I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL I'M THE MISSIONARY GOD IS MAKING ME TO BE!!

Familia!!!!

How goes it? Well thanks for the Halloween letter, hahah I enjoyed the picture and all the stickers and notes. Oh and don't forget the sponge one tatoo, definitely gonna rep that while hitting the streets of Peru. Well I'm glad you guys had a great week and pops had a great bday. Sounds like you guys had fun, and Iz keeps wreckin it at cross country, what a stud. Well this week was pretty great and pretty fast. Monday we had a zone meeting with president Risso. Everyone had interviews, and this time mine was in Spanish. He just asked me how everything was going and how our area was. My comp played a nasty trick on me. After his interview he said that he was being transfered and that I would receive my new comp that night haha. I believed him for almost a day but I pried the truth out of him haha. So no changes with us but we are getting a new ZL and a couple others in my district are leaving.

Well it was just a normal week of teaching and such but on Thursday we did innercambios and I spent the whole day with one of the ZLs. I was stressed out at first cuz I was gonna have to lead all day showing him to all our citas and stuff and knowing my horrible sense of direction, you can probably imagine. But everything turned out well I was able to find every house ok and teach that message. It was cool being with another Elder and seeing his way of teaching and doing things, and the advice he gave. He's trying to learn English so I would talk to him in Spanish and he would talk to me in English. But he's a super good missionary and made me go out of my comfort zone. In lessons sometimes I don't get the opportunity to speak much but this Elder  just kept turning to me and every time I was surprised what came out of my mouth. One lesson he made me commit two people to be baptized and it was our first time teaching these people. They didn't say yes right away but the spirit was super strong and we promised them that they would be ready and in the closing prayer they prayed to be ready to be baptized so that was pretty sweet!!

The baptism of Diana was Saturday!!! It was again an amazing experience. She is the most ready person to accept the Gospel I've seen in Peru! It was only 2 weeks from the day we contacted her to the day we baptized her and yet she knows so much! She is like halfway through the Book of Mormon and has such a strong testimony. After she was baptized she bore a powerful testimony. She talked about how at first she wasn't too sure if our message was true and didn't know for sure. But when she sincerely prayed about it, she received a strong witness of the holy ghost and overwhelming peace and joy telling her it was true!! OH it was sooo sweet. 

Sunday our investigator Franco, who is getting baptized this next Saturday did not show. So we left after sacrament meeting, hunted him down and brought him to the next sacrament meeting. His sisters still haven't attended so they cant be baptized til later. But it's awesome how there are so many people here ready to accept the gospel and follow the commandments of God. My testimony has grown so much on the power of this gospel has to change lives and what true faith can do! I was reading about the sons of Helaman this week and how they had such strong faith because they kept the commandments of God and trusted that God would deliver them. This helped me cuz I constantly doubt my abilities, but I've come to learn that I don't have to doubt in my abilities cuz it's through faith and trust in God that I'll be able to teach and to speak and not through my own abilities.

Well this week has been really great. I've felt so much happier as I've been striving to think about my investigators and not home or my own weaknesses. I know this church is true with all my heart and that the spirit and true faith has the power to change lives.  I love this work and I can't wait til I'm the missionary God is making me to be!!! Well til next week, thanks for the letters and support keep it coming..

Elder Harper

WHAT HELPS ME IS REMEMBERING "WE ARE ALWAYS SUCCESSFUL WHEN WE HAVE THE SPIRIT WITH US".

Hola Familia!!

Well the weeks sure do go by super fast; it's scary. Sorry Mom for not sending pics last week. We
aren't supposed to bring cameras with us proselyting cuz it could get stolen but I'll try harder to take and send more pics for you. And I've got some this week from the baptism. Well sounds like you guys had  a fun week! Filled with races, dances, movies, decorating, and food. I'm jealous but this life is better anyways. And thanks for that article Mom! It was very uplifting, and all the letters you guys write always pump me up and make me feel better. Happy Birthday Pops!!! You're gonna be the big 50 tomorow! THAT'S SCARY, you are sooooo.....young. I cant believe it;) Well you better have a birthday paddle out for me and eat lots of pie and Alber Tacos. 

