FASTING REALLY DOES WORK MY FRIENDS

Hola hola!!

It sounds like things are going good down in California. Here things are going pretty good as well; it was a good week. Things could have been better but so far we are progressing along here little by little. We once again spent a lot of time this last week knocking doors and going to visit the innactive and less active members. With the innactive members we haven't had much progress getting a hold of them or getting them excited to go back to church but we still aren't going to give up going through the member list because this branch needs a lot of strengthening and has a TON of innactive members that need fellow shipping. While doing divisions with Elder Hillman we actually found this one innactive member with quite a history. He was the branch mission leader, branch president for years, district secretary (a district is the equivalant of a stake), in the district presidency and now after decades of devoted church service he and his wife are innactive. Why? according to him pure laziness. He thinks that because he worked for so long in the church he's now ok to just chill back in his house and spend the rest of his days in oblivion without going to church. He thinks that he's earned a well deserved rest. When we tried to explain to him that he still needs to keep coming to church to take the sacrament and renew his covenants he told us that he could bless the bread and water in his own home and take the sacrament every week. When we tried to explain to him how that doesn't fly he was stubborn and wouldn't have any of it. But at the end of the visit we did soften him up a little bit so we will see how it goes. We're not going to give up on him just yet. It just makes me sad to see members who were so strong just fall away and lose their faith. It just really shows how we always have to be on guard and never stop working to maintain our faith and keep our change of heart, because the minute we let our guard down and get lazy is when the adversary will strike.

As far as investigators go, we did a lot of door knocking and actually had reasonable success. Fasting really does work my friends. Every time I do one my testimony grows of it as a spiritual and missionary tool and sanctifier. Anyways, doing contacts we found a whole family who was investigating the church before but when the husband got really sick they couldn't keep going to church and then they moved and lost contact with the missionaries and the church. They unfortunately weren't able to come to church this Sunday but they are excited for us to start visiting them again and to start going to church again because I guess they had a really good experience with the last missionaries who were teaching them. So we are pretty excited about that find and are praying hard that the Lord helps them to develop their faith and feel the spirit bear witness to them of the truthfulness of our message. The journey begins again =). Victor is doing well too but it's going to take a little longer than I thought with him because he is full of crazy ideas and it's hard to teach him sometimes. But he understands the importance of having a living prophet and he understands the importance of baptism so we are going to work with that. He actually wants to get baptized right away but we told him that he had to quit drinking first and we taught him the word of wisdom. This week again he came to church (although we did have to go get him) and he said that he would quit drinking so we are going to do everything we can to help him follow through and prepare for baptism during this coming week.

Also this week we were let into houses a lot more and we had a lot more teaching appointments where we were actually able to teach and although all of them aren't going to continue, it just felt awesome teaching so frequently again. I love doing it and it's my job so that definitely helped my spirits last week. Unfortunately Sunday was slightly frustrating because Victor was the only one of our investigators who came to church but we should have a lot more who come next week. Well I don't have too much more time today but I just want to let you know that we're working hard and even though everything isn't going perfectly, we are happy. Happy and ready to get in the water! It's time to end the drought! Ok well I got to go now but take care everybody! Read your scriptures and try extra hard to look for the influence of the holy spirit in life. He's with us a lot more than we think, we are just too distracted and dense to notice it sometimes. Oh and enjoy your halloween! It exists here but as I learned last year it's nothing compared to the states. Bueno les quiero mucho, cuidense y CHAU!!!

su chileno preferido, Élder Harper =)

FOR THE LORD THERE IS NO LOST CAUSE

Hello!

First off thanks for the emails everybody! I loved all of them. Well pday once again, the weeks go by so fast. Anyways this week was a lot better than last week. If not that much in results at least in spirits. First off I will tell you about our investigators that until recently we had. We talked with Veronica and her Mom last Monday night and we talked a lot about baptism and testified and what not but it's still a no and this time the Mom put her foot down on the issue. She said that she could keep going to church and talking to us but that she can't get baptized until she's older. We tried a lot of tactics but her mind is made up and for right now she's not budging. That's a bummer. As for Karina we haven't been able to get a hold of her or her husband since I last wrote so there is no news or progress there as of right now.

