Week 29: Happy Valentine's Day

Hi everyone!
I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! We had breakfast at our Bishop's house and it was a lot of fun! That's kinda all we did for Valentine's Day though haha.

Okay, so I've definitely been going through a hard time right now. I knew that missionary work would be difficult, but lately I've been wondering why it's this hard. But then I read a talk called "Missionary Work and the Atonement" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and it's so perfect! He said:

"You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary.

Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.

For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul.

If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.

The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

Oh my goodness! I just cry every time I read that last paragraph! Seriously, being a missionary is one of the hardest jobs ever! But oh my goodness it is so rewarding! And the coolest part about it is, like Elder Holland said, missionaries and mission leaders stand right next to the Savior. And a lot of times he carries us through this work. But He's there every step of the way and He knows exactly how to comfort you and help you to move forward.

This morning I had a super awesome personal study! I was reading in Alma 37 and starting at verse 38, Alma starts talking about the Liahona. So the Liahona guided Nephi and his family through the wilderness and on the sea, but only when they were being righteous. Then I love verse 45, which says, "And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise." I love this verse so much! The scriptures are so powerful! And they truly will "carry us beyond [our] vale of sorrow"! I have seen that so many times in my life. The scripture have just what I need and they always help to uplift me. I know that the scriptures can help you in your daily life, so please study and feast upon the scriptures daily! 

Lately I've been studying the hymns, and it's super cool! I read the text to "Zion Stands with Hills Surrounded" (Hymn #43) this morning and verse 3 was exactly what I needed today!

In the furnace God may prove thee, Then to bring thee forth more bright,

But can never cease to love thee; Thou are precious in his sight.

God is with thee, God is with thee; Thou shalt triumph in his might.

Oh I love those words! And it reminds me of a scripture in Romans 8 that I also love! It's verses, 35, 37-39. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." God will never stop loving us! Just because we have trials in our lives doesn't mean He loves us any less! He gives us trials because He loves us and He wants us to learn and grow! 

Yesterday at church we had a brother and a sister speak. The brother just got home from his mission in Houston, TX and the sister leaves soon for her mission in Finland. The brother talked a lot about the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement. And he said that everything we experience in this life is pertinent to our salvation. Then this morning I read Hebrews 11 and the JST for verse 40 says, "God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings, for without sufferings they could not be made perfect." I love this verse! We have to go through trials; it's part of the Plan of Salvation. But we can become perfect through our trials. We can become who God knows we truly are through our experiences. 

I know that our Heavenly Father loves us so so much, and that His plan for us is perfect. I know that the Atonement is real, and that through the Atonement we can achieve our divine potential. I know that our trials are for our progression and perfection, and that God will always provide a way for us to overcome those hard times. I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

Love, Sister Harper

Week 27-28: So. Much. Snow.

Hi!

Okay so there was this crazy bad storm last week and our car got grounded so that's why I wasn't able to email last week. Sorry! But don't worry, we're doing good!

So we had transfers almost 2 weeks ago. Sis. Craig is in Sacco, Maine now, and my new companion is Sis. Clark. She's from Boise (yay Idaho!) and she's been out for 4 1/2 months. 

We had a some super sweet miracles the past couple weeks! So I think I told you about our investigators, Lucia and Chris. So we stopped by one day to see them but only Chris was home. And as missionaries, we can't be alone with a man (elder's can't be alone with a woman), so we would have to bring another female with us and elders would have to bring another male with them. Chris wanted us to come in so we could talk more about the Book of Mormon. We tried to explain to Chris that we couldn't come in, because his wife wasn't home, and I'm really hoping that he didn't get offended! But then he told us that he really wants to meet with us and really wants to learn the truth! He even asked us how to pray and he prayed before we left! Oh my gosh that was so cool! Then last Thursday we got to have a lesson with Chris and we brought another female with us so it worked out! We taught the Restoration and oh my goodness the spirit was so strong! It was such a great lesson and I can't wait to meet with him again! 

There was a lot of snow yesterday, so church got shortened from 3 hours to 45 minutes. We just had a mini sacrament meeting and there weren't that many people that showed up, but oh my goodness the spirit was so strong! A few people bore their testimonies and it was just what I needed to keep me going!

So I think I told you that the Christlike attribute I'm working on this transfer is diligence. I don't know why, but lately it's been hard for me to get motivated to go out and work. But I've seen as we've gone out and worked that I've felt so much happier! The Lord definitely blesses us when we do our best to work hard!

