO TEACH. I think we have 6 or 7 repetitive investigators, 4 or 5 really solid potentials (people that we've talked to on the street who seemed really interested) and then two HUGE binders full of people who were former investigators (took some lessons) and promising potentials (just people who lost contact with the missionaries). There is no time to waste because this area has been really well worked over. The seeds have been planted everywhere. We just REALLY need to reap. 

Anytime I think about breaking a rule or whatever, my mind literally presents the thought "where does your heart really stand?" What are my desires? And I know that nothing is worth wasting this opportunity.

We talked to a German Baptist the other day. Kind of like a break off of Mennonites (Amish) but those religions are apparently different. But they all have black hats and beards. It was interesting, the man we talked to said that they didn't place their salvation in their beard any more than we placed our salvation in our ties. It was really interesting for me to think of it that way. We really connected. And he wasn't antagonistic at all, just interested in how we would answer his questions. He asked us things like do we believe in a Heavenly Mother? And do we really think we can become Gods? Polygamy. Etc. And Elder Christensen pointed something out to me. Because, in answering his questions, we went rather in depth with the doctrine we knew and were very honest because he wasn't looking for conversion. He was looking for information. And so Elder Christensen told me that if we had refused to talk about those things, it would seem like were ashamed of our beliefs but instead, now he knows that we have faith in the things we teach and are willing to do whatever it takes to help others come to Christ.

It's ridiculous that I've only been in the field for a week and I only hit my one month mark in two days. It feels like forever! I've lost 5 pounds since getting out in the field. All the walking and eating cheap. Not even eating healthy! I just don't want to spend any money on fattening stuff so I've lost weight. But I don't think I'm starving or dropping below the healthy eating choices. Elder Christensen is keeping a good eye on me. I think if I get really dedicated to exercising and not eating a lot of garbage, I could be in really good shape when I get home. Speaking of which, I tried to send you a picture of me and Elder Christensen, did it work?  I've already told him that I am by no means converted to his Pagan ways of eating and exercising, but I have learned a lesson in this area. When we got here, I was SO tired when I woke up and I'm still not sleeping very well. The first two days, I struggled to stay awake every second of the day. I was so tired, that I would wake up and then lay down to do crunches and fall asleep. But we were reading in the White Handbook and it said we were supposed to exercise and I realized I was being disobedient in not exercising. So I started exercising. And it gets my blood flowing and its so much easier for me to stay awake.

So Elder Christensen is from Salt Lake City, graduated the same year as me and just didn't go to school before. Been out for 8 months.

Here's a picture of me and Elder Christensen. 

I really like him. We're very similiar and I think we will stay friends for the rest of my mission and I definitely want to look him up when I get back home. I can't think of a lot of examples but all the time, I'll say something about myself or he will or we'll come up with an idea for a lesson and the most common phrase used for us together is "ME TOO." So we get along really well and have a lot to talk about while driving. In case I haven't said before, we have a car but we have limited miles so we try to walk as much as possible. There are only 2 bike missions in Pittsburgh. Also, while were in that area, I will try to find an Elder Nielson, but the Mission spans everything in Pennsylvania except Philidelphia I recently found out. HUGE spans of land and Elder Christensen said that he hasn't seen some of the guys he came out with the whole time, so I'll keep my eyes out.

Someone once told me that going on a mission is the biggest decision IN your life. But we don't think so. I think that GOING on a mission is the biggest decision FOR your life. The things you learn on your mission, the habits you develop, are the biggest decision IN your life. You and Dad helped me get to the point where I could to go on my mission and in so doing, you drastically effected the rest of my life for the better. There is NO WHERE I would rather be right now. I love the people we teach and I feel like I've grown so much just in the last month.

Speaking of my investigators, I never realized how heart breaking it is when one of them breaks their promise. We had an older woman named Trudy who we call Grandma Trudy and shes been taught by like, 6 or 7 sets of missionaries and shes finally making progress! (Sidenote: Thats kind of how it is with all of our investigators. I show up and they're just on the verge of finally progressing through no real effort of my own...I kind of feel like I'm cheating) But anyways, she said she would go to church on Sunday and I was so excited and we waited and waited...and she never showed up! It broke my heart. I wanted so much for her to keep moving and keep growing...and she stopped. I cant wait to get back, talk to her again and make sure shes still fired up...and if I feel this bad, I can't imagine how Christ must feel. We are much more connected in each others lives than we realize.

