Week 19: Does My Nametag Make Me Look Fat?

Hi everyone!

Sorry I forgot to tell you last week that Pday was switched again! But don't worry, everything will be back to normal next week! So transfer calls are this Saturday. There are 30 missionaries going home this transfer and only 7 coming out, and none of the new ones are sisters. So they're closing a bunch of areas, and an area in our ward will be one of them. Right now there are elders and sisters in the Hanover ward, and they're going to take one set of missionaries out, but they don't know which ones yet. So I have no idea what's going to happen! I really want to stay, because I love Hanover and the people here are awesome! But you'll just have to stay tuned until next Monday to find out if I'm staying or leaving!

Not a whole lot happened this week. I feel like the for the past couple weeks we've been really busy, but nothing's happened. We actually had dinner with 2 former investigators (Evelyn and Morgan) this week. It was really fun and we watched the "He is the Gift" video with them and they both became investigators again! But then they both dropped us a couple days later, so that was super annoying and frustrating! But they still like visiting with us, so we're going to see them again on Thursday. 

We had a super awesome district meeting on Wednesday! I always love district meetings! After the lesson, one of our district leaders, Elder Jones, got up and said that he had something to share. He said that that morning he prayed to know what he could do to help the district and he felt spiritually forced to share something from the missionary handbook. It was about loving and serving your companions and how to resolve conflicts in a companionship. It was so good and exactly what I needed! I'm not saying the Sis. Keown and I need to resolve conflicts or anything, because we don't. We get along really great and have an awesome companionship! But I just really enjoyed what he shared. I was talking with Elder Jones after district meeting and he said that he was so scared to share it. But I'm so glad he did! This got me thinking a lot about courageously following spiritual promptings. I feel like I ignore spiritual promptings a lot, which is really bad. Heavenly Father gives us spiritual promptings for a reason, and it's usually to bless us or others. And it's so important that we follow the promptings we receive! I love Acts 26 where Paul is telling his conversion story, and then in verse 19 he says, "I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision." Paul had an amazing conversion experience, and think of the all the things that would have gone undone if Paul didn't stay true to his heavenly vision. I remember when I got the answer to go on a mission it was so powerful and so clear! Maybe a "heavenly vision." But there were a couple times before turning my papers in that I started to doubt and I got kinda scared about how hard a mission would be. But, just like Paul, I could not be disobedient to my heavenly vision. I knew that I was supposed to serve a mission and I am so grateful that I stayed true to the answer I received! Going on a mission has been the greatest decision I've ever made! Yes, missionary work is tough, but it's so worth it! I've grown so much and I love being a missionary! So please don't hesitate to follow a prompting or an answer to a prayer! There are so many blessings in store for those who act on their "heavenly visions!"

So I had a very humbling experience on Sunday. I had been thinking for a couple days of why we weren't having much success and why I wasn't super happy all the time. And then when I was getting ready for church it hit me! Our investigators weren't progressing because I wasn't being exactly obedient. Sis. Turley trained me so well to be exactly obedient, especially with time, and I have let it slide the past couple weeks. But I'm so glad that I had that experience, because now I can see the amazing difference between the blessings and the consequences of being exactly obedient! I've been doing so much better the past couple days and I'm so much happier! I feel like Alma when he said that his joy was as exceeding as his pain and there was nothing so exquisite and sweet as his joy! (Alma 36) Repentance is a beautiful thing! I love Mosiah 2:41 which says, "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." It is so true! We are given commandments to help us be happy and happiness is one of the greatest blessings we can receive! 

Have all of you watched the "He is the Gift" video and shared it with others? Sis. Keown showed me something really cool this week! In Ether 12 it talks about Christ as the gift! It's in verses 8-11 which say, " 8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen. 9 Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith. 10 Behold it was by faith that they of old were called after the holy order of God. 11 Wherefore, by faith was the law of Moses given. But in the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way; and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled." I love these verses! We are able to embrace the heavenly gift of the Savior through our faith. And Christ really is the gift that keeps on giving, because we can continuously exercise and strengthen our faith, and by doing so we can continuously feel of Christ's love for us. 

