SHE SAID THAT WHEN SHE CAME TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH SHE WOULD BE BAPTIZED

I had a bad case of the flu the whole week and am finally just now starting to get over it. Despite being sick all week we still found some new investigators that might have potential. We found one investigator who is really awesome but unfortunately she does not live here. We found her when we traveled to one of the far fringes of the pueblo, that I had never been to before, really close to the river. There we did some contacts and then followed this road that ended leading up this hill to a really old historical spanish fort that was built in the 1600´s. We walked around a little to check it out, but not being familiar with the area, we decided to head back down and figure out where we were so we could head back into town. On the way down this girl stopped us and in English asked us if she could practice her English with us. We said of course so she started walking and just talking in English with us. As we were getting near the end of the walk, after we had gotten to know her a little bit, we started talking with her about the church and her religious background. She told us that she goes to an Evangelical (protestant) church but that she doesn't buy into it much because a lot of what they do isn't in agreement with the Bible. So we told her that we could answer all of her doubts and questions about religion and we set a time to meet her again the next day at the fort to teach her.

So the next day we met her at the fort, picked a quiet spot on the stone wall, and then started teaching her the message of the first lesson. She understands almost everything in English and speaks very well so she asked us to teach her in English. It was really weird for me at first to teach in English so we switched back and forth between spanish and english but it was a really cool experience. Then at the end I bore my testimony in English for the first time in Chile and so did my companion and it was a really cool experience were the spirit was felt. Before we split she promised that she would read the Book of Mormon and pray to see if it was true. The next day, Sunday, was the last day before she went back to Talcahuano from her stay in Santa Juana and even though we invited her she didn't show to church. But afterwards we met her and taught her again at the fort. She said that she had read and prayed and that she liked it but that she still didn't have her answer yet. But she had lots of questions for us about the church and we talked to her about baptism and she said that when she came to the knowledge of the truth she would be baptized. Before we parted ways she told us that she came to Santa Juana to visit family and to do some reflecting and thinking about life and about the direction her life was going in. She felt that it wasn't a coincidence that during this time in her life she ran into us. We agreed with her and reassured her that it wasn´t a coincidence. She then gave us her number and told us that she would go to church on Sunday in Talcahuano and keep reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. I hope that she will feel the spirit and keep progressing and get baptized in Talcahuano. I´ll let you know how it goes.

As far as how are other investigators are progressing, things are kind of just eh. Yeseña is still missing in action and didn't come to church again this week. That’s been really hard for me because she was way good but this week is probably going to be do or die for her. We are going to find out what has really been going on with her and then try to revive her. Laura and Juan are good and came to church but were too busy during the week, once again, for us to come and teach them. But they said that they would have time this week so we are going to teach them a good lesson and with the guidance of the spirit help them set a sooner wedding date so they can get baptized. Oh, we also found out that Juan is a heavy smoker and not a drunk but a man who likes his alcohol. With him its not going to be easy but if we do our part and if it’s the will of the Lord then he will come around. The old lady, Euphemia, is also missing in action. Juan and Laura were the only ones in church this week. Also the president’s family and some other branch members are way sick with the same thing I have so there were only about fifteen members in church on Sunday.

Ok now I’ll tell you about my new comp, Élder Steele. He is a good guy who wants to work and he´s way friendly too. We are already pretty good friends and he loves to joke around. Actually almost everything is a joke to him, he is a little immature but that’s ok because now that I’m finally starting to get over this flu, we are going to hit the streets hard this next week, which is good because we really need to start finding some new people. Well last week was pretty crummy so I don't have too much more to say but I think that things are looking up for this next week. Well things have been down for a while now so whatever happens we are going to make sure that things take a turn for the better this next week, it’s all in the attitude.

Oh and before I go I´ll tell you about two funny little experiences. Tuesday after we got back to the house with my new comp I realized I left the keys inside so we had to pry the window open and get in that way, that was an experience haha. And then later in the day while we were taking our laundry over to the hermana who washes the clothes, this drunk guy unsuccessfully tried to steal my bag of dirty laundry. Ok well that’s it for now. I’m thankful for all of your prayers, love, and support and I know that we are going to start seeing some good changes here in Santa Juana soon. Until next week CHAO!!!!

abrazos, Élder Harper =)

GOD LIVES AND LOVES US, NEVER FORGET IT!

Hello family!!!