Anyways, with that start-off to last week, it was rough for the first few days but we had a fast as a district and even though it didn't help all that much with the results, it did help me out with the morale. My companion Elder Maldonado is an obedient hard worker and a good missionary but he is a little down and frustrated about the dry spell here in Loncoche and the one that he has been having in his mission right now. But despite that, I'm not too worried about him and we've been working on more meaningful prayers and are going to have weekly 24 hour fasts now so that should help us out. The other missionaries in the house, Elder Hillman and his son (trainee) Elder Calaway are doing good and are also working hard. Elder Hillman has been here for six months and his animo is still good, he just needs to be less conform with the results. But we all get along great in the house. We all laugh and joke around together and are all obedient so it's a good house. Elder Calaway, the new guy, reminds me a lot of me. He just started in this zone and unfortunately has to see all these branch problems his first cambio, like I did, and he doesn't have too much confidence in himself or his spanish but he's a good guy and I know that he'll turn out to be a good missionary.

As far as the work went this last week people are still setting appoinments with us and then aren't there or don't come to the door when we go. Even though we are still talking with everybody we've changed our tactics a bit. We've been going down the ward list visiting all of the innactive members, which is the majority, and although most of them haven't been home, we have found a few and have appointments to visit them this week so we will see how it goes. I think that we need to do a lot of strengthening of the branch before we can trust them to take care of good investigators and new converts. So we will keep up a lot with visiting the innactives this week. Also we have put up flyers all over the town and are now teaching English classes on Saturdays. Our first class was last Saturday and it didn't have all that great of a turn out but we are going to keep advertising it a lot and we will see how it goes.

The best experience that we had last week was finding a new investigator, Victor. Victor is quite the character. He is a very very poor guy who is very dirty, always is wearing a yellow hard hat, and lives alone in this tiny wooden hand made shack surrounded by a shanty wooden fence and a yard filled with all of this junk that he just loves. We found him because he was yelling things about gringos and the states to us so we decided to go

over and talk to him. He is kind of crazy, drunk and is obsessed with the states, airplanes, and NASA. He actually has a NASA tie that missionaries gave him two years ago and has a collection of little model airplanes and space shuttles that he loves and treasures. These missionaries who gave him the tie were teaching him and brought him to church but he never got baptized, probably due to the alcohol. But he says he wants to get baptized and I could hardly believe it, but he came to church with us on Sunday and I think that he was even sober. In church you could tell that people were kind of looking down on him due to his dirty clothes(hard hat and all), terrible smell (which filled the chapel), and famous drunkeness but that doesn't matter.

Although members of the Lord's church and even some missionaries might judge by the outward appearence and reputations, every human being is a child of God and everyone of them deserves the chance to hear the message of the restored gospel and to apply the healing power of the atonement in their lives. For the Lord there is no lost cause and if it be his will, and if Victor is willing, the Lord can change him and take away his addiction to alcohol to replace it with the love and mercy of the Savior. These thoughts filled my mind as I sat next to him in the chapel and the spirit testified to me powerfully that this was true and that this man is a truly beloved son of God. So even though it might not work, I'm excited to give Victor this chance and to help him use and feel the power of the atonement in his life. Well I gotta go now but I love you all, I love this work, and I love the Chilenos. The work isn't easy and the Chilenos can be very frustrating at times but I love them and have been called to preach to them for these two years. So I'm going to make the best of these next 9 months to do so. Until next Monday CHAU!!!!!

Elder Harper

AS WE BLESSED A TINY PIECE OF BREAD AND A LITTLE CUP OF WATER IN THAT HUMBLE HOME I FELT THE SPIRIT STRONG AND HUMBLED FOR THE OPPORTUNITY I HAD

Hola Hola a todos!!