I hope all of you watched the Christmas devotional on Sunday night! It was so good! I really loved Elder Christofferson's talk! Please go watch it if you didn't already!

So a lot of times when we're tracting some people won't look at my face and they just look right at my name tag, and it's super awkward! So anytime that happens I say, "Sis. Keown, does my name tag make me look fat?" Haha! #missionaryprobs 

Well I think that's all for this week! I hope you're all enjoying the Christmas season! Love you all!

Love, Sister Harper

Week 13: The Ghost Pepper Challenge

Hi everybody!

Nothing super exciting happened this past week. We had some really great lessons though! 

Thursday we had exchanges and I was in my area in Sis. Jensen again. We met with Maria and talked about General Conference and how we can apply it to our lives. I hope all of you will go back and watch or read the conference talks because they were so good! Also I got to drive on exchanges! It was super weird to drive after not driving for 3 months.

Friday was awesome! We met with the Cambers, who are a less active couple. We originally planned to teach them eternal marriage, but that morning during my studies I felt very strongly that we should share Moroni 10:3-5 with them. So that's what we did and we talked about how to gain a testimony. It was such a good lesson! The spirit was so strong! 

Then we had a meeting with the Elders in our ward and our Ward Mission Leader, Bro. Knowlton. While we were eating dinner, Bro. Knowlton got this bottle of hot sauce from the fridge and told us that we should try it. So this sauce is ghost pepper hot sauce and on the warning label it says "use one drop at a time." So yeah. It's really hot! All of us tried it. I had half of a drop and it burned my whole mouth! But it was super funny to see everyone's reactions to it! I have a video of us doing the ghost pepper challenge, but it won't let me attach it to the email. :(  

On Saturday we went to our ward Halloween party and that was super fun! They made fresh apple cider (so good!), had a chili cook off and did a Trunk-or-Treat. 

So remember a while ago when my mission president (Pres. Stoker) challenged us to read 12 pages of the Book of Mormon everyday and I extended that challenge to you? Well I finished the Book of Mormon on Friday! It was so awesome! The last few chapters are probably my favorite! And in the last chapter is Moroni's promise (Moroni 10:3-5) and it says, "Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

I love these verses! Moroni gives us this formula for how we can know truth. He says that we need to ponder our question, then pray to Heavenly Father with a sincere heart and with real intent if these things are not true. We also need to have faith that our questions will be answered. But as long as we follow these steps, the truth will be revealed to us. Heavenly Father wants to answer our questions and wants to help us gain a testimony. And if we do this simple formula, we can know the truth of all things. 

Pres. Stoker challenged all of us to do Moroni's promise when we finished reading. So that's what I did! I already have that testimony that the Book of Mormon is true, but I wanted that reassurance. I prayed and asked Heavenly Father if the Book of Mormon was not true, and after my prayer I heard this little voice that said, "It's true." Part of me wanted a bigger, more dramatic spiritual witness, but that's not how it works. The Lord speaks to us with a still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12). And that little voice was all I needed to have that reassurance. I invite all of you to do Moroni's promise and I know that Heavenly Father will answer your prayers because He loves you!

We had a really good lesson in Relief Society yesterday on the talk "Your Four Minutes" by Bishop Gary E. Stevenson. (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/your-four-minutes?lang=eng) He talks about how we do so much to prepare and to do our best, but sometimes we fall short. And that's where the Atonement comes in. The highlight quote from this talk is "The miracle of the Atonement can make up for imperfections in our performance." Heavenly Father knows that we won't be perfect and that's why He provided the Atonement for us. He doesn't ask us to be perfect, He just asks us to do our best.

I'm really excited for this next week, because tomorrow we have Zone Conference at the JSM and we're watching "Meet the Mormons!" It's going to be awesome! But I'm also super sad, because this is my last week with Sis. Turley before she goes home. :(  So we'll get transfer calls on Saturday. I will most likely be staying in Hanover, and I'll find out next Tuesday who my new companion is going to be! But Sis. Turley and I are going to have an awesome last week together, because we're going to find a new investigator! 

