Miracles Happen on Sundays

Mother Dear!  Oh, I've been missing you this week . . .

Tell Braeden Happy Birthday for me!  I'm sending him a present, but don't tell him.  :)  I hope he's doing good.  I hope all of you are doing good!  I've been praying for you guys a lot this week.  I sure do miss him . . .  I miss Ty and Kenzie too.  I've been thinking about how blessed we are!  And mom, I hope you realize how blessed we really are!  The mission has been making me have mixed emotions towards everything.  I guess that's just life!

It sound like you guys are having an awesome summer!  When does school start?  School in Anadarko starts on the 1st.  They only had like 8 weeks of summer . . . yay.

I'm doing good.  We're finally starting to get some recognition for the work we've been doing around here - people are finally cluing into missionary work!  I was asked to speak on the 11th if I'm still here.  I'm probably going to have to bring a mop up to the pulpit with me to clean up all my tears.  Every time I talk or think about leaving here I get sad.  As bad as I want to go to Argentina, I'm starting to realize how big of a difference I've made here and I want it to continue!  I haven't heard a word for more than 9 weeks about my visa.  I just know that I need to let the Lord do things in His time.  I know that no matter how much we complain - everything is on His time.

Last Monday we just had our normal p-day.  We played basketball, did some laundry, the usual.  That afternoon the landlord called us and told us that we needed to get the lawn mowed so I started up our neighbors lawn mower and went to town.  I ended up mowing for about 3 hours while the other elders deep cleaned the whole house.  That took up most of the day so by the time we ate and showered it was time to go to bed.

On Tuesday, E. Corey was sick.  We seriously sat inside ALL day.  There's nothing worse than having a sick companion.  He slept until 2 in the afternoon, then we went to dinner at the Klienkole's house in Apache.  So we were going on two days of doing absolutely no missionary work. 

Wednesday I couldn't handle doing nothing anymore - so I forced them out of the house and we got to work.  We went and visited Matt.  He was baptized about 3 years ago and is struggling with his faith.  We're trying to help him all that we can.  We also started the new convert lessons with Cindy.  She's doing really well.  Then we dropped by and visited a part member family - they haven't been to church in years, but we're doing out best to help them get back!  That night we went to a big cook out for the Grace Church.  They were handing out food and backpacks to kids.  So us 3 Elders and the 2 Sisters in our area went and talked to people at another church's event.

When we walked up, you wouldn't believe how bad we stood out.  Seriously, it was bad.  Every person there watched us walk up.  It felt like a movie!  Like after an explosion and you see the guys walking away from in in slow-mo?  ya.  That's what it was like except for these nerdy guys with backpacks, ties and tan lines.  It was legit!

We talked with some members, investigators, and non-members there.  We even found some solid potentials.  Oh, and the best part was that we watched some people get saved!  It as really interesting to watch! haha  We also saw a Christian rapper - and ya, I can rap better than him!  :)

We had a solid day on Thursday.  We got to have interviews with President Walkenhorst.  The mission has a goal of 100 baptisms in the month of August and I think we can do it!  I know that we can get at least a few in our area!

We had a black widow out in front of our house, so I went all Alligator Hunter on it and killed it.  We had dinner with the Roulains's (the ones related to Uncle Charles) and it was one of their boy's birthdays.  Afterwards we dropped by to see Cody and Ranae.  And can I tell you that I really love them?!!  She has been ready like crazy - she's on 2 Nephi 3 and loves it!  Cody found out that he got the job that he applied for - so things are really looking up for them!

Friday we had district meeting in Chickasha, cooked up some Indian tacos and then came back to Darko.  We jumped on our bikes and set out to work until 9!  We rode across town and visited a few less active members.  On our way home we saw some kids playing in a canal and it rained like cats and dogs down here this week so the water was pretty high.  I heard some screaming and thought that someone was drowning so I pedaled my little Heinz 57 as fast as I could!  When we got there, we just saw a bunch of kids hunting turtles.  So we laughed and talked with them for awhile.  One of the little boys who was 3 or 4 years old claimed he could beat us in a bake race.  He was reppin' a tiny bike so E. Read raced him!  And yes, the little guy won.  :)  It was a really successful day.

Saturday - We almost had the whole day set up from the days previous.  So we me with one of our potentials and her dad sat in on the lesson too.  We taught them about the Book of Mormon and the importance of it.  She told us how she didn't really like some of the other churches because they were either 1.  A Party or 2.  Morbid.  I just laughed. 