Loncoche Loncoche. Man what is there to say for this week? Well it sure was a busy week. We spent the whole time running from house to house trying to find people, talking to everybody in the street and knocking a lot of doors. You know just the normal missionary stuff. The only bad part is that we didn't get many opportunities to teach this week. Almost all of the appointments we set with potential investigators we found during the week last week fell through so unfortunately we used a lot of time running from one end of the pueblo to the other to citas, only to find that they weren't home. But I didn't let it get to me, we just worked that much harder to find those who are actually interested and not going to blow us off.

As for the investigators that we already had before I got here, they are both in complicated situations. The strongest one is Veronica. She is a twelve year old girl who always goes to church, is working on her personal progress and even when she blows off doing her homework, she will read and mark the Book of Mormon. She knows the church is true but... her parents are Catholic and want her to wait until she is older until she gets baptized. If she really pushed the issue with her Mom I think that she could get permission but she is also afraid and doesn't want to enter the church alone without the support of her family. It's slightly complicated so we have been doing a lot of praying and working with them, but this week is go time. We are going to talk seriously about it with the Mom this week so we will see what happens if it comes out yes or no.

The other investigator' name is Karina. She is like in her late twenties with 2 kids, has all of the lessons and wants to be baptized. There is just one major problem. She is conviviendo (living with) a very very innactive member of the church and she wants to get married but he doesn't. He is a really nice guy, we even went fishing with him last p-day, but he doesn't believe in marriage. He is an agnostic who believes in God but not Christ and has a bunch of weird conspiracy theories but last time we met with them we watched the restoration video and then committed him to read and pray about the ook of Mormon, and that is one powerful book so we will wait and see what's going to happen there.

Even though I´ve left Santa Juana Satan is still trying really hard to drag me down along with the branch and the other missionaries here in Loncoche but I did have a great experience on Sunday. After church we went to this very old members house who has Parkinson's disease to give him the sacrament. Although he is in bad shape, he brightened way up at our visit and although he couldn't talk very well he was talking up a storm asking about me and telling me about his life as a member of the church. I felt the spirit warmly in the room at seeing the crippled and aged man express his love for the gospel and for missionary work. Then as we blessed a tiny piece of bread and a little cup of water in that humble home and helped him take it I felt the spirit strong and humbled for the opportunity I had to administer the holy sacrament to this veteran of the church here in Chile. Hearing the stories and seeing the decline of the church and the apostasy of the members rather than growth in these small pueblos really does start to take a toll on the morale after a while, especially when only a handful of the hundreds who have been baptized this last decade are active. But seeing the humble faithfulness of that old man gave me a little boost of hope and encouragement here for the little pueblos in the south of Chile. No matter the calamities and defamings of men and devils, the Lord's work will go forth nobly and independent. That includes Santa Juana and Loncoche.

Just like old times with Pitruf, there is drama and divisions going down in the little branch here in Loncoche, which is probably exaggerated by the members, but nonetheless has discouraged the other missionaries here. I've been in too many small towns now to know that drama can be smoothed out and that we can't let the petty offenses and differences of the members discourage us and stop us from putting all of our heart into the work here. We just need to do the best we can to empathize with the members and at the same time smooth their ruffled feathers and preach to them the atonement of Christ. Because no amount of shame or offense taken in the chapel due to wounded pride is worth abandoning applying the healing powers of the atonement in our lives. Well I just want to let you guys know that even though it hasn't exactly been an easy start here in Loncoche, I'm still excited and ready to tear it up here in this pueblo. So until next week take care and remember to look for and recognize the holy spirit everyday in our lives. Without his guidance and comfort.. well.. we're just sad. So do everything you can to have it. les quiero y hasta la proxima semana chao!!

Élder Harper =)

I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT WE HAVE A LIVING PROPHET AND APOSTLES THAT RECEIVE DIRECT REVELATION FROM GOD TO LEAD AND DIRECT ALL HIS CHILDREN HERE ON EARTH

Hey Everybody!!!