Well I think that's about it for this week! We're off to go carve pumpkins with our district and we're going to make them do the ghost pepper challenge haha! It'll be fun! I hope you're all doing great and you have a wonderful week! Love you all!

Love, Sister Harper

Hello everyone!

Wow what a week it has been! The leaves are changing here and it's so beautiful! We'll be getting a lot of tourists soon to come see the leaves. They're called "leaf peepers" haha!

                                            

So on Friday we finally got to have a lesson with Ken! We taught the Restoration. He said that he knows Joseph Smith is a prophet and he really likes the Book of Mormon, but doesn't know it it's true yet. But guess what? He committed to baptism! He was a little hesitant at first, but then he was like yeah that sounds like fun haha! But seriously he's so ready! He said that he's searching for truth and he can tell the Heavenly Father is preparing him for a new path in his life. This is it! We didn't commit him to a date, but we will this week when we teach him.

Then after Ken's lesson we walked back to the Park and Ride. We were talking with the member who came to Ken's lesson and then John came up to us! John works at a construction site by the Park and Ride and we gave him a Book of Mormon a couple weeks ago. He asked if we wanted the book back, because it had markings in it (we mark important verses in the Book of Mormons we hand out). We said no and that it was all his! He said that he really likes reading it, but it having a hard time understanding it. So we're going to see him tomorrow and read the Book of Mormon with him! Yay!

A new Mormon Message came out this week! I love Mormon Messages! Here's the link to the newest one. http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3792885561001  This video reminds me a lot of Abinadi from the Book of Mormon. Abinadi was a prophet and missionary and he was teaching wicked King Noah and his court. But no one was interested. They didn't listen to Abinadi. Abinadi's investigator's killed him! I'm sure that Abinadi thought that he had failed and that he hadn't done enough. I know we all feel like that sometimes. But there was one person who listened to Abinadi. Alma. And Alma taught his friends and family what he had learned and all of the were converted and baptized! They were so converted that they left their city so that they could establish the church! And in the scriptures it says that 450 people went with Alma. And then think of how many people Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah influenced? That's a lot of people! And it all happened because of one person. Abinadi. He had a stronger effect on the people that he thought he did. And it is the same with us. I probably won't convert 450 people on my mission. But just talking to people and sharing the gospel with them can have a powerful effect. 

Saturday night was the General Women's Meeting and it was awesome! Sisters, if you weren't able to watch it, please find time to watch it! It was so good! I felt the spirit so strongly! President Uchtdorf gave a great talk! He talked about how we are all children of God. It's not a title that we earned or that will ever go away. We will always and forever be His sons and daughters. He also said that Heavenly Father is always pouring down blessings upon us. But sometimes we have an umbrella of guilt, sin, and sorrow that keep us from feeling those blessings. Another great quote was we need to place our selfish desires on the altar of service. Seriously I love service so much! And he also said that Heavenly Father loves you for the person you are today and the person you have the potential and desire to become. I love that! 

So something that Sis. Turley does is she says her nightly personal prayers vocally. When we first became companions I thought it was kinda weird, but whatever. Then this week she said Sis. Harper, I really want you to say vocal prayers for a week and see how you like it. I told her I'd give it a try and oh my goodness it's amazing! Praying vocally adds so much more meaning! When I do it, I can feel Heavenly Father so much closer to me! If you're looking for a way to increase your relationship with Heavenly Father or to make your prayers more meaningful, say vocal personal prayers! Yeah it's gonna feel weird at first, but then you're gonna feel awesome! 

This weekend is General Conference! I'm so excited! Everyone, please make conference a priority! Watch as many sessions as you can! And write down some spiritual questions that you have. Then pray and ask Heavenly Father those questions. Then watch conference and take notes! And I can promise you that your questions will be answered! Conference is so powerful! Two years ago, I knelt down and asked Heavenly Father what I should do in my life. My answer came with the age change for missionary service. I am serving a mission because of an answer I received during conference!  Conference is life changing! 

I think that's about it for this week. I hope you're all doing well! Please look for service and missionary opportunities! And keep studying the Book of Mormon! You will be so blessed! Love you all!