We ended up at Charlie's house and his pup just had babies.  There were 5 super cute puppies and if missionaries were allowed to have pets - I'd take one! 

We also met with Cody, Ranae and Nola.  We taught them about the importance of the Book of Mormon.  They're honestly just good people - super down to earth and prepared.  Nola told us how when she used to see us in the streets how she always thought that we were JW's and curse us!  But now that she knows us (like everyone else here) they love us! 

Sunday.  Miracles happen on Sundays.  We got to church around 9:55 and there are probably 10 people there and within 5 minutes probably 60 people showed up!  Natalia and Elder Read spoke in Sacrament meeting and did an amazing job.  Natalia talked about how obedience to the Lord's commandments brings blessings and E. Read talked about the importance of family.  I taught Elders Quorum since the other two were preparing talks.  I wasn't totally sure what to talk on so I though about who the Elders of the Church are and what they represent.  So I looked up "Priesthood" in the Bible Dictionary and nothing.  So I went to Elder and it wasn't what I was looking for either but it had a reference to "ministry".  So I read it, and it was GOLDEN.

I talked about how the Elders are examples.  They are the teachers and the people that set the footing.  I went to the scriptures and showed them how Christ has laid a foundation for us - so all we need to do is follow in His ways!  I told the story about Dad's leg and how life is like a river sometimes - and sometimes one of needs to get bruised up.  Very interesting lesson.

Anyways, after church we cooked up some French toast and it was BOMB!  We were invited over by Nola's son, Joseph, but he wasn't there when we arrived so we just chatted with the rest of them for about 2 hours.  It was one of the most spiritual talks we've ever had with them and Ranae told us that she received an answer that the Book of Mormon was true and that the Priesthood had been restored!  While we were there, all three of them told us that they knew it was true!  We invited them to be baptized.  The spirit that was there was undeniable.  I think that all of us were crying - it was so strong.  We set a date for August 31st!

I love being a missionary - especially when I get texts that say "I want y'all to know that you changed our lives".  It just solidifies my testimony of why I'm here.  I know that if I had decided not to serve that I would have regretted it every day of my life.

This work is true, I know that God lives and loves us.

I love you!
Keep the Faith.
Expect Miracles.

Love, Elder Harris

20 Weeks Down

20 Weeks now.  Wow.  Time has flown by.

We've spent most of the week trying to teach Elder Corey this area before I go.  We also have E. Read who is a brand new missionary and is still learning all the main discussions.  So we've been talking to a lot of members, less actives, and investigators.

Monday:  We played ball with a bunch of boys in the branch which was a lot of fun!  We played for a solid two hours or so.  We also gave Sister Mumford a blessing.  She has lots of problems and is pretty much allergic to everything.  She's had cancer 9 times and still works 50 hours per week.

Wednesday:  No too much happened!  We spent the whole day finding.  Not the best!  We tried to find some solid investigators and found 5-6.  We met a guy who was just going to be married and he invited us to the wedding but didn't tell us where it would be.  We also talked to some gangsters which was entertaining.

Thursday:  We visited with Cindy and this is my miracle for the week!  So Cindy has a lot of health problems.  She has  torn shoulder and was going to have surgery in two weeks.  So after her baptism on the 14th, she went and saw her doctor.  He took an MRI of her shoulder and there was nothing wrong!  Her shoulder had been completely healed!  So she doesn't need surgery anymore.  How cool is that??  When she told us, my faith shot through the roof!  It really goes to show how powerful God really is.  I seriously love being a missionary!

Friday:  We had district meeting in Chickasha and then went on exchanges.  Elder Hoopes came to Anadarko and we had an awesome day!  We visited some less actives, some investigators and still had time for dinner!

I remembered something that Dad told me and I shared it with one of our investigators and he took it to heart.  So back when I was 15 or so and I told you guys that I didn't want to go to church (like every 15 year old) and Dad said, "You know what?  Sometimes I don't want to go either, but I know that's where I'm supposed to be every Sunday.  So I go."  I shared that with Charlie and although he was super tired and none of his kids wanted to come, they came to church!  So thanks Pops!

