YEAHH!!!!! FINALLY SOME PHOTOS : )

I'M NOT GUNNA LIE, I WAS PRETTY SUCCESSFUL IN THE REFERRAL CENTER

MUCHAS HOLAS FAMILIA!!!!

Well this week was pretty dang crazy but I'll just start off by answering the questions. Yes I got the G's and the hymn book and the HLJ rings. Thank you very much! The whole district is jealous cuz your basically the coolest mother ever. I havent finished them yet but the cookies are good :) and if you could send up a new sturdy camera case that can be worn on a belt and some tan and grey gold toe socks that would be great. One brand of socks that i brought up all got holes in them and that was like three pairs. But the gold toe ones are good. And as of right now there is nothing that I need to send home.

Well the week started great last thursday (our week ends on wednesday) cuz I'm not gunna lie I was pretty successful in the Referal Center (RC). I got two people two except a Book of Mormon and a Missionary visit and one of those was a wrong number! They were trying to call Direct TV (which happens alot) but before she hung up on me I got her to listen to a message about eternal families and the atonement. She then mentioned that her husband was dying in the hospital so I bore my testimony of eternal families and the plan of Salvation, read to her a scripture from the Book of Mormon and then she excepted an invitation to be taught by the Missionaries and recieve the Book of Mormon! It felt so good doing real missionary work while here in the MTC.

Then on saturday and sunday I dont know why but I was kinda getting a little down and doubting my adequacy and during that the branch president called Elder Vincent and I into his office and asked us to be the new zone leaders! AHHH!!! I really didnt feel up to it at first but now I see it as a blessing because I'm trying even harder now to be a better person to set an example for the 50 or so missionaries in our zone. And starting now one of the new responsibilities of zone leaders is to conduct orientation so to speak for the new districts who enter our zone every wednesday and then we take them on a tour and give them another little speil on Thursday. This job was previously the branch presidencies but now we have to tell them all about the MTC and all the rules and stuff and the branch presidency doesnt even see them until thursday night. So thats alot of responsibility on our shoulders :/ I dont really feel like much of a leader or an example but I'm trying to work on it now. But all in all I'm glad the Lord has given me this opportunity to develop more charity, faith, and to force myself to be a better example and a harder worker. even though its a little daunting.

my favorite part of the week though was tuesday night cuz we finally got an apostle for the devotional. yeah (ps the keyboard just broke so i can no longer type exclamations or capital letters but there was supposed to be an exclamation back there) elder richard g. scott of the quorum of the twelve gave a very powerful talk. then halfway through his prepared talk he stopped. was silent for a good thirty seconds. and then totally started on a completely differen subject. we could really tell that he was prompted by the spirit and the rest of his talk was pure inspiration. he even gave us two apostolic blessings which he sealed in the name of our lord and savior jesus christ. he said that the blessings would only come to pass if we remained faithful, obedient, and sensitive to the spirit throughout our mission. but the spirit was so strong during the blessings it was an amazing experience. one of the blessings was the gift of tounges so even though im terrible at spanish right now i know that through my faith i will learn this language. ughh hahah. well im out of time, sorry for the long email. anywas les amo mucho y i will talk to you next week. take care.

elder harper :)

I GOT YELLED AT IN EBONICS

Hola familia y todos los otras personas quien leen esto!

Well for starters thank you thank you very much for the package! Yes I got and like the pants and all of the other goodies you sent me :) Thank you Abbie Izzie and Bay for the stuff you sent me too. I use the pedometer every day Baylor hahaha even though its kinda sad cuz we dont walk much here. Were sitting down studying most of the time. Anyways I didnt realize that school is already starting for the kids, you must be excited mom haha. Izzie starting middle school and Bay starting high school. Its gunna be a good year. You better look out for little freshman Bay at school Abbie. Yes Baylor I called you little :D
Anyways not too much has happened this week. It all went by kind of fast. Me and Rudy's meal times overlap a little bit so I see him every now and then in the cafeteria which is nice. One time he dropped and shattered a plate, the whole cafeteria always claps when that happens, hahaha it was great because its almost happened to me like three times. At least one person breaks something every meal time. Buy he he seems like hes enjoying it here. Ive also ran into Jason Mosley a few times and I talked to Kevin Kroll in the cafeteria yesterday! That was cool cuz I havent seen him in ages. And then Jeff got here today I think so I'll keep my eye out for him.