Lately, we've been having experiences where they feel like coincidences, but theres NO WAY things work out this perfectly. We were tracting and we saw a hispanic guy moving into his apartment (perfect opportunity. They cant leave their stuff so even if they say no to your offer to help you can still talk to them) so we started to talk to him and he kind of nodded his head but didn't say much. Finally, we asked him a question and he nodded his head... We asked it again and he kept nodding his head... "Do you speak english?" And he nodded his head. "Or do you just speak spanish?" And he nodded his head...He knew three words in English. Yes, Ok and Yeah. He was a very agreeable man, but we weren't really making any progress. We brought him a Spanish restoration pamphlet and when we left, we were fired up to either learn spanish within the next week or pray hard for the gift of tounges. We were determined to teach this man, whatever it took. Elder Christensen thought of a Less Active member who had a husband who spoke spanish. So we decided to go see if they could offer help. (Her husband wasn't a member, so we figured we could use him AND teach him). We started talking to her and she told us about how she hadn't been active since she was 18 because she never felt welcome. And then 4 TIMES, the missionaries had come by to talk to her, she had said they could come back and she even got EXCITED to talk to them and the missionaries NEVER SHOWED UP or even called her! It made me so mad! Hers this perfect woman, excited to learn things and they didn't follow through! We promised that she could call us, we would work through anything if we could come back, not even to teach, just to rebuild her trust in the missionaries.

The point we took away from that was that sure, it might be exciting to put together a lesson plan in spanish and we are still going to try and teach Antonio (thats his name) but that whole process was TOO PERFECT to be a coincidence. We are supposed to help Laura (the name of the Less Active member). We promised she could call us so we wont push her, but I wrote her name in the bottom of every day in my planner for the next week to keep her in my mind. I will NOT let her slip through the cracks. She deserves better.

I am so grateful for the guidance of the spirit. I know I could never do this alone. I want to do everything I can to make sure I'm worthy to follow the promptings of the spirit and find those individuals the Lord has prepared for us.

So...thats all I've got.

Ok. WOW! I just reread that. I can kind of see why we had email timers at the MTC. Although, it only took me 24 minutes to write... but I wrote alot! I'm sorry! If no one wants to read all that, I can definitely start planning my emails more so they can be more condensed. I know I ramble. I always try to answer all the questions I have so I think I did that...If theres anything else let me know.

Ya. Make sure you keep me updated on which one of my sibilings has a child first, how Shelby's doing in High School (once she gets there) and in sports. I brag about Shelby all the time. All the sports and instruments and stuff. Elder Christensen has a sister who wants to be a recording artist but I still think my little sister could beat up his little sister anyday...that needs to be a bumper sticker... And let me know about the fires. If I hear Albuquerque is on fire and you guys haven't told me, you will get the strongest worded letter AND email you've ever yet encountered.

Alright, I love you guys! Again...sorry I wrote so much. If theres anything that no ones really interested in, I can cut that stuff out. Or Mom, you can cut out boring stuff before you send it out.  And I love you Mom!!!

Ok, lots o love.

Bye!!!

Sincereiously,

Elder Harrison

UPDATE!!

So starting today, Kyle is officially in PENNSYLVANIA!


From here on out, only use the mission address located on the left hand side of the page to write to Kyle. You can still use the DearElder.com website that we talked about before, but it'll now cost $.44 each time, just the cost of a stamp.


Thanks guys! Kyle really appreciates your love, support, and prayers.

Last MTC Week!

Hello everyone!

Once again, that timer kills me! It ticks away so fast.

Also, writing letters really is complicated with everyone and dearelders and stuff because you guys can write faster so I answer questions in letters and then you ask again cause you can write faster. I just want everyone to feel loved! Oh well.

That’s a bummer about the fires. There are SO MANY! There’s a sister in my district who was talking about the fire in Los Alamos. Thats crazy about the Balloon Fiesta park thing. WHY WOULD THEY DO FIREWORKS THIS YEAR?!?! Crazy.

So, I'm sorry if I repeat myself in these emails or my letters. Its just hard because I don't have copies of the things that I sent so I don't know what I've said. But one thing I forgot to tell you last week was that my first Sunday (I think) we heard Elder Bednar speak about how to be a Preach My Gospel missionary and Elder Sowards and I sang in the choir. It was great. Always is to hear from an apostle!