Saturday:  We talked to Cody, Ranae and Nola about the importance of the Book of Mormon.  They are starting to see the blessings of going to church.  They are finding blessings as they meet with us.  While we were talking, they both broke down and told us that they're having a hard time and that they want to change.  So that's what we're doing, helping them change for the better!  They're an awesome family and I'm going to miss them a lot when I leave for Argentina.

Sunday:  It was the best!  Sacrament meeting was so awesome.  We had some amazing talks on commitments and staying focused by the Hargrave's.  They talked a lot about when we commit to something that we're in it until the end.  Like when you have a kid - the kid should be your focus until the end, or until they move out.  Then they talked about being baptized and how that's a commitment with God and that we need to have faith until the end.  I even took notes it was so good!  One thing that they said that really stood out to me is that "True happiness doesn't come by getting something, but by being something."  How true is that?  When we ARE rather than what we HAVE is what makes us happy.  When we have a testimony it's a great thing, but when we ARE our testimony or live our testimony - how much stronger it will be!

So second hour is when the story gets good.  So we had 4 investigators from Anadarko and 2 from Elgin come to church.  We were super excited about it!  In the second hour all the recent coverts and investigators meet to learn very simple, basic doctrine about the church.  So the teacher starts talking and it just went downhill from the very beginning.  Long story short - he brought up our Heavenly Mother, sealing power, temples and on and on.  We asked to talk about the Plan of Salvation.  Now we (the 5 missionaries) are scared to death that all of our investigators will leave us now.  I'm super scared . . .

Anyways!  The rest of the day was a big mess too.  But we did meet 2 new investigators and taught them the restoration on their porches.  I think that's one of my favorite things - when we first talk to someone and they look SO CONFUSED about everything we say.  I LOVE IT!  :)

This week has been awesome and this next week will be awesome too.  I'm just excited to get back to work!  I love Oklahoma - but if I'm going to Argentina in the next couple of weeks that would be okay too.!

The past couple of day I've thought that I might serve my whole mission here.  How crazy is that?  Remember those dreams I had before I got my call thinking that I was going to Nebraska?  Maybe it's just Oklahoma!!!  Who knows?  If I stay, it's okay, and if I go that's okay too!

I love you all and I hope that ya'll are doing good!  Can't wait to see you again!

Keep the Faith!
Expect Miracles!

Love,
Elder Harris

Open Your Mouth

Cindy was baptized yesterday!  And guess who she asked to baptize her?  THIS GUY!  So I got to baptize her and here's the funny story - She was super nervous to slip and fall into the font.  I kept reassuring her that she wouldn't fall but when the baptism came around and I was walking down into the font - guess who slipped?  ME! 

Yes, I stumbled walking down the stairs.  It was hilarious!  So I had the entire audience laughing before the baptism.  I just laughed it off - otherwise that could have been embarrassing! 

My new companions are Elder Corey and Elder Read.  E. Corey is from Plain City and Elder Read is from Las Vegas.  They're both pretty cool and E. Read is brand new and is so excited to be a missionary.  :)

I'm glad that you guys had a good time on trek!  Some days it feels like I'm on trek . . I just walk around in the hot, muggy weather with a backpack!

I'm sorry to hear about your friend, mom.  That's so hard and I see it all the time here in Anadarko.  Sometimes people don't understand why bad things happen and sometimes I don't really either!  But I guess all we can really do is trust in the Lord's plan.  There are soo many people who loose people they love.  Although you might not understand why she had to return so quickly, the Lord does.  He will take care of us as long as we continually keep His commandments and trust in Him.  John 16:33 - Be of good comfort, He has overcome the world for us.  :)

As for this week, it's been a bit slow:

Monday:  We said some good-byes and had or normal p-day and played some basketball.  I sure miss Elder Tripp and Nelson.  They were awesome and the 3 of us just got along so well.  I wish that all my companions could be like E. Tripp.  He's been my favorite here in Oklahoma.

Tuesday:  We had a few lessons and said some more good-byes.  E. Tripp was just so sad to leave Anadarko.  There is just something about this little town.  I'm going to be super sad to leave this branch too.  They've become like family to me. 

We taught Cody and his wife and sister about the 10 commandments.  They're super solid and progressing towards baptism!  :)  And Charlie told me that he doesn't want to meet with the missionaries anymore.  That made me super sad.  :(  I love him and his little family and I'm going to try my hardest as long as I'm here to help them come into the gospel.  If nothing else, we've helped is wife quit smoking. 