First of all I would just like to apologize for not writing yesterday but Dad was right Mom, there was a logical explanation. It has been raining hard since Sunday morning and yesterday there was rain with heavy winds. Due to the winds the power was cut all day and didn't come back til like 10 oclock at night. So yeah it was a pretty boring pday and we were bummed that we didn't get to write. But here I am now writing so it's all good. Oh and I got a call from the secretary of the mission but no need to worry Mom, I´m all right. Oh and happy anniversary!!!! twenty two years married, wow. You guys are my role models and will be when I am married. It sounds like you guys had a lot of fun. That's crazy that Abbie is going to be a senior soon. I remember those days just like it was yesterday.

Y acerca de el llamamiento de Taylor Jones. Bakán po loco!!! que genial que vaí a Argentina pero una lastima que no sea Chile. Aunque vaí a gustar la misión en Argentina no es Chile, y nunca será Chile, y punto. Chile es definitivamente lo mejor de los dos paises. Ma´ encima vaí a hablar en vos.. que asco!!! y son terrible chorros los Argentinos si. Pero aunque son orgullosos y se creen los mejores son buena onda y me caen bien. Además tomaremos mate juntos cuando nos reunamos de nuevo!Ok well that's enough Spanish but congratulations Tay!

About our investigators nothing much really last week. We were able to see them last week and they progressed a little but none of them showed up to church, but they all had pretty legit excuses and we are going to be seeing them and helping them out this week so I'm not too worried. But I´ll let you know more about their progress next week.

But man cambios didn't come too soon. Elder Villegas wasn't a bad comp but he just never talked to me. We ended just fine but I was ready for the cambio. Now I am with Elder Steele, I just met him today but so far he seems like a really good guy. This is only his third cambio in the mission so he doesn't speak all that much Spanish but he is learning and progressing. He just needs time and practice. But I am way stoked for this cambio because he is ready to work and so am I and we are both optimistic and have high hopes for this cambio. We have great investigators and we are going to baptize this cambio si o si. We have the people we just need to put the fechas, keep teaching and get the ball rolling. Just like I said at the beginning of last cambio, I see good things up ahead in the future of Santa Juana. As long as we keep faithful and do our part the Lord will take care of the rest. I´ll let you know more about my comp and my investigators on Monday. Well I am excited for a new cambio and excited to work here in Santa Juana this cambio. I just love being a missionary. Well I got to go but I love you all and we will talk more next week. God lives and loves us, never forget it. CHAO!!!!

Su Chileno preferido, Élder Harper =)

A MISSION IS SUCH A BLESSING. NO IT'S A MIRACLE!!!

Hello everybody!

Well it sounds like you all are having a good time as summer is winding down. Switchfoot and the US surf open sound like they were a lot of fun. I really do miss the ocean. But thats ok, I can wait. Well to be completely honest we had a really bad week. It miraculously ended alright but after a great cita we had last Monday night it all went down hill from there until Saturday. We had the week chalk full of preset citas (which usually doesn't happen) and we were feeling good about everything but the Lord decided to teach us a lesson instead. Every last one of the citas that we had set with all of our best investigators fell through the whole week. Then when we reset them for later in the week they fell through again. It's not because our investigators flaked or anything, because they are still good, but at this moment in their lives when the Lord's plan of happiness and the light of the gospel are being opened up to them, life starts becoming complicated. They were all either unusually swamped in work or out of town or dealing with unexpected family problems the whole week. Luckily things cleared up so all of our best investigators were able to go to church, like Laura and Juan and the young adult girl, Yeseña, were able to go to church but none of them progressed in the slightest for a whole week because we were not able to get a hold of them. I was extremely worried about all of them but when the weekend came and they all went to church the Lord showed me that I should have had more faith. It was frustrating that they didn´t progress at all during the week but from what I saw on Sunday they are still good and we will now be able to help them continue progressing this last week of the cambio. This last week showed me that the Lord still wasn´t through with testing my patience jaja and maybe he still isn´t. I´ll just have to work harder, and have more faith in him because it looks like I´m still lacking. But anyways on Saturday we had an activity in the chapel where we watched The Other Side of Heaven and we had a good turnout of a lot of members and a few unexpected investigators and then Sunday we had 5 investigators in the capilla.

But I´m sorry to say that during the week when all of our appointments kept falling through we kind of got disanimated. Well I kind of got disanimated. I´m not sure about my comp. He doesn't talk much or show emotion. And when you ask him questions he usually answeres with yes or no. The only way to get him to actually have a good conversation is to ask about his family or his girlfriend or else he just doesn't talk. He talks to investigators and members but not to me. The exact opposite of Hickman jaja. So when all of our citas fell we started to go visit our not as good investigators, old investigators, and innactives but that turned into a big waste of time and none of them are progressing in the slightest. But I´m done moping and I´m ready to work harder next week to make up for the last. I have faith that if I put my trust in the Lord, things will start falling into place more smoothly. I just have to let go to the control that I think I have over the situations and progress of my investigators and humbly submit more fully to the will of the Lord. Well that's enough of my own personal chastizing and introspection, I´m probably starting to bore you.