Love, Sister Harper

Week 8: One Transfer Down!

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I've already been out for a whole transfer! In case you didn't know, a transfer is 6 weeks and after each 6 week period is when you may or may not move to a new area or get a new companion. I am staying in Hanover with Sis. Turley! I'm really sad, because this is her last transfer before she goes home. :( But it's gonna be an awesome transfer!

So cool thing. On Tuesday we had some time before an appointment so we decided to go street contacting for a bit. We didn't have much success so we went back to the car. There were some construction workers in the parking lot and one of them called out to us, "Hey do you have any extra Bibles?" Sis. Turley said, "We have the Book of Mormon!" "The Mormon Bible?" "Yes!" "That'll work! Can I have one of those?" How cool is that? This guy's name is John and he said that he's read the Book of Mormon before and he really liked it. We're gonna try and find him this week so we can teach him more about the Book of Mormon!

Wednesday was Zone Conference! All of the missionaries in Vermont and northern New Hampshire were there and it was at the JSM. This Zone Conference we had Elder Larry Wilson of the Seventy and his wife there. They taught us about the Book of Mormon and how we need to use it more in finding and teaching. The Book of Mormon is so important. It is the keystone of our religion, because it is a witness of Christ, it has the fullness of Christ's gospel, and it is the foundation of our testimony. Elder and Sister Wilson talked about how we as missionaries need to read the Book of Mormon more with those that we teach, so that they can understand it and apply it to themselves. They also said that the more pages of the Book of Mormon you read with the people you teach, the more successful you will be as a missionary. Sis. Turley and I are definitely going to use the Book of Mormon a lot more! 

Another cool thing from Zone Conference was Sis. Wilson showed us that 1 Nephi 1 has all of the points we teach in the Restoration lesson. This chapter is also really similar to Joseph Smith and The First Vision. So when you read 1 Nephi 1, look for the similarities it has to the Restoration and First Vision! 

On Friday we went and visited a less active family. Normally lessons don't go well there, because the 4 boys (all under age 9) are all really rowdy and it feels like no one pays any attention. But we decided to have a quick visit and show them a Mormon Message. We got there and just the mom was there, so we talked to her for a bit. Then it took a while to pull up the Mormon Message on their iPad, and right after it started, two of the boys and the dad came home. Sis. Turley and I were so worried that the lesson would be ruined and the spirit would go away! But the boys came in, and they huddled around the iPad and watched the Mormon Message! And they were quiet! And then one of the boys was in the other room when we started to say the prayer, and when he came back in he joined us in the prayer and was quiet! Huge miracle for this family! Normally it takes them like 5 minutes to settle down before we can say a prayer. So we will be showing more Mormon Messages to this family! The one we showed the was Wrong Roads (http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=2714780496001) and it's super good and all of you should watch it!

This week in my Book of Mormon study I was in the book of Jacob, which is like my favorite book! I especially love chapters 5 and 7. Chapter 5 is the parable of the vineyard and it's so good! The master of the vineyard is Heavenly Father and the parable tells how he works hard to help his plants grow. The plants are each of Heavenly Father's children, so us. And my favorite verse is 47 which says, "But what could I have done more for my vineyard? Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it? Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long, and the end draweth nigh. And it grieveth me that I should hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast them into the fire that they should be burned. Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?" I love this verse and this chapter, because it shows how much Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us, His children. His hand is constantly stretched out to us and He is doing all He can to love and care for all of us. I know that He is our Heavenly Father, we are His children and He loves us with an infinite love. 

Chapter 7 is about this guy, Sherem, who is an anti-Christ. Sherem tried really hard to lead people away from the gospel and he even tried to lead Jacob, the prophet, away. Then Jacob talks to Sherem about Christ and the scriptures and this is what he said.

8 But behold, the Lord God poured in his Spirit into my soul, insomuch that I did confound him in all his words. 9 And I said unto him: Deniest thou the Christ who shall come? And he said: If there should be a Christ, I would not deny him; but I know that there is no Christ, neither has been, nor ever will be. 10 And I said unto him: Believest thou the scriptures? And he said, Yea. 11 And I said unto him: Then ye do not understand them; for they truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ. 12 And this is not all—it has been made manifest unto me, for I have heard and seen; and it also has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, I know if there should be no atonement made all mankind must be lost.