Anyways the work here has really taken off  this past week! We have been teaching many people with lots of potential. Sunday we had 10 investigators at Church who stayed through all the classes too. 2 of the investigators have baptismal dates for this month and 2 more I think will be baptized. We are teaching this 15 year old girl named Diana. She was a reference we contacted a week ago and we've only taught here a few times but she is progressing super fast and has a strong testimony. She wants to be baptized this week. Her date is for this upcoming Saturday, but last time we visited her she was crying cuz her mom wants her to wait longer to get to know the Church. But Diana has a strong desire to follow Christ and to become clean, starting a new life in the gospel as soon as she can. She's been reading the Book of Mormon, the pamphlets and shows up to church by herself haha. Well the last time she talked to her mom she said her mom said ¨Do what you want. Don't bother me." haha   So I think she'll be baptized soon. We just have to soften her mother's heart. 

Another one is Franco and his sister Janala. Franco will be baptized at the end of this month and his sister at the beginning of the next. Franco is 16 and is super receptive. His family is the best too. His mom is super interested as well but she's not married to her spouse so that will be tough cuz people here don't have a desire to get married cuz of the money and the commitment. But Franco is already talking about preparing for a mish and his mom is stoked on it too and he's not even baptized!! These people are very humble and have a strong will to follow Jesus Christ and change their lives. 

This Saturday was the baptism of Nino Davis Sanchez Sanchez. It was an awesome experience. I had the opportunity to baptize him.
I was nervous cuz I didn't want to ruin his experience with my awful Spanish, but everything was perfect and the spirit was sooo strong. He bore his testimony after and on Sunday he received the gift of the Holy Ghost and received the Aaronic Priesthood. The kid is a stud and is gonna go far in the church. These youngsters we are teaching are great examples to me of stalwart youth and makes me wish I was better before. 

Well everyday we have been going from lesson to lesson. We never knock doors and the members are starting to help a lot. It's been a real blessing. My Spanish is still the same but I can't complain cuz I know I could be studying harder and trying harder. Well I'm sorry I don't have any awesome experiences Dad, it's hard sometimes to notice the little moments through lessons and in the day cuz I still don't understand much. But what helps me is remembering what Bishop Greiner said once, "We are always successful when we have the spirit with us". So I need to try harder and harder every day to have that , cuz that's the only way I can understand and communicate. Well thanks so much for all the support; you guys are the best. I used to get super homesick on pdays from letters and stuff but now it just makes me happy and comforted.
Until next week!    Elder Harper

Baylor watching General Conference last weekend

I WAS BEING GUIDED BY THE SPIRIT AND I WAS ABLE TO EXPRESS THE THINGS IN MY HEART.

Hola Familia! 

Well it's been another week in Jaen. Not much happened this week, just teaching investigators and walking up hill all day everyday. Still no baptisms, but the highlight of every week is when we teach our investigator Nino Sanchez! He's going to be baptized this Saturday and he is sooo ready. I just love teaching him cuz the spirit is always there and I'm calm and confident with him cuz we know him very well. So it seems like every week our pool of investigators changes. People I thought were golden drop and new ones randomly show up haha. 

This week we did intercombios. It's basically where you just spend a whole day and overnight with another elder. Elder sleepover. It was cool getting to know a new area and having the opportunity to teach with another elder. But the highlight of the week for suurezies was General Conference. Yes, I got to watch it in English. Half our zone is gringo, haha.... so we had a little room with an hd flat screen to watch conference on with all the gringos. Conference was so uplifiting and inspiring! They talked a lot about missionary work and repentance, which was perfect for me cuz I'm an imperfect missionary. The spirit was soo strong and it was devastating when the last session ended haha.

Well it sounds like all you guys are having a blast. Matt Nathonson and Joshua Radin? and I basically cried when I found out everyone went to Anberlin..so jealous haha. But it seems like all is well at home which makes me a happy elder. Let me know when you guys find out where Damon ends up. I'm guessing he goes into the field in 2 weeks and I probs won't see him for 5 months cuz I heard once your in Jaen, you stay there for a while. So I'll be able to speak Spanish when I serve in Chiclayo for the first time!! 