Well as far as Laura and Juan, they are doing good but still haven't come to the realization of the big picture yet. After the meeting on Sunday they told us that they decided they were going to get married by the state and then later get married for the church. Jaja, it's not as simple as they think. They do want to join the church. We said that it was great but our faces dropped a little bit when they said they put a goal to get married by the state by the end of the year, like in November or December. It's kind of a tough situation because how can you just tell a person to go and get married in two weeks so they can get baptized now or at least while I´m still here in Santa Juana. I mean it was already a huge step for them to decide to get married before the end of the year so I will pray to be guided to help them understand how the sooner they get married the better and that the end of the year is not soon enough. But they still only have lesson 2, the plan of salvation, so I'm thinking that the message of the restoration and the first principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ might put things more into perspective to help them make the decision to get married sooner. After all, the state marriage is just the tramites (the papers, the forms). It's the sealing that will come a year after that's eternal and will really count. Anyways we have a cita with them Wednesday night and we are going to bring the branch president and his wife with us so hopefully that will help them out. Last Monday we watched The Testaments with Yeseña and gave her the Book of Mormón with the invitation to read and pray. With the way her schedule was last week I´m not sure if she´s done it yet but we are going to meet with her this coming week and we will pray a lot for her and see how she´s doing. She also brought a friend to the lesson last Monday night and the friend came to church with her yesterday. She is pretty active in her own church but was intirgued about the Book of Mormon but we will see more on where she stands this coming week.

Well cambios are this coming week and I am ready for them jaja. I mean I get along with Élder Villegas and he teaches alright and participates in the lessons but Im starting to get lonely. Haha it's just that he never talks to me or shows emotion and well, you know me. I need more human interaction. I guess I was spoiled with too many friends and people to talk to in Monte and so now I'm starting to feel the difference here. He's just the first comp I've had that doesn't talk to me. It's like he lives in his own little world. But that's enough of that. I`ve enjoyed this cambio but Im ready for it to end. I just hope I stay here in Santa Juana.

A mission is such a blessing. No it's a miracle!!! . It's not easy but I`ve never felt so much purpose in life and so happy as I have had here in the mission. I wouldn't trade the experiences I'm having here for the world.

Well sorry for the slightly down and boring email this week. I`ll make sure that it's more positive and cheery next Monday. Well I love you all and keep up with family prayer and scripture study. Les quiero mucho!! CHAO!

tu misionero chileno, Èlder Harper :)

SHE BEGAN TO CRY AS SHE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE TAUGHT HER ABOUT ETERNAL FAMILIES AND HOW IT DOESN'T END WITH THIS LIFE BUT CAN CONTINUE FOR ALL ETERNITY

Hola y muchos saludos a todos!

Well this week was very long but in the end very very good. We had to get up early in the morning last Monday to head out to Conce and be in the stake center of the Talcahuano south stake by 9:30 am. Our bus was a little late and I had to drop Elder Villegas off in San Pedro on the way so I got there a little late but it wasn´t that big of a deal in the end. Anyways it was basically kind of like the MTC for three days. We were taught the new concepts, watched parts of a movie called The District 2 that follows a district of missionaries in San Diego around for a cambio filming them teaching and putting into practice the new ways of teaching, and then practiced in groups teaching with these new concepts and focuses everyday. From Monday to Wednesday we always started at 9:30 and went until about 5:30 to 6ish. Then when we finished we went to our assigned sectors with our assigned companions for the week to put into practice what we were learning until we turned in like normal at 10:00 pm each night. My assigned sector for the week was Las Salinas in Talcahuano and I worked with Élder Valverdes, another Ecuatoriano that has like a year and a half in the mission. The capacitations were really good and I absolutely loved the movie, The District 2, and liked the practices but not all of the lessons were taught all that great. The Zone leaders were assigned to teach and capacitate on all the 8 new concepts, like two or three concepts a day, but not all of them had prepared all that well and did a good job. But some of them were great and in the end I liked the experience and learned a lot. Also, since all of the leaders of the mission were there from North to South I got to see a lot of my buddies that I hadn't seen in a really long time. Almost all of my group from the MTC was there and I got to see Élder Rodriguez for the first time since my second cambio. He´s the Argentino that speaks fluently in English that lived in the same house as us and helped me out a lot my second cambio in the mission. Even though I like the capacitations, I didn't really enjoy so much the experience working in Las Salinas and sleeping on a tiny air mattress in a house built for two with 6 missionaries. But at least I had an air mattress so I can´t complain too much. But everyday when we got to the sector to work like at 6 thirty or so we basically just visited converts, members, and old investigators for the three days. We did that because Élder Valverdes was in the sector for 4 months before so he just wanted to visit people. But Oh well, I have since had the opportunity to apply the things I learned here in Santa Juana in my own sector =).