This is the scripture that helped me to know that the Book of Mormon is true. I think I was like 12 or 13 when I first read this. Growing up in the church I heard everyone say that Christ lives and that the Book of Mormon was true, but I didn't know it for myself. And when I read these verses it hit me so hard. I knew that the reason I didn't have that knowledge for myself was because I didn't understand the scriptures and I didn't read and pray about them. But I have read the Book of Mormon many times. I have prayed about it and I know that it is true. It truly is another witness of Jesus Christ. This book is so powerful and life changing! Please read and study it everyday! I know that it will bless your life so much and you will be so much happier because of it! 

Oh super cool thing! For those of you that don't know, Jessica Craig (my best friend from high school) was called to this mission and she is on an airplane right now flying out to New Hampshire! I don't know when I'll get to see her but I'm so excited that she's coming to the greatest mission on earth! Hopefully we'll get to be companions at some point!

So a member gave us two big bags of potatoes and we don't want them to go to waste, so Sis. Turley and I are eating potatoes like almost every meal! Baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, hash browns, fries, you name it! I never ate this many potatoes when I lived in Idaho haha!

Well that's it for this week! Thank you for all the emails! Love you all!

Love, Sister Harper

Week 5: One Month Down!

Hello everybody!

Hope everyone had a great week and is enjoying their holiday weekend! 

So this week was really crazy but it was so great!

Monday: We went to the Holy KFC for lunch. So the Holy KFC is is Lebanon, NH and it's location is where Joseph Smith had his leg surgery when he was little. So that's pretty neat! Then we drove down to Manchester for New Missionary Training. I got to see all of the sisters from the MTC and that was so much fun!

Tuesday: New Missionary Training. Most of the things they taught us were things that Sis. Turley had already trained me on. Way to go, Sis. Turley! Sis. Stoker (mission president's wife) gave a really great talk and talked about Abinidi. So Abinidi was a missionary and he preached the gospel to King Noah's court. No one listened and his investigators killed him! But Alma listened. And it says in the scriptures that Alma shared the gospel with 450 people. And then his son Alma the younger was a great missionary and brought even more people to the gospel. I really love this story, because a lot of times we may feel like Abinidi, that no one cares and no one is listening. But we really don't know the effect we have on others. Because of Abinidi, thousands of people were converted! It's truly amazing the effect that one person can have. 

Wednesday: Zone Interviews. We went to Plymouth, NH for meetings with our Zone and then for interviews with Pres. Stoker. Pres. Stoker is so great and I love having interviews with him! Then in zone meeting we talked about Christ-like attributes and obedience. It was such a good meeting! Then we went on exchanges and I was with Sis. Jensen. Exchanges are when we switch companionships for a day. 

Thursday: Exchanges. Sis. Jensen is awesome! I learned so much from her! During our companion study we read this talk (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/teaching-with-the-power-and-authority-of-god? lang=eng&query=teaching+with+the+power+and+authority+of+God) and it was super good and you all should read it! That morning we went and taught a less active about the priesthood and encouraged her to get her patriarchal blessing. Then we went to the Haven and that was awesome! Sis. Jensen loved the Haven! Then we went and taught a recent convert. She's going through a hard time right now, so we listened and did the best we could to comfort her. Then we exchanged back and Sis. Turley and I went to dinner at a member's house. For dessert we had vanilla ice cream with pure maple syrup! It was so good! I kinda felt like Buddy the Elf and how he puts syrup on everything! That's kinda how New Englanders are. They put syrup on almost everything!

Friday: Planning Day. So on Fridays we take about 4 hours or so to plan for the next week. We plan our schedule, plan lessons, set goals. It sounds really long and really boring but it's super helpful and we have a lot of fun during our planning sessions! Then we went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch with a recent convert and that was yummy! 