So conference was really an answer to my prayers, uplifting and filled me with more confidence. Right after the last session, we went to teach an investigator and I prayed hard to have the spirit with me and to follow the spirit  before and during the lesson. I don't know how, but I was able to understand a lot and I felt as I was speaking, that I was being guided by the spirit and I was able to express the things in my heart. It was a legit feeling and after my comp said that he was surprised and witnessed the gift of tongues haha. 

My comp is awesome. We get a long great, but he's going home soon sadly. He's an awesome trainer and I'm sure he will have me ready to be with a different companion who might not be as awesome. This week I read an article about missionaries and it said that there are plenty of good missionaries in the world, many great ones but there needs to be more consecrated missionaries. A missionary who sacrifices everything and gives the Lord 100%. I'm way far from that right now, but my goal is to become a consecrated missionary! I want to be the best I can be. It's gonna take a lot of hard work, but I'm up for the challenge. 

Well it's still super hot here, even when it rains, which it does twice a week. The food is good but I hate eating cuz they feed us so much. It's aweful haha. Every meal is a mountain full of rice with chicken. We have someone too cook every meal and someone else to do laundry. Oh, and we basically live in a hotel so our room is pretty nice.  Well that's all I got for now.

JAJAJAJS FROM JAEN

Elder Harper

Sorry no pics this week; we did nothing cool.

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND; I THINK HE IS SPEAKING ENGLISH" HAHA

Hola Familia!

I'm writing from a place called Chumba?  It's 30 minutes away from our area.  It's mas arriba (higher) and it's more jungly here.  We ate lunch with a family who have palm trees everywhere so we cut open coconuts and drank the milk with our lunch.

This week was a good one.  We almost had a baptism but the father of the girl won't let her yet.  She's 11 and her name is Maria.  All of her sisters are members but her parents are not. She lives in the highest part of Jaen and every day this week we hiked up this hill to teach her and her family. Her house overlooks all over the city.  It's quite a sight. They don't have much but they are very happy.  There house is made of Adobe, a tin roof and a dirt floor. There bathroom is the river right next to their house and they have no electricity. Maria and all her little sisters are always so happy to see us.  They are fascinated by our white skin and colored eyes. Children have the hardest time understanding me. After I shared a message one time, a girl said, "I don't understand; I think he is speaking English". haha.  But Maria will probs be baptized next week. We just need to work on the dad.

My boy, Nino, is being baptized on the 12 of October. He's a stud and has been going to church and all of the activities.  We have a couple of other investigators that were at church who have potential. There are a lot of good humble people here in Jaen, especially in our area cuz we have the hills, which include the poorer part of the city.

As far as my ability goes, I've really felt blessed.  I've gotten a lot of good advice that I've taken into account.  Like  my bro Riley H told me, "Always pray that your investigators will be able to understand you and don't pray for yourself".  And Bishop Baker told me how when missionaries don't know the language, they are humbled and are more prone to rely on the spirit and on Jesus Christ. Fear and frustration are just a lack of faith so this week I tried to focus on the spirit, the people and our message and not my own ability.  And I've felt the Lord work through me in simple ways.  I've felt great joy as we have been able to help people and as they have accepted our message.  So the key is to have the spirit cuz when we have the spirit, we are calm, confident, happy and can be a tool in the hands of the Lord.

Friday night our pinchanista fed us way too much food I think or it was bad cuz Saturday morning I woke up at 5:00 am and threw up every 10 minutes til like 8:00 but I prayed for strength, slept for 2 hours and we hit the streets at 10:00!  I was pretty weak all day but I was able to do it.  Well, I'm having a hard time getting excited for General Conference cuz it's gonna be in Spanish. 10 hours of not understanding modern revelation from servants of the Lord : )

Thanks for all the letters and the support. I love you all and hope all is well.

Elder Harper

Elder Baylor Harper with his trainer, Elder Landon Hulet

I FEEL THE HAND OF THE LORD IN MY LIFE EVERY DAY...........

Hola Familia and Amigos!!