Also, I didn't get much sleep from Monday to Wednesday because we were in the house with over six missionaries and four of them were Argentinos, two of them finishing the mission this cambio. I don't know if all Argentinos are like this but the ones in this mission love to talk and joke around, especially with other Argentinos. So when they are with their own kind it's just all a big party. So basically they stayed up to like 3 o'clock every night drinking mate herbal tea and laughing loudly. But it wasn't so bad. I didn't get upset or anything but I was dang tired when we finally got back to Santa Juana on Thursday morning. Then when we got back, Thursday and Friday were just ok. We just spent the whole time checking up on our investigators but a lot of them we weren't able to find or the lessons with them were just ehh. But Saturday was amazing. We went to visit this agnostic couple that is extremely nice and friendly that we´ve been teaching for the last couple of weeks and we had an amazing lesson. When we got to the house, the husband´s cousin was in town visiting with her daughter and they happen to be members of the church. So we had a good time talking and then we taught them about eternal families and watched Together Forever and they loved it. There are also a lot of other things that went on during the lesson and elements about the family that are important to why things are just working out perfectly right now but I don't really have too much time to go into it this week. Anyways, what's important is that the member cousin got them excited to go to church with us this week and they all went along with one of the husband's daughters, who was also in town visiting. It was fast and testimony meaning so I was nervous that there were going to be a lot of long pauses and silences since it's such a small branch but in the end it didn't go over that way. We actually went a little over the hour. Anyway it was one of the most powerful testimony meetings that I´ve been in and the spirit was felt strongly by all, both members and investigators. Actually, at the end of the meeting the wife of the couple we are teaching got up and bore her testimony. She said in her testimony how gratetful she was that we got to her home to bring them the gospel and Jesus Christ into their lives. She said that she was just so excited to build up faith in Christ when there was nothing before and to start in His path. She then began to cry as she talked about how we taught her about eternal families and about how it doesn't end with this life but can continue for all eternity. She said that she had never imagined or hoped for that before and that when we taught her that she believed it because she felt a burning inside her chest. She then said that she was excited to keep coming to church and to hopefully get sealed in the temple some day.

At the end of the testimony the whole chapel was teary eyed and we were stoked because it was only her first time going to church and she already said that she knows it's true. The only problem with them now is that they are not legally married. This would discourage most missionaries but they told us that they want to get married so that they can get baptized and married in the temple and if they and us exercise faith, I think we can help them reach that goal. God did it for Marcos and Marcela in Galvarino and I know he can do it for Juan and Laura (the investigators). Also all of the other investigators that were there loved the meeting and felt the spirit and one of them, who is a 20 year old, actually ended up going with some of the other young adults of the branch to a huge Young adult devotional in Concepción and it seems like they all made friends very fast. And it was only her first Sunday in church as well! We have a cita with her later tonight so we will see how she enjoyed the devotional then. On Saturday night I was a little nervous about church the next day because the president called to tell us that he was going to be out of town and he has no counselors so I had to bless the sacrament, preside the meeting and teach priesthood while my comp conducted the meeting. But in the end, my nervousness was in vane because all the meetings went smoothly and it was probably one of my favorite Sundays in church that I´ve had in the mission so far. Oh and in total we had 6 investigators in church.

Also I had an extremely humbling and spiritual experience that brought me into a better perspective with things on Friday night but I just got the impression that I probably shouldn't share it just yet so I will save that one for later maybe. Well I must say that even though I´ve gone through some rough patches and trials here in Santa Juana that it looks like things are looking up here and that the Lord has prepared his children to receive His gospel here in this pueblo. Things aren´t going perfect and none of our investigators have baptismal fechas yet, and we could teach a lot better but as long as we just do our best and have faith I´ll leave the rest in the lords hands. Besides even though it's stayed cold we´ve had sunny cloudless skys here for the past few days so things are looking good for next week. Thank you all so much for all of your prayers, love and support and I will talk to you all next week. Until then CHAO!!!!

con mucho amor, Élder Harper =)