And, I have seen Chace [Kyle’s cousin] and I've also seen 8 or 9 guys from my floor at BYU! That was really exciting. We're all going to take a picture together on Friday before I leave. It will be cool to see how much we all change in two years!

I've gotten lots of letters from people so that been great. And thus far I've appreciated every one of them. It makes me bummer that I can't write back more but I definitely understand the limit on communication. Just today, I've been trying to work out everything I'm going to write. I've been writing to Becca and then I got a letter from Chad that was really cool. And then I got a letter from Linlea. Again, I would love to hear about what Heath experienced being District Leader. I'm always curious if I'm actually doing a good job. For the last few days, I've been trying to talk to everyone individually and make sure that anyone who wants a blessing before they leave gets one, or if anyone just needs to vent, I'm trying to help them with that too.

So Mom, you want to know what a normal day is like? I'm not sure! Haha. We were talking about this in our DIstrict and we got here at a weird time. This Sunday will actually be our first normal Sunday schedule. But usually, its filled with eating, going to 3 hour chunks of class and Zone teaching where we pretend to teach others in our Zone. Speaking of which, I had a very humbling experience yesterday. In Zone teaching, (seeing as how I'm an ACT-TOR, I always think I'm really good at being a pretend investigator) and yesterday, we taught two Elders who have only been here for four days. One of them came in very cocky and I figured I would humble him with a challenging investigator. So I told them my concern was that I had a problem with painkillers and didn't intend to stop. This Elder immediately started in to accuse me, asking where I got them and if I knew I was breaking the law! I immediately countered with raising my voice, furrowing my brow and saying, "Excuse me? Are you here to judge me or bring me closer to God? I don't need more judgement and if thats what you're here for, I don't want you here." The cocky Elder immediately shut down and the other one had to take over, giving a very generic Word of Wisdom lesson. At the end, the Elder began to cry, stating that he had seen the deadly effects of drugs in his life and he knew that wasn't the way to get closer to God. I felt awful. I apologized for overreacting but wanted this to be a teaching opportunity. I told him that his testimony was so powerful and he just needed to make the investigator feel loved, not judged. But I felt so bad for going so hard on him and it made me realize that I have weaknesses too and there will be people that are hard for me to help. I still see that Elder all the time and we're good friends now. He's doing ok and I know we both learned a lot from that experience.

  

I know I'm jumping around, but I only have ten minutes left. This is like the hardest test I've ever taken.

So last week, somebody mistook Elder Resse's bag for theirs and took it. So he had to go to Zone teaching WITHOUT HIS SCRIPTURES!! It was the most terrifying thing ever. For the next week, I took my scriptures everytime I went to the bathroom or to get water. I'm so terrified of losing my scriptures...pray for me on that one.

   

Oh dang! Quick story, so on Sunday we heard from Jenny Oaks Baker who is the daughter of Dallin H. Oaks and shes a professional violinist so obviously I though of Shelby. She has such a strong testimony of the gospel and it made me think of Shelby because Shelby has always taken on any challenge of difficulty with impossible faith. I always struggled with that and I'm so proud that she can continue on with faith unwavering.

So, I learned to shave really fast because if I start shaving at 6:20 (before people should be getting up normally and the showers are all empty) and I get done at 6:25, EVERY SHOWER IS FULL...The MTC is SO crowded. Whats up with all these people wanting to serve the Lord? And don't even get me started on the Laundry room!

I love President Topham! I feel like we don't have much to talk about because he's an engineer but I'm sure I'm going to love him! He was so nice and loving.

  

Also, I only have 4 minutes left but there was a time in class when I was teaching and we were supposed to focus on teaching by the spirit and my teacher kept stopping me and I was getting so frustrated. Finally, I just said only whatever came to mind, ignoring the textbook answers I knew and then I got emotional. He took me outside and told me that I had taught by the spirit! I couldn't get my emotions under control and I said, I'm sorry I'm such a pansy and he said always be grateful for that gift! Crying is the spirits way of telling you and everyone around that the HOLY GHOST IS IN THE ROOM!!

It was so great

  

I love everyone and I'm so grateful I have such a supportive family! Remember, after this Sunday, send me letters at the mission home address instead of the MTC!! Ok, byue!!!...Byue....dang it...lets see...B-Y-E!!!!