Sorry I have no time.  I'm gonna have to come up with an efficient method to have time to write everyone and send pics.  This week was great! But nobody told me the mission would be hard? jk
Nobody told me it would be easy. It's hard but I am loving it. Sorry Mom, but the most stressful
part of the week is internet time.

But yeah, my speaking and understanding is coming slowly.  I try to not get frustrated and stay positive. I see that when I am positive and excited, I have the spirit with me and I'm more confident in my teaching.  I know through faith and study the language will come.

Well we've been teaching an average of 5 lessons a day and have lots of investigators but not many are progressing.  There's one 18 year old boy named Nino who wants to be baptized.  We have a date and all but he didn't show up to church so we have to postpone the baptism.  We might have a baptism this week from a reference we got.  We are gonna start teaching her today. She already has gone to church multiple times and has expressed that she wants to be baptized.

So Jaen is really hot.  We either walk or ride by motor taxi.  Sunday was fun.  They asked me and Hulet to bare our testimonies in Sacrament meeting.  I just broke the ice by saying, I can't speak Spanish, then attempted to speak and everyone laughs and it's all good!  Same with lessons too!

Yeah, it's definitely hard but I'm loving it.  Elder Hulet is a great trainer and a hard worker. Yesterday I ate Cuy or guinea pig for the first time.  I'm special cuz that was only Hulet's second time.  It's basically seasoned rubber. We have a really cool zone with lots of Gringos.  So I need to be careful not to slack with my espanol cuz I tend to do that.

Everyone, thanks for all the letters and emails!  I love you guys and keep you in my prayers every night! Especially you Papa!  You are a strong man and I love you so much.  Get better Fast!

Well many times I have wished I was in the states teaching in English, but I know this is where I need to be. I feel the hand of the Lord in my life every day and know as I lose myself in service, I'll be able to progress.  I love being a missionary; it's pretty dope.  I might never come home if that's ok with you guys, jaja.  Also, I've been called Jefecito, which means little boss or chief.

Jeffecito from Jaen,

Elder Harper

EVERY DAY IS A STRUGGLE BUT I KNOW ONE DAY I'LL BE ABLE TO BRING THIS MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE.

Hola Familia!

Thanks again for waking up to talk to me.  It was awesome hearing all your voices. So after I hung up with you,  I had an hour an a half flight to Chiclayo, where President and Sister Risso picked us up with a bunch of office Elders. They took us to a capilla (chapel) and fed us breakfast: fruit , cereal and muffins.  After, we had a cambio meeting where our new group had to sit up on the stand and later introduce ourselves to everyone. We then had a meeting where the office elders went over the mission rules and what not after we were introduced to our new companeros. jaja 

I have two of  the rarest things for a new missionary. My trainer is a Gringo! Elder Hulet from Payson Utah. He only has  2 and a half months left in the mission so it looks like I am going to kill my father. He barely speaks English to me so I get a little of the Latino experience. but he can understand everything I say in English obviously. Our area is JAEN, which is very rare because there are only two areas of jungle in the mission and Jaen is one of them. It is one of the most coveted areas in the mission. It's not like deep Gutamela jungle; it's like a city that's very green.  I'll try to send some pics. 

President  Risso is very nice and his English is pretty darn good. So we had to take an 8 hour bus ride from Chiclayo to Jaen. Oswald is in my zone, Jaen, too so that's exciting! Elder  Hulet and I are both new to Jaen so it's been intresting. We were basically white washed. For the first few days we had no area map, no phone and no area book, so we just knocked doors all day. This area is very receptive though. Not everyone is enthusiastic about our message but almost everone gives us time to teach them a lesson. In our first week we already picked up 27 investiagors but that only means we taught them at least one lesson and they committed  to another. 

Spanish is so hard. I feel like a hopless wanderer haha. I don't understand or speak anything haha. My comp does the majority of the talking cuz he's 100 percent fluent. Lessons are very scary and hard cuz it's difficult for me to follow along and my comp turns to me several times each lesson and i just stutter and try to slowly and simply teach. It's very difficult and whenever there are kids they laugh at me cuz my Spanish sucks. But my comp is really cool, nice and supportive. He's patient and helps me learn every day. Every day is a struggle but I know one day I'll be able to bring this message to the people. 