So I guess all I can do is keep moving.  Keep your butt low, and keep on driving.  That night E. Tripp and E. Nelson had to say good-bye to Sister Wright (mom) and that was hard, even for me. 

Wednesday:  We drove up to the city for the exchanges and that's where I picked up the new guys.  :)  We drove back to Anadarko and got situated.  They spent a couple hours unpacking and I took a quick nap and then that night I introduced them to Cindy.

Thursday:  We had weekly planning and since I had to tell them everything about the area it took forever!  When we got done, we went over to Matt's house and he wasn't doing anything so we took him out with us.  We went by Cody's house and he told us to come back in a hour when everyone else would be home.  As we were driving away, we saw one of our investigators was home.  He's been up in the city for about a month.  We stopped in to see him and he was there with his mom.  They were super sad and told us about his sister passing away and they also just found out that their nephew was hit by a car and was in the hospital.  So many bad things were happening to them so we taught them about the Plan of Salvation.  It was one of the most spiritual lessons ever and Matt even told us that he's never felt like that before and that he wished that he could feel like that all the time.  It's so true.  I wish I could feel the spirit all the time too!!

When we went back to Cody's house and his family shared the biggest miracle I've heard while on my mission!  Their daughter was diagnosed with leukemia in April.  The Elders came in and gave her a blessing sometime around April 25th.  When they met with the doctors again on May 13th they couldn't find a single cancer cell in her!  She was in full remission from Leukemia!!!

She was completely healed within 2-3 weeks of that priesthood blessing.  If that's not a miracle, I don't know what is!  She still has to go to the hospital and get chemo for a little while but this has been a testimony builder for this family all because of the RESTORED priesthood!  :)

Friday:  We had district meeting and it was a little awkward to be honest.  We had some solid studies and went out to do some work.  A few weeks ago, we helped a guy pull a post out of the ground and we tried to go back and see him but I couldn't find his house again.  So we kept walking around and we stopped at an intersection and tried to decide which direction to go.  While we were standing there, this guy that we were looking for walked up to us and said what up!!!  I couldn't believe it!  So we're going to go back to his house in a few days and tell him what's up.  Pretty cool miracle!

Later that night we met with Jesus.  I'm very sad for them because they're totally ready to get baptized.  They believe in the restored priesthood and the Book of Mormon.  The only problem is that the Spanish branch is an hour away.  Not many people here speak Spanish.  I wish they could get baptized and have the blessings of the gospel right now, but it will all work out.

We also stopped by Cindy's house and she had a friend Ruby with her.  Ruby has sat in on a few lessons with us and so we asked her if she wanted to get baptized.  She said she would!!!!  :)  I'm super excited that Cindy can help us teach her!  :)

Funny story.  Cindy has a friend who lives in Chickasha.  Her name is Michelle and she wants to meet with us.  When I was on exchanges with E. Lowe up in Chickasha last transfer we met a taught a girl named Michelle.  I've recently realized that this is the SAME MICHELLE!  So who knows what's going to happen now!

Saturday:  We had some cool stuff happen.  I met this lady who is 102 years old.  She is this cute little black lady who can barely hear, see or walk.  She is super cool and was actually a referral from the elder in Chickasha.  We then went to see Charlie.  He was home alone so I had the opportunity to just talk to him about how over time our faith grows stronger and stronger.  I shared D & C 50: 24-25.  Then I had the idea to use that flashlight that Ty gave me with the analogy that when we turn on a flashlight that it gets brighter and brighter, it works the same way with our faith.  I just kept turning the flashlight to make it brighter and brighter!  Nothing comes instantly.  We have to have our faith tried a little bit, but over time all is possible through Christ.

That night we went to a branch party to meet everyone.  It was out at Lake Latonka and they went on this little "house boat" thing.  President approved it, so we went!  We got to sit on the porch and watch all the boats pull into the harbor.  We got a ton of funny looks from people, some girls even checked us out, and one guy even said, "hey guys, at least undo the top button or something"!  I thought it was super funny. 

Brother Buckner is a dentist and was telling me all about his job.  I think it sounds pretty awesome, and I think that maybe I want to be a dentist when I grow up.  :)  Good thing I still have hmmmm . . . like almost 2 years to think about it before I go back to school.  Sounds good to me!  :)

Sunday:  We had church as normal and then the baptism.  It was awesome and Cindy was so prepared!  I'm so excited for her and her decision to make this big step in her life.  Afterwards she invited us over for dinner and we cooked some burgers and hotdogs.