Well this week was a pretty good week I guess. I mean how could it have been bad ending with such a great general conference? I just love hearing the inspired words of our leaders and just soaking up the spirit of the occasion. You really do leave it wanting to be a better person. Anyways about my week.

Tuesday, the day of cambios, was a long day of traveling. In total like six hours in a bus and for four hours of the journey, from Conce to Temuco, I was alone which was really weird. Finally at like 6:00 pm we got to Loncoche at the end of the mission safe and sound. My new companion is Élder Maldonado. He is from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and has about 6 months out in the mission. He is excited to work and from what I've seen so far he teaches pretty well. Oh he also speaks English pretty well and understands everything in English so usually in the street we speak Spanish and in the house we speak English. The house here in Loncoche is pretty old but it's huge. It's the biggest house that I have been here in the mission so far and the shower is hot and working which is the most important thing jaja. There were only two missionaries in the house but with the addition of me and another Elder we now make four missionaries here in Loncoche. The other companionship is Elder Hillman and a new gringo, Elder Calaway, who he is training. Lucky for him everyone in the house speaks English. I will tell you more about my comp and the other Elders the more I get to know them.

Now Loncoche is a pueblo but a pretty good sized pueblo and is much bigger than both Santa Juana and Monte Águila. We have a chapel here. It's small but it's a real chapel, and there are about 45 to 50 members who attend church regularly here in the pueblo. Probably about the same size of the branch in Pitrufquén. From what I've seen of the members so far they seem pretty loving but I will tell you more about the branch as I get to know it, but I am definitely way stoked to work with a new branch and new members. It's been a few months since the Elders have baptized here and since we made a new companionship here as of now we don't have many investigators because the ones who are here were spit between the two companionships. But we do have some people to work with and we are excited to get out there to find new ones.

Well last week was a short work week because of the cambios and general conference and getting to know the new investigators and members of the branch but thats ok that it was a short work week because conference was awesome! Saturday we four from Loncoche went to Pitrufquén to watch the 3 Saturday sessions of conference. It was total dejavu as we set everything up to watch it in English in the same exact room of the chapel that we did 1 year ago. It was really weird but cool to walk the streets of the pueblo again, be in the chapel, and see some of my old buddies and understand them jaja. It was really cool especially talking to Gercy and Alex again. I didn't get to see them for very long but Alex plans to meet up with us one P-day when we go to Temuco. It was awesome watching the sessions in English and feeling the power and spirit of the inspired messages from our leaders and I definitely left it feeling invigorated. Then when priesthood session ended at 10:00pm there were no buses back to Loncoche so I slept in my old house and in my old bed in the Pitrufquén house. Oh and Élder Terrazas is my zone leader here so it was good to talk to him again. Then the Sunday sessions of conference were good too but on Sunday we went back to Loncoche to watch them with the branch via internet but unfortunately we were not able to watch them in English. But we did have one investigator that is progressing come to one of the sessions so that was cool.

Well everybody, I'm out of time this email but that was a basic recap of my week. I just want to let you know before I go that I am so grateful that we have the restored church here on the earth today and that we have a living prophet and apostles that recieve direct revelation from God to lead and direct all of his children here on the earth. They are such a big blessing in our lives, for if we follow their council and guidance we will receive eternal life, but if we reject them, it will be a whole different story. Ok now I really have to go but we will talk more in just one short week. Until then les quiero mucho!!!! CHAO!

con mucho cariño, Élder Harper =)

WE BEGAN TO TEACH THIS FAMILY, THE SPIRIT FILLED THE ROOM

Hola y saludos a todos,

Wow, even in my roughest sector of the mission so far, time seemed to go by way fast. Now three months have passed and it's time to say goodbye to Santa Juana. First I'll tell you a little bit about my week. Tuesday was spent doing contacts, trying to visit innactive families, and getting blown off by appointments, but we worked hard. Wednesday was pretty tough because even though we were out working hard my comp was all down about the sector and that kind of affected my mood as well, and once again it didn't help that we weren't able to contact any of our investigators and nobody really cared to talk to us on the doorsteps and in the street. But the day ended well with one of the better lessons that we've had in a while.