Well tonight I'm going to be teaching the 1st lesson in Spanish for the first time in the TRC (teaching resources center) to an "Investigator" Yeah I'm pretty dang nervous porque todavía mi español no es bueno. I mean I'm improving slowly but I´m not ready for tonight. So it will be an interesting experience. Oh and as of last Wednesday our teachers have been speaking to us almost always in spanish so thats been a head ache even though I know its beneficial. I just need to keep being patient with it.

Oh and dont worry mother I'm sending my sd card in the mail to you tomorrow so you should get it by monday at the latest. And no I have not gotten the overshoes just yet but I'm sure I will soon :) Last week my RC (telephone) experience wasnt so good. All I got were some wrong numbers and I got yelled at in ebonics a few times hahaha gotta love the southerners. But its all good, I try not to let stuff like that bother me too much.

I'm proud of you for getting going on the B.O.M. again mom keep goin with it and you'll find that when you start your study with a prayer your spirit will open your mind and heart to things that you would might not have noticed before. I'm in the book of Ether right now reading about faith in chapter twelve. Faith is definitely something I'm trying to work on right now and the words of Moroni in that chapter are very powerful and inspiring. By faith we can accomplish anything as the stories in the book of mormon show us time and time again. Oh by the way I absolutely love the scripture marker pen thing you gave me grandma and papa! Ive got an awesome color coding system down that I borrowed from another Elder and it's helped my studies alot. Well I'm about out of time but stay awesome everyone! chau!

siempre con amor y abrazos, Élder Harper :)

IT'S LIKE SPIRITUAL CANDY TO ME I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

Hola mi familia!

First of all yes the water proof socks sound great! dont worry I wont lose them, thanks for looking out for me :) And yeah the overshoes sound like they would come in handy too, it will be tough making room for all this stuff but I know they will all be sorely needed in the field so send the overshoes too. I think I'm fine with the sweaters I have but I'll let you know if I change my mind. Yes I did bring my oakley beanie but you can send another one.. along with some washable slacks hahah thanks. 

Unfortunately I was getting my haircut when Rudy arrived so I have not seen him yet but I will definitely be keeping my eye out for him cuz I'm really excited that he's here. It will be nice to talk to someone from home. And I got the photos, haven't opened them yet, but I'm excited so thank you. I havent gotten the package you sent with the wrights yet but I'm sure I will soon.
Wow its crazy to think that I've already been here for a month. The weeks really do fly by. A big part of that is because, besides Sundays, P-day and the Tuesday night devotional all the days kind of blend together cuz we are doing the same stuff. But it's still going good here. I still have a lot of growing to do before going into the field so I'm glad we still have 4 and a half or so weeks left.
Well on Thursday I discovered a new love for the referral center. I decided to start taking inbound calls instead of the usual outbound and it was great. I got two people to commit to accepting lessons from the Missionaries in their area :) It feels a little weird testifying and such over the phone but I had a spiritual experience doing it none the less.

Well from what I've heard from Abbie, Bay and Taylor youth conference sounds like it was a lot of fun and it sounded like you and Izzie had just as much fun at home. I bet Izzie loved all those daytrips. I'm glad to hear that everything is going well at home. Well, my spanish is still..uhmm... Well, I'm still working on it hahaha but I'm trying not to worry about that too much cuz I know the Lord will take care of me. Right now I'm just trying to build up as much teaching skills and Christ like attributes as I can. Right now I'm especially working on Charity. On loving my fellow missionaries and the people who I don't know yet in Chile because as Moroni says without charity we are nothing. And without charity, people won't want to hear what you have to say. Well thanks for all the love and support guys! keep sending it my way hahaha. Oh yeah and one more thing read the Book of Mormon as a family every night. Not even kidding you it's like spiritual candy to me I love it so much. Well until next week Adios!

abrazos y amor, Elder Harper

P-DAY ISN'T REALLY P-DAY HERE

A slow mail letter: Postmarked August 3rd, 2009

Dear Familia,

Dad, I got your letter after I finished the email so I’ll answer some questions now. Yeah, it was way trippy seeing Ben. It felt like he was an Alien from the forbidden outside world ha ha, but it was good seeing him. The surf sounds pretty fun. I laughed about Uncle Larry’s fights. The Grumpy Walruses that surf Doho are annoying.

