THROUGH THE GOOD AND THE BAD THERE IS STILL NO PLACE ELSE THAT I'D RATHER BE THAN OUT HERE ON MY MISSION.

Querida familia y todos,

Well another week has come and gone and now the cambio is halfway over. Even during the rougher times during the mission the time still flies. It's a bummer for the kids the party is over. Grandma and Papa are gone and it's time to go back to school jaja. I'm sure you are all busy getting ready for that now.

Well my week was alright, It started off well anyway. The first half of the week we worked really hard and focused on finding new people. It was impossible, next to impossible, to get any of the members to go out with us so we just did some good old fashioned door knocking and talking in the street. That really didn't work out all too well for us but on Tuesday we got a surprise. Yeseña called us and told us that we needed to come over as soon as we could. So after we finished up with whatever we were doing we went over to her house. When we asked what was up she told us that ever since she stopped going to church and stopped meeting with us that things had just gone down hill. That she missed the feeling we felt in church and in the lessons and that she was having trouble feeling purpose in life and that she had been dreaming a lot about the church. So we told her that we were going to do everything to help her get that feeling back and get her life into harmony with what God wants and she agreed and said that she wanted to learning from us again, going to church, and to work towards baptism. So we were stoked about that and she and her friend were both ready to go to church on Sunday but when we got there only the friend was there and not Yeseña. When we asked what happened she said that they were on their way to church together when Yeseña got a call to go back to take her Dad to the hospital. Satan is working really hard with her but she said that no matter what she is going to make time this coming week to meet with us and we are going to put a baptismal fecha with her and her friend this week. They are ready and I think just need a set goal, like a specific fecha, to work for to keep them motivated to stay on the path. Laura and Juan are exactly the same. They were once again out of town this week but they were with Juan´s sister in law, who is an active member, so I am hoping that she still took them to church on Sunday. Hopefully next week I´ll have more news for you on them next week. Oh and Euphemia once again went out of town and this time for like two weeks so it looks like she might have to wait for another set of missionaries until she gets baptized.

As far as finding is going all the news that we find doesn't last but this last week on Wednesday I think we found a good one. We just contacted this older lady with a cane and three grandchildren trailing her in the street and when we asked her how she was, she said ´mal´. We usually don't get that reply so we asked her some questions and she told us about all of these problems she is having in life right now and that it feels like it's too much. So we shared her our message of comfort and love and she invited us in to hear more. We also helped her out with some of her non spiritual material problems which definitely helped her accept to hear our message and to invite us in. We had a short first lesson with her and then she invited us to come back for another appointment. When we did we taught her about the plan of salvation and eternal families and how she could realize that through faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. We taught her with lots of questions and the spirit was felt strong in her home. When we gave her and her nine year old grandson the baptismal challenge at the end they were hesitant but said that they would prepare themselves to be baptized. So we were way stoked for that and this family really does seem like they are going to come through with it but when we invited them to church they had already had plans to go visit family in Conce but said they were for sure for the next week. So it's a bummer that they won't be able to be baptized this cambio because they won't ¨have the three in church but I have faith that they will continue to progress and get even more excited for baptism when we teach them the restoration this next week. So finally all the contacts that we've been making paid off a little bit and we were finally invited into a house to teach for the first time here in Santa Juana in like three weeks.

The week would have probably ended better but things fell apart with some would be investigators and the innactive kids that we were helping with their English. It was a really tough and long weekend but I made it through. Through faith, hope, prayer, and the scriptures we will always make it through. We could feel sorrow for ourselves for what's going on and we could give up but the Savior didn't give up on us when he was suffering in the garden or bleeding on the cross. He didn't give up on me so I won't give up on him. I know that no matter what is happening our lives He will be with us when we are in our own personal Gethsemane. He will always be with me, and you. Well I love you all very much and I love being out here. Like I always say through the good and bad there is still no place else that I'd rather be than out here on mymission.

con amor, Élder Harper :)

ps. I know I ended the letter all spiritual and all but there's a funny story I forgot to tell you guys. So this morning after we deep cleaned the house we went on a hike up the big hill to the mirador where there's the wooden tower that looks down on all of Santa Juana and the river. I think you´ve seen pictures already. But anyway on the way up on the side of the trail we found a herd of wild billy goats. Shaggy fur curly horns and all, about 10 of them. So we went off the trail and tried to get close to take some good pictures and stuff but before I was able to get close enough to get some really good ones they would get spooked and move back. So Elder Steele just started yelling and chasing them and I followed suit tracking and chasing them for a good ten minutes or so. It was pretty cool even though we almost got lost because of it. Elder Steele wanted to hit one with a rock but fortunately he did not succeed. I didn't want to get caught in a billy goat stampede with their horns and stuff. Oh and it totally brought me back to the Tombstone Arizona petting zoo experience when I was little. I'm sure papa remembers jaja. Anyways just a goofy missionary story, you'll see the pictures later. well love you. chao