Week 1 in the MTC

Hello everyone!!

I only have 30 minutes to write (literally there's a timer going...it's like mission impossible.) So I'm trying to get through everything but if I run out of time, I'll make another list of things I want to say next time!!

The MTC is crazy. Its crowded and busy and crazy, filled with ridiculous people. Some ridiculously spiritual. Some ridiculously annoying. But I've had a great series of spiritual ups and downs. One of the best things I've experienced (I think I wrote about this before but I can never remember) is when our District was sharing our testimonies and a Sister started to cry and then I started to cry because I had been feeling like I didn't know what I was doing. Then in my heart and in my mind, I kept feeling the same phrase over and over again. "There's a reason I came out here." And I know thats true. A Branch President in our Zone was speaking in sacrament and he said "Why should your selfish desires rob someone of their experience with the true gospel?" And thats true. I might be homesick and discouraged sometimes but that thats nothing compared to the suffering that Christ suffered for me and I owe it to him to work as hard as I can.

So surprisingly, I mentioned there being two talkers in our Pittsburgh group and it ISN'T ME! Elder Reese and Elder Sowards never stop talking about trucks, guns, everything hickish and in addition, video games. Elder Bennet and I sit awkwardly in the cafeteria and stare at our food. But we've all been trying to eat as a District so we've all been getting a lot better. We also go out during Gym and play games together. We're bonding and I'm leading the bonding. They're the glue but I'm the orange tip! There's an object lesson in there, right?

It was funny, one night Elder Sowards said he wanted to go to a pawnshop when we got to Pennsylvania and buy a guitar. I told him to look on the corners and he didn't care to respond... I think I confused him.

Everything is moving so fast! I keep saying "the weeks will feel like days and the days will feel like weeks!" Every day takes forever but I feel like everything is moving so fast, and the other Elders walk SO SLOW!!

Last night we had a Devotional from one of the seventy and he said that we need to love our mission president. And then Brother Stice (of my Branch Presidency, who is exactly like Brother Steele) but anyway, Brother Stice said that his son made the decision to follow and support his mission president NO MATTER WHAT! And that we can't go wrong when we follow him and I'm so excited to start developing that relationship. Also, that same President in Sacrament talked about a missionary who didn't tell his companion he was going home until the day he was scheduled to leave. That's cool!

Ya, I have a huge list of stuff left and only 18 minutes! I won't finish everything, but I guess I don't need to!

  

I feel so bad for not writing to Heath and Chad more now because being in the MTC, I've realized that getting letters is like crack!...but not the bad kind of crack...its like candy...but very addictive candy... but no bad side effects. Ya. I feel so prepared because I had Chad, Dad and Heath all helping me out, but there’s nothing that can prepare you for the literal assault on your soul you feel whenever you feel anything that sets you back. In class the other day, we were just practicing invitations to read the Book of Mormon and I literally couldn't say anything because I was on the verge of tears. My tongue was literally bound. But the class all took a break and one of my teachers, Brother McQuay came and talked to me and showed me 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 about Paul feeling week and trembling. It really helped me realize that I don't have to be perfect. The importance of this work doesn't rest on my shoulders, but thousands of missionaries and the specific testimony and teaching will come only through the spirit.

I feel like I've changed SO much in just a week, I can't imagine what I'll be like in 2 years. I'm very excited. I'm always trying to work as hard as I can and be a good example to my District, but sometimes I lose sight of whats really important. We were watching a movie with the whole MTC about the testimony of the apostles. It was the one from way back when, when they show up all over the world and Neal A. Maxwell is in it and then at the end they're all standing by the Christus. Right after the movie, I tried to get Elder Sowards to get up so we could leave and get to planning early but he said "we shouldn't leave before the prayer" and up until that, I had been so anxious all day. But I sat down feeling stupid for thinking we could leave and the feeling of knowing that I was where I was supposed to be, I felt fine! It was great. I love Elder Sowards and all the experiences I'm having.

I'm running out of time, but I have just a few more things.

There's an Elder in my zone named Elder Fakai who is a professional Rugby player from Australia. I thought Dad might find that interesting. He told me he eats Americans and asked if I was an American and I said unfortunately, I was a Pittsburghian, so he would have to find his dinner somewhere else. He talks to me a lot now, so thats a plus...or maybe hes just sizing me up.