I'm a little frustrated and I'm going to vent for just a minute.  The branch president and the branch council didn't come to the baptism because they had a meeting.  It was the first real convert baptism that they've had in over 3 years!  When we met with all the branch missionaries, not one of them knew who Cindy was!  If you have any ideas about what 3 inexperienced boys can do to make this work, let me know. 

So to anyone reading this:  OPEN YOUR MOUTH! Go and talk to someone you don't know when you see them at church!  Who cares if they smell like smoke!  There is nothing better than someone walking in the church because that means they are ready to CHANGE.  So go and help them, don't turn away.  The missionaries work so hard to get these investigators to come to church.  Please help us by helping them.

3 Nephi 27:21  "Do as you have seen me do"
Be as Christ was.
I love you Mom!  :)  I hope you guys are doing great and enjoying the summer.
I know I'm enjoying being a missionary.  :)  It's the best!

Love you!
Elder Harris

Expect Miracles

I'm staying in Anadarko for another transfer or until my visa comes.  I haven't heard anything about the visa, but we're praying.  Yesterday I actually fasted that I could stay in Anadarko until after the baptisms.  I have a feeling that I will be here for another month or so.  Both of my companions are being transferred to different areas.  Elder Tripp is going to OKC 1st and Elder Nelson is going to Altus. 

As for my language barriers with Jesus y Vico, I always have member that can speak Spanish come with us so they can either translate or help me teach!  The closet Spanish branch is up in Norman (about an hour away).  It's honestly a difficult situation and I've been trying to study my Spanish more so I can understand them.

Good News!  Cindy is going to be baptized this week by yours truly!  She asked me to baptize her because she had a dream that I baptized her.  She is very prepared and will be an awesome addition to the branch.

Charlie and his family will also be baptized this month.  We started a Stop Smoking Workshop with his wife who has been smoking every day since she was 9.  She is now 5 days smoke free.  Miracles happen.  We just need to have faith that they will.  No matter how "addicted" to anything we might be, with the help of the Lord you can overcome anything!  We did the math for her and showed her that she has spent over $25,000 on cigs in her lifetime.  Talk about blowing money!

They read and pray every day.  Ever since the incident in their house where we cast out this evil spirits, their minds have really changed.  They love church, and they can tell that church will be a good guide for their kids.  Miracles are happening in their family and the devil is just trying them so hard!

I hope you all have a good time on trek!  I almost wish I could go and walk all day in the heat with you - but then again, that's pretty much what I do here anyways!  :)

This week we will be getting a set of Sisters in Elgin and more Elders in Chickasha - doubling our district size on Wednesday with transfers.

Monday:  We drove up to Chickasha for our p-day and couldn't find an indoor basketball court (it's way to hot to play outside) so we ended up throwing a football around for awhile.  It's hard to do stuff with only 5 elders.  We stopped in and saw Matt and just had an awesome day.  Everyone we have been seeing has been very friendly.

Tuesday: I was reflecting a lot on how much easier it is to just be lazy.  To complain rather than be happy, to find flaw in someone rather than give a compliment, to laugh instead of cry - especially in hard situations.  I've come to the conclusion that it's a lot harder to be happy all the time, but it's always worth it! 

We stopped by and saw Matt and asked him if he wanted to go and teach with us because we've realized a great way to get less active member back to church is to have them feel the spirit!  So we brought Matt to Charlie's to teach the Plan of Salvation and we went into very deep detail about the whole thing.  I personally think that it's the best lesson we've taught all transfer.  Charlie told us that he's been kicked out of a ton of churches for questions that he's asked.  I think that's ridiculous.  If you have questions - just do as it tells us in James.  Ask God!  :)  Because as we learn in Phillipians 2:12 - we have to work out our own salvation.  God isn't going to give us an answer that we don't ask for, although He knows of everything that we stand in need of.  He told us a few stories about how he would ask about the Trinity or other questions about heaven and hell and they would simply tell him to never come back.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's not cool.  I don't like that at all because if I have a question - I want an answer!  I think that's why they love the missionaries - because three 19 year old boys can answer these questions for them! 