We have a pinchanista who cooks all three meals. It's usually chicken, rice, sometimes fish and a whole lot of yuca Which is a root type thing.

Sunday was a broadcast conference to all of Peru from Salt Sake.  Bednar and Chrsitopherson spoke but I couldn't understand them and the whole stake was there so I didn't  meet very many members, but everyone is nice and laughs at my Spanish.

So I'm always very frustrated at night but I was reading in Alma 29. When Alma desired to preach like an angel but knew he had to be content with what the Lord had alottted him. So for now I've gotta be happy with my ability and sit back and have fun progressing. 

Well sounds like everything is going good at home, except for Pops! Wow, that was unexpected and I was freaking out as I read it. It's very scary but I know he's a strong man and will get through it. Papa, you're in my prayers always!!  and Elder Cook left the CCM with an apostolic blessing that our fams will be blessed and protected as we are away, so I'm very worried but know everything will be all right . Well I love all of you . Unti next week .

Elder Harper 

I'M THE SHORTEST GRINGO IN THE CCM AND I'M ALSO THE SPEED WALKING CHAMPION, JUST THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW.

¡Feliz Navidad! 

Hola familia. It is Christmas today for district 105 in the CCM. We have been caroling for two days straight and I think everyone hates us now haha. This morning before we left for the temple we had a white elephant exchange! Last Pday we all bought  food or dumb trinkets and wrapped them up and put them safely under our Christmas tree. I have a picture of  it but the compuer is being funky so you might not get those til next week. Every district that has had the tree, leaves an ornament with all their names and I saw Abs!  It was pretty sweet. The Harpers will be a legend in the CCM.

 

So when I was telling you about my sickness last week I guess it was just the calm before the storm because the next two days I was in my bed and throwing up every thiry minutes haha. Whatever virus it was, just exploded and spread fast throught the CCM. I felt like the infected on I Am Legend.  We were quarantined to our rooms and all the other missionaries wore masks. But it gave me some good time to catch up on sleep and ponder and study.  I'm 100 percent better now, but I'm scared I'm gonna die again out in the field.

 

So I only have a few days left in the CCM, which is really weird. I have mixed emotions. I'll get pumped after teaching a lesson or after an inspirational devotional but I'm also super nervous and scared, especially since I'm almost guaranteed that my trainer will be a Latino who speaks no English.  I am excited to get out of here and serve although I'll miss my district dearly, especially those going to Bolivia. 

So nothing too eventful happened this week but I've been on a spiritual high. We had a couple of devotionals that just hit me deep. On Sunday we watched a dvd of Elder Bednar and he talked about the characteristics of the Savior. He talked about how Christ always turns out but the natural man's first reaction is to turn in. How he described it was powerful and made me really wanna change, so this week I've been working on trying to turn out. It's hard to do in the CCM but that's why I'm excited to leave so I can lose myself and serve others.

 

On Tuesday we had a devotional from Elder Uceda, who is the president of the area 70 over our area I think, but he described his conversion story to us in such a simple and powerful manner. He told of how he was taught by two gringo missionaries and one could not speak very good Spanish and he "wrestled to say the things he wanted to¨. And although he couldn't understand him very well, it was his testimony and the spirit that converted him. So even though I can't speak Spanish, I know I can make a difference if I have the spirit with me.

 

So I found out general things about my flight plan. I guess we leave the CCM at 2 am and our plane flies out at 6. So I'm guessing I'll be able to call around 4 or 5 my time?  A maestro that is basically my BFF is buying me a calling card so I'll have that for Tuesday. I'm still on the hunt for leather Jesus scripture cases so mine are naked and I had to pull money out of the atm in soles cuz I got a bunch of worthless American cash and I don't know where to exchange it.

 

Well I love all you guys and hopefully I'll be talking to you bright and early Tuesday morning and we can have a long convo! Well untill then, luego!

Oh, and I'm basically the little brother of the whole CCM. I'm the shortest gringo in here  and I'm also the speed walking champion of the CCM (speed walking..my hips move real fast), just thought you should know.

 

Lollz from lima ( for the last time)

Elder Harper