We went to an appointment with a somewhat wealthier investigator family who has potential and we got the branch president's wife to come with us. Before going to the appointment we were kind of feeling negative and down but as we began to teach this family, the spirit filled the room and I could feel it helping the mother of this family understand the message of the restoration and its importance. She understood everything very well, which usually doesn't happen, and was excited to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and the truthfulness of our message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. She was not able to attend church this Sunday but my comp and his new comp have an appointment with her and the branch president's wife again this Wednesday so I have hope that she will be able to pray in ernest, receive her answer, and then have the courage to do what it takes to follow that.

While we are on the subject of investigators, our other ones are not doing so hot. Yeseña has changed and has given the gospel a backseat in her life and Laura and Juan are still in the same boat and not progressing. It's really tough to see investigators give it up but that's life, not really anything more to say about that.

On Friday I did get to do an intercambio (exchange) with some Elders in my district to do a baptismal interview (which is always uplifting) in the only sector in the whole mission with bikes. So at least for one day in the mission I was out doing the work on a bike, although I do have to say that I think I prefer walking. It's easier to talk to people in the street that way. Anyways on Saturday morning I got the call for cambios and lo and behold I am leaving. I actually have the biggest cambio ever because I am going to continue as district leader in Loncoche, which is the farthest south sector in the mission. After almost a year of being up here in the north I am going back down south to where it all began. I am going to be in the same zone where Pitrufquén is and the hermanas there are actually going to be in my district. Also this weekend for general conference I will be watching it in the chapel in Pitrufquén, the same chapel where I watched my first general conference in the mission. That will be some major dejavu, and also I´ll be able to see and for the first time speak to all of my buddies down in Pitruf.

Although I am relieved to be leaving Santa Juana I still kind of have mixed feelings about it. I wanted to go but now leaving is kind of sad because I feel like I haven't really done that much here these passed three months and that I will just be another missionary that did his time and passed through here in the minds of the people. I may have not had all that much success here but at least I have overcome problems, learned valuable lessons and am now leaving with the resolve to work harder, smarter, and better in my new sector, Loncoche. I feel like I didn't really accomplish the work that the Lord had intended for me or find the people that I needed to here, but I won't dwell on it too much. The past is past and now I just have to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Well I got to go, have fun enjoying the heat wave and I'll tell you all about my new sector and new comp next week. Until then I love you guys.. CHAOOO!!!!!!!!

Élder Harper =)

SCRIPTURE STUDY COUPLED WITH ERNEST PRAYER HELPS CLEAR THE MIND AND PUTS THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE A LOT.

Hola Hola!

Well my second and last Dieciocho here in Chile has come and gone and we are going on the last week now of this cambio and probably my last week here in Santa Juana. This Dieciocho wasn't as active and fun as my last one but we still had a good time. Even though I am glad it's over because the holiday was not very good for the work so last week wasn´t nearly as productive. We had the capicitation thing on Monday so Tuesday was pday. Then we basically just had Wednesday and Thursday as good solid work days because we had the branch activity on Friday, which took the whole afternoon (like 5 hours) and then we had Saturday (Dieciocho) as pday. But the Chilenos, from Friday until today, were in party mode. Lots of drunks, lots of investigators out of town or entertaining guests, and everyone too busy partying or with preparations to listen to us. We did find a really good person although doing contacts on Thursday. We talked for a long time and she was really interested and we were stoked but at about 10 minutes into the contact we found out that she is from Santiago and is just down visiting family here in Santa Juana. Sigh, just our luck, but it was still a good experience.