At the end of the lesson, they told us that we explained the Plan of Salvation the most clear of all the times they've heard it.  It made us feel good!  It's so nice to just talk instead of teach.  That's been my goal with all of my investigators - to just talk, not teach.

Wednesday:  It was all about Charlie - first because I love him to death and because we spent the majority of the day at his house.  Bright and early we went over to help him clean up his backyard. 

Thursday:  I'll never forgot the 4th of July in Anadarko.  So memorable.  We had permission to be up until 11 - so we definitely took advantage of it!  :)  Cindy told me that she's been praying that my visa wouldn't come yet.  I guess she has more faith than me!  But it's fine.  She also asked me to baptize her.  Awesome.  :)

We went to see Jesus y Vico with Natalia and her parents.  They basically taught the whole lesson.  We focused on how important the Book of Mormon is and what it meant to them.  They bore powerful testimonies.  Afterwards, we went and watched a 6 1/2 minute fireworks presentation.  :)  Wow.  Happy 4th!


Friday:  Ohhhh Friday.  We had district meeting and then helped a lady move.  This is how they move people in Anadarko:

E. Tripp and I went to Chickasha with E. Hoopes for the day.  It was SO CRAZY FUN!  We did some work, talked to some less actives, got them stoked to come to church, talked to an investigator, read part of the Book of Mormon with him, and then we got to talk about his guns. 

He showed us this gun that his dad had carved by hand and it was sick!  For real.  I should have taken a picture.  This guy had a dog - a little Chihuahua - and it was a licker!  The dog just kept licking and licking.  So this guy said, "watch out, or she'll lick ya to death" so I said, "Well, maybe she can figure out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop!"  He didn't think that it was too funny, but I did.  haha

We also ran into a less active guy and gave him a blessing.  Crazy circumstances.  We also cooked us some Ramen Noodle Omelets.

Saturday:  We drove to Lawton and met the new Mission President.  His name is President Walkenhorst and he's 7 feet tall.  No joke.   He's a pretty cool guy.  He wants us to focus on miracles - to find miracles that we see each and every day.  Honestly, it's a miracle that people even let us in the door sometimes!  Then to see the change in people is also a miracle!  I love it!  :)

Sunday:  We had an awesome fast and testimony meeting.  Probably one of the most spiritual meetings I've ever been to.  We had 3 investigators come to church:  Cindy, Nola and Cody. 

We saw Jesus y Vico and I got to anoint oil in Spanish.  It was interesting.  :)  Natalia's parents were in town - and they both speak Spanish so I got to hear a TON!  We talked with them for awhile and gave her a blessing. 

I'm loving Oklahoma.  It's amazing.  I've met so many amazing people while being here and I wouldn't trade my time here for anything.  But it's time to get to work, I've got 2 new elders and 2 sisters that need to know what's going on in this area before my visa comes!  :)

I love you all, miss you more.

Work hard, expect miracles.

Keep the Faith!

Elder Harris

The Last of the Mohicans

 

 

I AM THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS!  I found out that I am the last visa waiter here in Oklahoma.  Elder Haselton flew out earlier today.  I really have no idea when I'm leaving, but I do know that it's up to the Lord and where ever I am needed I will be.  While talking to Sister McLaughlin today she told me that E. Haselton has known that he was leaving for about 2 weeks.  So I think that I have to fly with a group of people.  A sister from my MTC district also emailed me and told me that she was finally leaving for Resistencia too.  So, I guess I'm a little torn about that, but when I look at the growth I've seen in Anadarko - it's remarkable. 

I'm doing amazing!  :)  I'm a little tired today, but I can sleep when I'm home.  :)  Sounds like ya'll had a good week even with a few cuts and bruises.  Ty and Brae look BIG in that picture of them with the motorbikes.

As for Cindy's baptism, we've moved it back again,  Since it's the weekend of the 4th and all, nobody is going to be in town and she wants other people to be there - not just the missionaries.  So hopefully her baptism will be on the 14th.  We also have this family that are scheduled for baptism on the 20th and another investigator who is in line for August 3rd.  The Lord really is hastening the work.

As for the week:

Monday:  We played basketball like always.  I really don't think I've missed a shot in the last 2 games we've played!  :)  On Monday night, Sister Wright came with us to Charlie's and we read some scriptures with them.  We had to leave because we got a call from a lady who had fallen so we busted it over to the hospital to give her a blessing. 