That’s cool that Scotty is going to North Carolina. I’m glad he got his call! By the way, an Elder from my district is from High Point North Carolina if you know where that is.

P-day isn’t really P-day here We go to the temple in the morning (which is awesome) then we have 3 hours to write and do laundry. Then after that it goes back to a normal day. We do studying and stuff. Elder Vincent is from Provo. My other roommates, Elder Swenson y Elder Kamalu are great guys too. We have a good district.

There’s not too much time to iron but the shirts are working out ok. By the way, thank you for the package! I got the socks and candy but I just forgot to tell you in the email. Whoops! By the way, send one more pair of socks and at least 2 more pairs of compression shorts cuz we play soccer 5 days a week! I’m no good but it’s still fun.

Yeah, a few friends have written me so far. Thanks for asking, and we get our mail from the mailroom every night. Tell everybody about the Dear Elder thing! I’m glad you found it cuz it’s awesome! Well, I got to go but you’ll probably get this letter at around the same time as the email and I’ll talk more in the email. Adios!

abrazos, Elder Harper : )

PATIENCE IS DEFINITELY A CHIRSTLIKE ATTRIBUTE I AM WORKING ON RIGHT NOW

Hola mi familia!
Sorry I forgot to thank you for the care package in my last email. I sent a letter thanking you that you should get pretty soon but once again thank you :) I got the socks and the candy and the jerky which are all greatly appreciated. Oh and yes I found my white tie.

Thanks for all of the letters yesterday I think Dad is right it does sound like your going crazy on blog spots and email groups but me and all of my roomates appreciate the info on wats going on down there. Its really cool to hear about Elders who are already down there and how we can learn from their mistakes. I'm glad that your sending up the thermals and the sleeping bag cuz it sounds like they will be much needed in the winters there. I'm not sure how I'll fit the sleeping bag but I will find a way. And yes mom those measurements are right. One other thing that I could actually use is washable slacks. Apparently the list said to bring washable slacks but me being me didnt notice that so if you could send a pair that would be great.

Well thank you soo much for all the support back home. Its easy to get discouraged sometimes but reading your letters always lifts my spirits and makes me want to do the best that I possibly can. It's really easy me being me to beat myself up about needing to learn the language faster and to get discouraged about it. When I get frustrated with it I just try to remind myself to be patient and that it will take a while to learn it I just need to keep working hard. I just want to be able to teach lessons and talk in Spanish now!! haha so patience is definitely a Christ like attribute that I'm really working on right now. 

Well things are basically the same here at the MTC. After a while all of the days seem to kind of just blend together. Its crazy how fast its going by. I try to take advantage of every minute to learn as much as possible but we also laugh alot here. Our district is pretty funny and my teachers our awesome.
And dont worry mother you will be getting pictures soon. Your really only supposed to take pictures on P-day and on Sunday so there isnt that much time to but don't worry you'll be getting some good ones soon.

Well. Things sound pretty crazy down in concepcion from the letters I got from you yesterday but it doesnt phase me much. I can handle fleas and rain and cold showers as long as I can communicate effectively with the people haha.
Well I'm excited for Bay Abbie and Dad to go to Youth Conference. It sounds like its going to be alot of fun. I'm especially excited for Bay since its his first youth conference! I'm sure he will love it. And Box lacrosse sounds really intense but Baylor is tough I know he can handle it. Well I'm about out of time but keep the emails and letters comeing. Love you guys!


con amor y abrazos, Élder Harper