  

I love everyone and I'm so excited for everything I'm getting to do. I can't wait to get out in the field and experience real teaching. We were supposed to experience our kind of first lesson tomorrow but the Elders ahead of us in line at the TRC took 40 MINUTES TO TEACH!! They had better have gotten a baptism out of that guy, because we had to miss our appointment.

Also, to answer your question about church, its usually separated into Branches but last week was Mission Presidents Seminar and next week is Fast Sunday with MTC Conference, so I'll only see one or two normal Sundays in the MTC so I cant really explain it that well!

  

Ok, No time.

  

I'll talk to you all real soon! Thank you so much!

Love,

- Elder Harrison

Update + Instructions on Writing Kyle a Letter

Kyle wrote home again (That's twice in a week! That boy's amazing!)

He met his mission President, President Topham, and thought that he was really nice. He's been called to be the district leader of his MTC District, which means that he's responsible for around 10 other missionaries. It'll keep him busy, and he loves being busy.

If you'd like to write Kyle, the easiest way is through www.dearelder.com, it's a really useful site. When you get to the website, there's a "Send Stuff" box, down here:

Click on the "Provo MTC (FREE)" link. The information you'll need to write him is in the left hand column of this blog.

Until July 13th you can write to Kyle for free! You could literally write to him every day, and he'd get a letter in his mailbox every day, and it would cost you nothing! That is exciting.

After July 13th just click on the "Not Pouch ($0.44)" link. The address for his mission is also in the left hand column here. It only costs $0.44, the cost of a stamp, to mail him a letter, but you don't have to go to the post office and buy stamps and get a cramp in your hand and all of that. You can just typety-type away and he'll get a fancy little letter a couple of days later.

Anyway, the point of this post is, Kyle is doing well, and BE SURE YOU WRITE HIM! He'll like it.

He'll be emailing tomorrow (Wednesday), so we'll keep you updated!

Kyle's First Letter Home

Mailed on Thursday, the day after he went in to the MTC


(Click on the letter to see a larger, more readable version of it)

Today was the day!

It's official: as of 1:00 pm today, Kyle Harrison is now Elder Harrison. He made it to the MIssionary Training Center safe and sound, and will be there for the next three weeks or so.

Kyle wanted us to be sure to mention that he doesn't really have many people's addresses. Since that's the case, he'd like anyone who's even remotely interested in corresponding with him to write him a letter soon (his address is on the left side of this blog).

Starting soon we'll have his letters posted here, along with (hopefully) some pictures and things. Thanks for sharing this experience with Kyle.

WhadITellYa

As previously promised, I received my MTC mailing address. If you want to send me a letter anytime between June 22nd and July 13th, send them to the MTC address posted on the side of the blog. After July 13th, send them to the address marked "My Current Address." Once I get into the Mission Field, I'll be living in different apartments and living areas periodically and my address will change. I will inform my Mother or Brother of the address and they will update the "My Current Address." Until then, the address of the Mission Home in Pittsburgh is posted. Thank you and enjoy.

1 Week Till

In exactly one week, I leave for the Provo MTC. Within the next few days, I should receive the information for my MTC Mailing Address. A special thanks to Mr. Dakota Hudson for reminding me to get on top of putting all my ducks in order...or chickens. I've never been a fan of fowls that haven't been cooked. From June 22nd, 2011 until about July 13th 2011 you can send me all the paper mail you would like at the MTC address (which as forementioned will be posted soon). After July 13th, you may mail your numerous letters to the address posted. As of right now, the address includes my mission home. I'm not sure exactly how that works, but go ahead and mail me something at that address if you like...we'll see what happens.

Feel free to also look into dearelder.com? I think... I believe how it works is you type a letter, put in my address or name or something and they print it off and send it to me. You still have to pay regular postage stamp price, etc.

Also, my mother or brother will be periodically posting my emails as well as the occasional pictures on this blog for your entertainment. Enjoy. God Speed. Milk builds strong bones.

Look mom, I made a blog!

So, as a stereotypical/extraordinary LDS missionary, I've created this blog. I plan to utilize the services of my mother to post pictures, letters, etc. on this blog. I've also included my mission addresses on the side so that anyone can feel free to mail me letters! Thanks!