Tuesday:  We went down to Fletcher to find some work for the sisters.  We have sisters coming in at the start of the next transfer (7/10).  While we were there, we dropped by the Branch President's house and had some lunch.  Their nephew, Greg, was there and cooked up some squirrel for us.  YES, I SAID SQUIRREL!!!  It pretty much tastes like turkey, only a little more "gamey".

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday:  We drove back to Elgin/Fletcher to do some more work.  Not much success to report because all the members told us that they want to wait for the Sisters.  They think they will click better.  :)

Later that night, we ended up at Cindy's house.  She has invited many of her friends to start taking lessons from us and we were happy to teach the 2 she had there that night.  We watched a talk by President Monson with them.  It was funny because they had a lot of questions about prophets and why we need them.  So when we watched the video it helped a lot!  Later that night, we got a call about some people that had some extra matresses that they were getting rid of so we helped get them to a family that really needed them.  The two little girls were so happy to have a bed to sleep on.  I love that little family so much and I'm going to be sad to leave them.

Thursday:  We got dropped by an investigator and then we were knocking on some doors and I gave my little schpeel.  This guy says "I don't understand" in perfect English, so I asked "Hable Espanol?  (You speak Spanish?)  Then he said, "Si!!" so I told him about it again in Spanish!  hahaha  :)  que bendiction!!

Friday:  We had district meeting in Chickasha.  E. Lowe taught us about love.  How much to we love the people we serve?  Our companions, members, less actives, and investigators?  Kinda hit home.  It was an awesome meeting.  Then the Zone Leaders went on exchanges with us.  E. George (Megan Smith's friend) came to Anadarko with Nelson and me.

While we were out, we got a phone call from a guy named Matt.  It was wierd because his name came up in the phone and we didn't know who he was.  Turns out that he was baptized about 3 years ago.  We talked to him and read some scriptures with him.  Then his brother came into the room and told us that he wanted to learn about the church, the Book of Mormon and to be baptized.  We couldn't believe that he told us all of this when we met him!  I hope everything works out for both of them.

Later that night, we met up with our Spanish investigators.  I honestly didn't understand hardly anything they were saying.  Over the time I've been here, I've lost so much of my Spanish.  I just know that it's going to be awful when I get to Argentina.  But they were talking to me and crying, so whatever they said was probably a good thing!  :)

Saturday:  We struck out a lot.  We knocked on a ton of doors but nobody was home.  I did get a picture by the prayer teepee and we saw Matt and his brother Isreal again.  We taught them about the Restoration.  We also visited another family and taught them about the Plan of Salvation.  They asked a few questions about the plan and it was cool how the 3 of us came up with answers that somehow made sense.  :)

Sunday:  We went to church and had an awesome day!  We had 5 investigators at church so we were pretty excited about that!  When we got home we sat on the couch for a minute and then we got a call from a panicked member who told us that she had an emergency at her house.  We didn't ask any questions and flew over there as fast as we could.  When we got there, we found out that she had a snake in her house.  Turns out that all 3 of us are terrified of snakes.  So I decided to be the bigger man and figured what the heck!  The Lord's got my back!  I started searching for the snake and guess what?  I found it!  This is where the story gets interesting . . .

I had some tongs to pick up the snake and I wanted to throw it in a bucket so I was asking them to throw me a bucket!  The whole time everyone was yelling at me but I finally got the snake in the bucket.  I decided that I should run around the house and show everyone - bad idea.  I got screamed at for bringing the snake further into the house! haha  So I took it outside and threw it on the ground.  They told me that I needed to kill it, so I just cut it with the tongs.  The mom didn't think that the snake as dead so she threw a brick at it and missed.  :)  So I got the brick and dropped it on the snake's head.  The kids were all looking out the window staring in amazement! 

Long story short - the snake died. 

E. Harris -1, Snakes -0

We had lunch later at the Heer's house.  It was Michael's birthday.  He's 16 and I love him to death.  He's a lot like Braeden so we just have the best time.  It makes me miss you guys sometimes - especially when there are people that kinda temporarilly replace ya'll.  I know that sound kinda bad, but it makes me feel a little bit like my family is out here with me?  They're going to Lake Powell this week, so maybe you guys could go down there too?  I know I'd want to be going down there if I was home.  haha

I LOVE YOU!!  Can't wait to see ya'll again.

Keep the Faith.

-Elder Harris