Then, as I mentioned earlier, we had the branch activity in the meeting house on Friday afternoon. It wasn't nearly as big or active as the activity they did in Pitrufquén but it was alright. There were like 25ish people there with some games and lots of food. I basically just spent the whole time chatting with members and some of their non member family members and stuffing my face with empanadas while drinking mote con huesillo. Man I ate so much fried food this weekend (including like 30 empanadas) I feel absolutely sick. Then after the activity we took a two hour bus ride to Lota to sleep at the missionaries' house over there because we did a double zone activity in the chapel over there for Dieciocho. It was fun and all but it was a lot of traveling and it wasn't really all that exciting. But the anticucho(shishkabob) and asado(barbecue) was good so I didn't complain. So ayways it was a good weekend but when Sunday came around we didn't think we were going to have anyone in church because we didn't see our good investigators pretty much all week. But to our surprise, halfway through the sacrament, in walks the 20 year old son of this innactive member that we've been talking to and trying to teach. I thought that he wasn't all that interested but he came to church by himself and without us picking him up or anything and he seemed to like it so we will see how it goes with him when we go to teach him this week.

Well it was a really short work week and the activities for Independence day weren't all that exciting so I'm just about out of stuff to write about this week. But this week we have the whole work week without interruptions and even though I enjoyed the festivities I'm ready to hit the streets again and to finish out my time here in Santa Juana working hard and smart and doing everything I can to have the spirit of the Lord with me. Looking back at the work here I´ve made some mistakes, and I've had some hard times but I've learned from all of those and am going to work hard to keep my spirits and animo up to finish it off good this cambio. I´m not sure yet about what the cambios are officially, but this Saturday I will, so you will hear about it next Monday. Well I've got to go now but I love you guys and can't wait to hear from you again next week. So until then cuidense y portense bien. CHAOOO!!!!

con amor, Élder Harper =)

Hey Mom!!

Thanks for the letter. I loved it. Oh and by the way you're right. I think it would help out a lot to make it a habit to have good daily scripture study which is started and if necessary ended with prayer. Scripture study coupled with ernest prayer helps clear the mind and puts things in perspective a lot. Sometimes I've come home from a rough day and I've needed to ask Heavenly Father for like a million things but instead I just start going on about what I'm grateful for and why I am grateful for it and that always helps me to feel better. Well mom I got to go pero te quiero mucho y cuidate!

tu hijo chileno, Élder Harper =)

Hey DAD!

Loved your letter. I don't have much time left but I just wanted to send a quick note. I'm glad that you are enjoying seminary and are rediscovering the fount of spiritual strength and peace that is daily scripture study. I absolutely love it and need it to function properly as a missionary. I hope that I never lose it after the mission. Also I'm really glad that you guys enjoy my letters and that they might actually be helping people out back home. Here I've taken I huge hit to myself confidence and esteem as a missionary and at times have questioned if I really am cut out to do this work but I know that those thoughts are just from the adversary. Anyways it was good to hear that I might be helping out back home even though my efforts aren't resulting here in the field. I guess I just need to work harder and with more consistency, diligence, and animo because sometimes it's hard to keep the animo up.

Although I don't think that I'm nearly as good of a missionary as you were I know that I've at least got 10 more months left here to become a good missionary. Im too weak and make too many mistakes but I guess that's so that we can stay humble. Oh and don't worry, I agree with you about the levity. Trust me here in the mission I love joking around, having a good time and making contacts, investigators and members alike smile and laugh. But with levity there is a time and a place and there are limits and my comp likes to flirt with those limits a lot and sometimes chooses the wrong moments and places. But he has gotten better with it so there aren't too many worries there. Anyways I just wanted to let you know that I love you and am grateful for your words of support and encouragement. Tell your class that I say hi.

Te quiero papa, cuidate

tu hijo chileno, Élder Harper =)

WHAT KEEPS ME GOING IS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THIS GOSPEL AND THIS MESSAGE IS FOR EVERYONE

Hola Hola a todos,

Well summer is over and everyone is back to the grind of school. I remember those days, and yes Mom, I do remember still all too well starting every semester with a messed up schedule and the frustration at the guidance office. Haha, good times, good times.