Saturday: I hit my one month mark! It's so weird to think that I've been on my mission for a month! It feels like I went into the MTC yesterday and also that I've been here forever! On Saturday we tried to contact some less actives, but we only talked to one of them. Everyone else wasn't home. :( But the one we talked to said he was "all set" and that's the New England was of saying, "Go away, missionaries!" Super annoying! But then we went to see a referral we got a couple weeks ago. Her name is Brandy and she's a media referral, which means that she went onto mormon.org and requested a visit from the missionaries. We called her a bunch and stopped by her place a couple times after we got her information, but she didn't answer and was never home. But then we on Thursday we stopped by her house and she was outside with her kids! She said that we could come back on Saturday so that is what we did. And when we saw her she was outside with her kids again! We were hoping to get to know her more and to teach her, but she wasn't feeling too well, so we left her with The Book of Mormon and said we'd come back another day. And then as we were leaving we turned around and saw that she was reading The Book of Mormon! I'm so excited to go back and teach her! 

Sunday: I love Sundays! We had church in the morning and that was really good. Then we went to a member's house for lunch and we had lobster! I mean lobstah haha! That was mine and Sis. Turley's first time having lobster. I'll be honest, it's not my favorite seafood, but it was still really good! Then we went to institute, and it's kinda like seminary, but for the college age kids. There's a couple that lives on Dartmouth campus and they have institute at their house every Sunday night. We watched a talk by Elder Bednar called "That Thou Might Not Shrink." It was so good! He talked about how even though life can be really difficult and frustrating at times, Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. It may not be what we had in mind, but it is what's best for us. He's our Father and He knows us personally. And He will be there to lead and guide us along the way. Here's the link if you would like to read it. https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/ces-devotionals/2013/01/that-we-might-not-shrink-d-c-19-18?lang=eng

Monday (today): We went the Dartmouth to do emails there, but the library was closed, so now we're at the church doing emails in the family history center. While we were at Dartmouth we went into this really cute store and while we were looking around, we heard the song "As Sisters in Zion" start playing. It was a medley so it also had "We'll Bring the World His Truth" in it. Sis. Turley and I looked at each other and were like oh my gosh this is so cool! Then Sis. Turley asked the lady that worked there about the music and she said that she heard it and really liked it, so she put it on the playlist to play at work. We started talking and she didn't seem super interested, but she said that we could come back. And she said that she knew the Grampp's in our ward (the same couple who does institute) so that's awesome! So we're definitely going to see her again, but that was such a blessing to be able to talk to her! 

So here's an analogy that I heard this week that I thought was really cool. Heavenly Father has all of these blessings that He wants to give us and these blessings are like the gumballs in a gumball machine. He's not going to give us all of them at once. We have to do a little bit of work before we can receive the promised blessing. Like we have to pay tithing to receive those blessings. We have to put the quarter in, and turn the handle and then Heavenly Father gives us the blessings. Anyways, I thought that was a really cool analogy.

Okay here are a couple more New England quirks. People here have front doors but they never use them. They have a door in the back or the side of the house that they use. I thought that was super weird. And everyone says wicked all the time! Like that was wicked good haha! 

Oh so cool thing! This next Friday (12th) we're going to the Boston Temple! A lady that Sis. Turley taught in her last area is going to the temple for her endowments and we get to go with her! I'm so excited! So Friday the 12th will be our Pday next week. If we have time to email, you'll get an email from me on Friday, not Monday of next week. But then it'll be back to normal the next Monday, so in 2 weeks. 

Well I think that's about it for this week! Hope you're all doing great! Love you all!

Love, Sister Harper

Week 4: When Life Gets You Down, Just Eat a Fluffernutter!

Hello everyone!

               

Hope you're all doing well! So one thing from the MTC that I forgot to tell you is that Sister Dastrup and I were Sister Training Leaders. It's basically like being a Zone Leader and helping out your district and the new districts that come in a week after you. So yeah that was fun. 

