I am still safe and sound in the CCM. Besides a little cold I HAD, I have yet to get sick. I think I'm one of the only ones who hasn't. The food is pretty darn great. The rice can get old but they usually switch up the meats from chicken to beef to pork. My favorite meal is probably a chicken leg with some sweet peruvian sauce, rice and a strawberry agua frescas. The desserts can be a little sketch sometimes.
I met all Ab's teachers! They all rave about her and say she is an amazing missionary! One of the ones I met was Hermano Gonzalez. He is my latino homey. He always shows me pictures of her when she was here and it makes me really happy! All my maestros are saints! I love them like my family. It's funny how little Spanish we know and how little English they know, but yet we can still get very close with each other and joke around. And when it's time to teach, they always deliver an amazing lesson. It's starting to get a little easier to understand them but it's pretty hard. It's awesome though how the spirit speaks through any language! and I can feel it even when I have no idea what they are saying. My Spanish is absolutely terrible but I have seen the gift of tongues working, ¨poco a poco¨ is what all the teachers tell us when we get frustrated.
So I didn't really feel like a missionary until last Saturday. Last Sat we got to proselyte! Usually when we proselyte every gringo gets paired up with a latino companion but unfortunately the CCM isn't like it was in Zach and Abs day. There are way more gringos than latinos here. It's so sad cuz I love all the Latinos. So my comp for proselyting was my gringo, Elder Oswald! He is a stud and helps keep me focused and productive. So we took a bus and met at a chapel where the local missionaries gave us directions for our area. Locally we got paired up with a Latino teacher. So we hit the streets of Peru very nervous. The streets are a lot different than the luxurious CCM, let me tell you. So we started walking and our teacher told us to knock on a door whenever we felt inspired to. But I was thinking, "the only thing I can feel is my heart trying to leap out of my chest". I was shaking in my boots. But I Eldered up and knocked on a random door. I gave the intro shpeel and waited for a response. It was an old old Peruvian woman and I didn't understand a word she said, but our teacher talked to her and she invited us in and she ended up being a member. She fed us platinos and asked us if we could give her husband a blessing. From the other room we could hear him crying and moaning. We went to the room and he was in rags and in bed. I think he had dementia or something. Our teacher gave him the blessing but she wanted one too. So me and my comp got to do that. It was quite the experience. She told my teacher that before we came her hubby was crying more than ever and in great pain and she was praying, wondering where God was and pleading for help. Than I guess we came knocking on the door moments later!!! We were moved. She gave us the rest of her platinos and said we were the answer to her prayers.
Well I get frustrated a lot because I can't speak or understand anything because it's all in Spanish but then I quickly cheer myself up because I remember the Lord calls us to succeed, not to fail. (Elder Scott) The spirit is so intense here, I never wanna leave. I'm happy and safe here and working hard so one day I can be an effective missionary! My district is like my fam for now but I miss and love you all.
So I didn't really feel like a missionary until last Saturday. Last Sat we got to proselyte! Usually when we proselyte every gringo gets paired up with a latino companion but unfortunately the CCM isn't like it was in Zach and Abs day. There are way more gringos than latinos here. It's so sad cuz I love all the Latinos. So my comp for proselyting was my gringo, Elder Oswald! He is a stud and helps keep me focused and productive. So we took a bus and met at a chapel where the local missionaries gave us directions for our area. Locally we got paired up with a Latino teacher. So we hit the streets of Peru very nervous. The streets are a lot different than the luxurious CCM, let me tell you. So we started walking and our teacher told us to knock on a door whenever we felt inspired to. But I was thinking, "the only thing I can feel is my heart trying to leap out of my chest". I was shaking in my boots. But I Eldered up and knocked on a random door. I gave the intro shpeel and waited for a response. It was an old old Peruvian woman and I didn't understand a word she said, but our teacher talked to her and she invited us in and she ended up being a member. She fed us platinos and asked us if we could give her husband a blessing. From the other room we could hear him crying and moaning. We went to the room and he was in rags and in bed. I think he had dementia or something. Our teacher gave him the blessing but she wanted one too. So me and my comp got to do that. It was quite the experience. She told my teacher that before we came her hubby was crying more than ever and in great pain and she was praying, wondering where God was and pleading for help. Than I guess we came knocking on the door moments later!!! We were moved. She gave us the rest of her platinos and said we were the answer to her prayers.
Well I get frustrated a lot because I can't speak or understand anything because it's all in Spanish but then I quickly cheer myself up because I remember the Lord calls us to succeed, not to fail. (Elder Scott) The spirit is so intense here, I never wanna leave. I'm happy and safe here and working hard so one day I can be an effective missionary! My district is like my fam for now but I miss and love you all.
lolllzzzzz from Lima,
Elder Harper
LOVE! I read these to my kids. We are so proud of Baylor and what an example he is. We are working on our first letters to he and Hermana Harper. xo
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