Well as far as things are going here, Elder Steele and I have been doing all right here in Santa Juana. As far as the work goes it's still chugging along here, and by chugging yes I mean still very painfully slow. We have investigators and we've found new ones but they are all either not progressing or the progress that they do make is snail-paced. Yeseña was ´sick´ all last week so we couldn´t get a hold of her and nothing new has happened with Laura and Juan either. They still want to get married but they can't find the courage to just go up and do it without further delay. We've talked with them but as of right now they are keeping their plan for marriage in December. But we still haven't really had a chance to talk to both of them at the same time about it so maybe if I can do that this week it will help. Oh and the older Lady and her three grandchildren that we found and taught last week that were really good are still interested and want to get baptized but now they are moving to Conce in like a week so that's a big bummer but we´ll just have to pass the reference along to the missionaries over there.

Last week we worked hard but our animo was up and down and we also had comp problems that had to be fixed on Wednesday but besides that our companionship is good. Elder Steele is a great guy and loves to joke around. Sometimes the endless jokes and taking lightly of things would get on my nerves but he is working on being more serious when we need to be serious and all in all we are good friends. I´ll miss him when the cambio ends because despite all of the jokes and stuff he knows why he is here and he is a hard worker. At times last week we both got a little discouraged and down but we are working on doing better about that and I know as we continue to try to be better and work harder then our patience will pay off. We just need to keep atittudes up, which is difficult at times, and continue working with the faith and hope that our Heavenly Father will lead us to his prepared and that we will be able to recognize who they are.

Even though all of the new people that we found the week before kind of just dropped we found and taught two new families last week that have invited us back and that have potential to be good investigators. So we are excited about continuing with them this week, cuz when we are teaching we are happier =) and with one of these families we felt the spirit very strong and its guidance with the lesson last week so we will see how things go with them tomorrow. We probably would have had some of this people in church last week but we had stake conference in San Pedro, an hour away, and had to leave the chapel in a bus at eight in the morning to get there and none of our investigators were able to make it. Stake conference is a bummer when you are in the pueblos and have to travel a long distance, but what can you do, it's past. Now we have some lessons and such planned for this coming week but besides that, it's probably not going to be as productive as last week because that special time of year has come to Chile once again.

Thats right folks.... it's the week of the famous 18 de Septiembre!!! Yep it's bigger than Christmas, New Year, and Easter combined, it's Dieciocho!!! And it's not just any September 18 party for the Chilenos but it's their Bicentenial this year so it's going to be a big bash. While we will only have the 18th off as a p-day, the Chilenos will have 5 full days off of work to celebrate in normal Chileno fashion. Barbecue, dancing, and flowing alcohol jaja. So it probably will be hard to work since a lot of people will be going out of town or will have visitors down for the week and stuff but on the good side, it's always fun practicing teaching and giving baptismal challenges to the drunks. They make for a funny 2 minute or so conversation to break up the monotony sometimes and brighten up your day, as long as they aren't violent that is jaja good times. But Dieciocho or not, the Lord's work never rests and doesn't have time to rest and heck I've only got two weeks left to show Santa Juana what I got, to serve the people of this fine town, and to leave it all on the field here so I can feel that these last 2 and a half, 3 months of work here in Santa Juana have not been in vain.

What keeps me going is the knowledge that this gospel and this message is for everyone. That not all roads lead to God, but that He has a specific plan, a Gospel, and a church that fits everyone's needs for all of his children. The whole human race, Chilenos, gringos and everyone alike. Not everyone will accept our message, lots won't even give us the time to present it, but that's ok because everyone here in this little pueblo has the right to hear the call. It's just my job to present it and be the best vessel that I can be for the spirit to work through but all the rest is up to the person. I can't mess with anyone's free agency, all I can do is love, serve and teach. I'm not the best missionary and maybe I'm not the one to get through to these people here in this pueblo but I am trying and repenting every time I make mistakes. So I'm going to try my best to give Santa Juana the missionary that it deserves for these last two weeks here. Well I think that's all I got for this week. Love you all and PLEASE do something to help out the missionaries where ever you live this week. Because it really does make all the difference in missionary work. This is one thing I've learned here in Santa Juana, and unfortunately I learned it the hard way. Well ok this time I really am going. CHAO!!!

con amor, Élder Harper =)

p.s. tomorrow makes 1 year in Chile. One whole year here in Chile. and 14 months in the mission, can't even believe it. These next ten months are going to fly by in no time. I better make the best of it.