This week was pretty good at the beginning and then kinda crummy but then really good again! We had Panera for lunch last Monday and Panera is seriously so good! Then Tuesday we taught a less active couple about tithing. The wife didn't want to pay, because she didn't think she had enough faith to pay. But we talked about how we have to exercise our faith and then The Lord will bless us. So now they're on board with paying tithing! We also taught one of our recent converts, Maria. She is just the cutest ever! We talked about having faith and enduring with patience. We showed her this Mormon Message (http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=911104781001). It's so cute and you all should watch it!

Wednesday and Thursday we did service at the Haven (the food shelf) and that was super fun! On Thursday we went tracting in Hanover by Dartmouth and it was raining so that wasn't super fun, but I gave away my first Book of Momon! I was so excited! We gave it to this cute little Asian family and they said they would read it. We hope they'll call us soon with questions, but we're gonna go back in a couple weeks and check up on them!

Then Thursday-Saturday pretty much all of our appointments cancelled on us. And one of our potential investigators dumped us! She texted a few hours before we were going to meet with her and she said that she didn't want to meet with us and didn't want to be Mormon anymore. So heartbreaking! She doesn't even know what she's missing out on! The past couple days have been so frustrating! Satan is working so hard on the people in our area and I don't like it! But Sis. Turley and I are determined to find new investigators this week! We can do it!

So yesterday I had an amazing personal study! It helped me so much, especially after a couple discouraging days. I just turned to where I had left off the day before in The Book of Mormon and started reading. I read in 3 Nephi 21-22. Chapter 21 talks about the Restoration and Joseph Smith. And then I read verse 10 and it spoke to me to strongly! Its says, "But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them. Yet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil." Wow! Heavenly Father looks out for his missionaries so much! I love the part about His wisdom being great than Satan's. Like I said, Satan has been working hard on this area, but Heavenly Father has a much greater plan for us. 

Then I read chapter 22:4 which says, "Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame..." So powerful! And then verse 7 says, "For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee." And verses 10-11 say, "For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted! Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay the foundations with sapphires." These scriptures were exactly what I needed! It helped me so much and has lifted my spirits! Yes missionary work is super hard! But it's so rewarding! And yes Sis. Turley and I are serving in a difficult area, but I know that Heavenly Father will help us in finding those that are ready for the gospel.

So New England has a really weird accent. They add r's to words that don't need them (arear, idear, Utahr, Almer=Alma) and they drop r's from words that need them (cah=car, Concud=Concord). So in my very first lesson last week the lady was asking me my name and I said Sis. Harper, and she said, "Oh Sis. Hahpuh!" So yeah that's fun. And then everyone says "all set" all the time. Instead of saying I'm good, they say I'm all set. And I started saying all set like day 2 in the mission! Crazy! Also New England has this great sandwich called a Fluffernutter. It's peanut butter and marshmallow fluff and it's oh so good! And if you want to make it even better, you do peanut butter, fluff, and nutella! (I mean nuteller haha!) Oh my lanta! So good!

Well that's about it for this week! I hope all of you are doing well and loving life! Good luck to everyone going back to school! Watch the Mormon Message and read 3 Nephi! It's awesome! I love you all!

Love, Sister Harper

Week 1: The MTC (otherwise known as the new Disneyland)

Hello everyone!

Wow! Where to even begin? First of I love the MTC so much! Everyone is so nice and helpful and it's just so great! Whoever said that Disneyland was the happiest place on Earth lied. It's really the MTC! I don't think I've ever smiled as much as I do here. There is such an amazing spirit here and it totally changes you. I love being a missionary!

Ok so I'll tell you a little about my district. They're the ones we spend all day everyday with in the classroom. First is my amazing companion, Sis. Dastrup. She's from Provo and she's also going to NH-MAN. She is just so amazing! We compliment each other so well! Heavenly Father knew what He was doing when He put us together. I learn so much from her everyday. The other sisters in our district are also going to NH-MAN. They are Sis. Eddington (from Broken Arrow, OK) and Sis. Tucker (from Snowflake, AZ). We have four Elders in our district and they are Elder Craig (from Gilbert, AZ), Elder Taylor (from British Columbia, Canada), Elder King (from Murray, UT) and Elder O'Brien (from Alberta, Canada). I'm so sad, because the Elders are all going to the Canada Halifax Mission, so I won't see them after the MTC. :(  But I love my district so much! We have some amazing discussions in class, and we are super close! It's such a blessings to have a district that gets along so well, and I'm so grateful for them and the amazing examples they are to me!

