Libertadores - Week 4

Venezuela

Dear Family,

This week I was reading in Alma 44 and it's when Moroni traps Zerahemna with his army and tries to make him swear an oath to never come back to battle against the Nephites again. Zerahemna refuses because he didn't want to make an oath that he knew he was going to break. So they started fighting again until Zerahemna realized that he had two choices: make the oath or die. He chose to make the oath. And I think it's the same with investigators, there are a lot of them that think they will not be able to keep the commandments and that's why they don't want to make any promises, but the baptismal covenant includes promises on our part. Our goal is helping them to have the faith to make those promises with God. 

One spiritual experience we had this week was we went to visit a Venezuelan family that just moved here, they are active members. It was obvious that they had once been somewhat wealthy people for the way that they behaved and spoke, but now they are living in a small rented apartment, looking for work. We read Alma 26 that talks about being patient in afflictions and receiving success. Their eyes were filled with tears, and we hope we were able to help them at least with having more spiritual strength.

Have a great week, sorry I didnt take this pictures this week :/

Elder Harris

Libertadores - Week 3

La sagrada silla de ruedas

Alma 38:8 I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.

This week I have found a lot of comfort through personal prayer. It is the source of peace. One good experience we had this week is we were talking to one friend that we have who is Venezuelan. He is working to be able to bring his wife and kids here as well, but as we were in the street talking to him we saw a lady in a wheel chair trying to get off the curb but it was obvious that she was going to face plant it. So we hurried over there to help her and as we were helping her get to where she needed to go, my companion asked her where she got her wheelchair and I looked down and noticed that the chair had a logo that said the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I guess the church had donated the chair. So the next day we went to teach her with our ward mission leader and she has a ton of problems, but she showed desires to learn more about the gospel. Sadly, on the second visit she confessed that she participates in another church and didn't want us to visit her again and she gave back the Book of Bormon we had given her.

I love Peru and I love the mission, I hope everyone is striving to gain a closer relationship with the Savior.

Elder Harris

Fotos from the motertaxi ride to internet cafe

Libertadores - Week 2

I found a cello in Peru :D

So this week was excellent. I'm starting to get to know my area, I think it's the smallest of my 5 areas, but it's still big. We are pretty close to the airport so we see airplanes flying low all the time..... The ward here is a lot different from Paramonga, the church is better established here in Lima because the members are really strong in the gospel. Our ward mission leader is a recent RM who served in Colombia and it's cool because he always comes with us with important appointments.

This week we had planned to leave with a member of the ward who has had a lot of time here and knows a lot of people. Our focus was to go out and have him show us the houses of former investigators that the missionaries had stopped teaching. He was really excited about it, so we went to his house to pick him up at the indicated time. When we got there he asked if we could wait 15 minutes because he was washing his clothes. We agreed, but I remember feeling a little impatient and bothered that we were going to waste time waiting for him. When he finished we stepped out of the house right when an elderly man was passing by. The member stopped the man and introduced him to us. An hour later we were leaving the members house again, but this time with a new investigator with a baptismal goal. That experience really made me think about my attitude. Patience is important, but more important is doing what the Lord wants us to do in the precise moment when we need to do it.

There is a member in our area that plays the cello and she let me play it.

The other picture is of our district.

Elder Harris

Libertadores - Week 1

Back in the Labyrinth

Well I was transferred. My six months in Paramonga were fantastic. I think I grew a little bit in that area and I learned a lot about how to conquer my weaknesses. I honestly felt sad leaving because of the relationships that we had made with the members and converts. But now I'm in a new chapter of the mission. I am now in the Libertadores Ward, El Trebol Stake. This is the zone closest to the center of Lima in our mission so I went from one end of the mission to the other. My area is similar to Naranjal (my third area) but it's a little smaller here and a little more developed. My area is part of the district San Martin de Porres.

My companion is Elder Zevallos, he is from Moquegua, Peru (it's in the south part of Peru). And he just finished his training or in other words he has been on his mission 3 months. But he is 24 years old. He is really excited about the work.

My whole mission I've heard that the Trebol Zone is just full of rich people and it's difficult to help them accept the restored gospel, but in the last few months the area where I'm at has had exceptional success thanks to member referrals. 

Picture of my pensionista and her husband in Paramonga eating soup.

There is nothing better than arriving to an area on Wednesday and having a baptism on Saturday.

Elder Harris

Paramonga - Week 24

El Profeta tiene REVELACIÓN

I think we all felt something special in general conference this weekend. Now we need to specifically remember what we felt, and live it.

This week we got in a car to take us back to Paramonga after being in Barranca all morning in the district meeting. The driver seemed like a normal everyday Peruvian, but after exchanging a few words we realized that not only was he a member of the church but he was also a councilor in the stake presidency. One of the aspects of the restored church that I love is that local leaders are everyday normal people who work, have families, and have many personal responsibilities, but on top of that they direct the work and the church of God. It's amazing. That councilor told us a cool phrase that doesn't sound that cool in English but it does in Castellano El que no vive para servir, no sirve para vivir. He that doesn't live to serve, doesn't act to live.

I am very happy that there is now a South American in the Quorum of the Twelve. I echo the words of Elder Soares that when the Lord wants something to happen he will work miracles to make it happen. But the miracles come as a result of our faith. 

Baptism of the Reyes Family (Limoncillo)

Watching general conference with the North Americans

Fruit salad with ice cream - breakfast