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

I AM DETERMINED TO LEAVE MY MARK ON THIS PLACE AND LEAVE IT BETTER THAN I FOUND IT.

Muchas Holas a todos!!!

Well sorry I'm emailing so late, we had a capacitation in Talcahuano today for all of the district and zone leaders here in the north so I didn't have p-day and we just got back to Santa Juana a little bit ago. Wow I can't believe you guys are on your last week of summer, one more week and Abbie is a senior, Baylor a sophomore, and Izzie a 7th grader. Everybody is growing up too fast.

Well let's see what can I tell you guys about this week? In some ways it was better and in others just the same. It was better in that I finally got over that stupid flu and was back to working like normal all last week. Also we worked hard last week so that felt good, but I think we could have worked harder and more efficiently because we didn't really see any results. Anyways Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty uneventful, just lots of contacting and working but we didn't really find anyone. On Thursday we had interviews which went well. We were capacitated once again on the new principles that are being implemented in the missionary field world wide and did a lot of practices. Then during the interviews I got to talk to both President and the hermana Swenson and it went well, but nothing really more too say about that rather than it was just good to talk to them.

We left the interviews all pumped up to get back to our sector to hit the streets working again and we did exactly that but with little success. Also we did a lot of contacts out in the rain on Friday but nobody wanted to let us in. Everyone just told us to go home and that we were crazy for going knocking door to door in the rain but it didn't really bother us too much. All the rejections aren't important. We are just looking for those that the Lord has prepared here to hear us. We found a few mas o menos people throughout the week and we were supposed to have a few in the chapel on Sunday but we ended up with a big zero in the capilla Sunday morning.

As far as how the investigators that you know about are doing, Yeseñas Dad is still in the hospital and we´ve tried to get a hold of her but she´s still missing in action. I'm not going to say that she's dead just yet until we have the chance to talk to her again but it looks like she´s heading in that direction. We also weren't able to get a hold of Laura and John once again because they were in Conce the whole week and the weekend but we have a set appointment to visit them this Tuesday and I still have faith that they are good. It just seems like Satan has been putting a lot of obstacles in their life to keep them from progressing in the gospel. But we are going to pray big time for them this week and fast for them as well I think. It's really hard seeing all of these good investigators slipping out of our grasp and not being able to do about it but we are just going to do all we can, keep working hard and putting our trust in the Lord.

The only good thing that came out of last week is that we found some kids by accident in the street that were baptized about a year ago and weve been talking with them and helping them and their non member friends out with their English homework last week and we got one of them to go back to church with us this week. Now he is excited to be coming back and is going to try to get all of his buddies to come with him this coming Sunday so we will see how it goes. Well I'm sorry that this email was really boring but last week just really wasn't all that great. But I'm not sick anymore so this next week we are just going to work work work and work to break through this brick wall that seems to be thrown up in front of us. we are also trying to visit the innactive members a lot so we can get this branch back up on its feet because right now Santa Juana can't get too much lower. Well it was a tough week but I'm not going to let it get to me. I still have at least a month left here in Santa Juana and I am determined to leave my mark on this place and leave it better than I found it. I know there are more lessons to be learned here and I have got a good comp and we get along great so we are going to make the best out of these last four weeks the we have left of the cambio. Well I love you guys, I love the Lord, I love the Chilenos and I love my mission. Ill try to have a better email for you guys next week. Chao!!!

con mucho amor, Élder Harper =)

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 =)