At the MTC I thought that I would be learning how to be a better teacher and teaching techniques, but that is not why we're here. As a missionary, my purpose is to "invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end." Right from the very first day at the MTC we learned that our purpose it to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them. Everyone has specific needs that need to be met, and everyone needs to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. But it's up to us as missionaries to find that need and tailor the lessons to fit their personal needs.

Here we do lots of role playing to practice teaching. Right now Sis. Dastrup and I are teaching Paul (he's really our teacher, Bro. Barton, but he takes on the role of Paul (someone he met on his mission, as we teach him. Hope that makes sense!). We first visited with Paul on Thursday to get to know him and we taught our first lesson on Friday. We felt strongly to teach him the message of The Restoration (the first discussion) and it went really well. Then yesterday we taught him and we had a "member" present (just another on of the teachers, Bro. Christensen). Bro. Christensen asked so many great questions to figure out exactly what Paul needs. Sis. Dastrup and I planned on teaching The Gospel of Jesus Christ. But as we asked him more questions we found that he's trying to quit smoking and the message he really needed to hear was the Atonement. We testified that Christ can help us with whatever we're going through and He wants us to ask Him for help. The spirit was so strong and it was such an amazing lesson! That's the tricky part about missionary work is finding that need and then letting the spirit be the teacher.

Sis. Dastrup and I have another investigator at the TRC (teaching resource center). Her name is Devon and we tried to get to know her last night to figure out what message she needed to hear. Only problem is Sis. Dastrup and I forgot to pray as a companionship before the lesson and we forgot to say an opening prayer! So we didn't have the spirit at all with us in the lesson and it was not good. We just lectured rather than taught. Bro. Christensen told us earlier yesterday that if we keep asking the investigator questions, they will tell us what they need to be taught. It's so true! And the spirit is the one who helps so much with that! So we learned a valuable lesson last night that 1) pray always! You'd think we'd remember since we say like 20 prayers every day! D&C 42:14 says, "And the spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the spirit ye shall not teach." 2) Don't just find someting you think you can teach and run with it. If you plow right through a lesson, all you do is push the investigator to the side. As missionaries we are called to be representatives of Christ and to be their friend. But we have to rely on the spirit when we teach. 

We had an amazing devotional on Sunday night from Pres. and Sis. Worthen (the new BYU president and his wife). Pres. Worthen talked about being a missionary with power and authority. We get our authority because we are called of God, and we get power when we keep our covenants, are faithful, and obedient. Heavenly Father did not call us to be successful and he will not let us fail. As long as we are faithful and obedient we will be blessed. 

Another great thing we've done as a district is read from The Book of Mormon together. One of the fundamentals of teaching is being able to receive revelation from The Book of Mormon. We started at the very beginning (a very good place to start!) and read as a district. I have learned so much from the few chapters that we have read. It's amazing the things you can learn when you really "feast upon the words of Christ" (2 Nephi 32:3). I challenge all of you to apply this to your study of the scriptures, especially The Book of Mormon. Take time to really ponder the things you read and apply them to your own life (1 Nephi 19:23). I can promise you that there is a certain spirit you will feel when you study The Book of Mormon. It is life changing and it's the greatest feeling ever!

This afternoon we have the opportunity to go to the Provo temple, and Elder Taylor is receiving his endowments! (I don't think there's a temple close to him in Canada, so he's going here!) Our district is so excited to be there with him! I love going to the temple! Please go to the temple as often as you can. It will bless your life so much!

Ok well sorry for writing like the great American novel, but the MTC is just so amazing! I have learned so much and I wish I could tell you everything! I love all of you and pray for you every day! I feel so blessed to be here. I love being a missionary! This is The Lord's work and it is the greatest work there is. I love you and hope you have an amazing week!

Love, Sister Harper