I just finished reading the story of Abinidi in Mosiah 11-17. I love that story so much! Abinidi was definitely a diligent missionary. He did all that the Lord asked him to do, but his investigators ended up killing him. I'm sure Abinidi felt like a failure and that he was unsuccessful. But Alma listened to Abinidi. And then Alma taught lots of people, and there were so many that were converted and joined the church! Abinidi actually had a very profound influence on the people, and he just didn't know. Sometimes I kinda feel like Abinidi. But I know that there is so much that we do that goes unseen. We may not be able to see the end results of our efforts, but our examples will surely have a great and lasting effect on others. A quote that I really love is "don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."

I also love the story in Mosiah 24. Alma and his people are being persecuted because of their beliefs, and the king threatened to kill them if he caught them praying. That is when Alma and his people prayed the hardest! They had great faith that the Lord could help them and the Lord did. The Lord told them that he would make their burdens light and that he would deliver them because of their faith and patience. And then once the people were free, they thanked and praised that Lord! I love this story! We all go through our own trials and we ask Heavenly Father to help us. Heavenly Father won't take the trial away, but he will bless us with the peace and comfort that we need to endure our trials. I have definitely seen that the past few weeks. I've seen so many of the Lord's tender mercies and they've helped bring me so much peace and comfort!

Ok sorry this email is kinda short and a little scattered haha! I gotta go, but I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!

Love, Sister Harper

Week 26: Transfers! Dun Dun Dun!

Hello!

Oh my goodness Brian got baptized yesterday! It was so awesome! He was so happy and the spirit there was awesome! Seriously, Brian is going to make such an awesome member! He's read the whole Book of Mormon, is reading D&C and is on section 83, and he's starting his family history! He's so great and I'm so happy for him!

​Left to right: Sis. Craig, Brian, Bro. Young (ward mission leader), me

We also got a new investigator this week! His name is Chris and his wife Lucia (pronounced Loo-she-a) is an investigator. They're from Sudan and they speak Arabic! But they're English is really good so we're able to teach them haha. We taught the Restoration and it was sweet! We're going to get them some Arabic Book of Mormons and share more about it tomorrow and I'm super excited!

So when we teach the Restoration we use Joseph Smith's account to describe the first vision. It goes like this, "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me, I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other, 'This is my Beloved Son. Hear Him!'" We've taught the Restoration a few times the past couple weeks and I've noticed that there is a very special spirit that comes when we say his words. It's such a testimony to me that Joseph Smith really is a prophet, that he did restore the fullness of Christ's gospel to the earth, and that he did translate the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God.

We did a mini mission with this girl in our ward name Hattie. She's been a member for almost a year and she wants to go on a mission! She came to district meeting with us and then we saw a less active that she's friends with and one of the Elder's investigators that lives with her family. It was super awesome and we had a ton of fun with her! 

We saw Carmen and Lorena on Saturday and had a really great lesson with them on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Neither or them have heard of the Atonement before, so it was really cool to explain it to them and just how amazing and powerful it is! And Lorena committed to baptism! She's so awesome! She reads and prays everyday and she's come to church a lot! She's so great!

So this week I have been praying to know which Christlike attribute I need to work on for the new transfer, and then answer that I got was diligence! I've been reading in the book of Jacob this week and it talks a lot about diligence! I love Jacob 5 and Jacob 7! Please read those chapters sometime this week! They're so good!

Transfer calls were on Saturday and Sis. Craig is getting transferred. :(  But she's not getting transferred until Thursday! Normally transfers happen on Tuesdays, but they postponed transfer meeting until Thursday because of this freak winter storm coming in. We're supposed to get like a foot or two of snow. Yay snow shoveling all day! I'm really sad that Sis. Craig's leaving, but I know that she's going where the Lord needs her and that our new companions are the ones we need to be with. So stay tuned til next week to find out who my new companion is!

Well I love you all and hope you have a super awesome week!

Love, Sister Harper

Week 25: Brian's Getting Baptized!

Hello!

Brian had his baptismal interview yesterday and he's all set to get baptized on Sunday the 25th! I'm so excited for him!!! 

I got to go on exchange on Wednesday with my Sister Training Leader, Sis. Burton. She came to Manchester for the day and Sis. Craig went to Canterbury, NH. It was a lot of fun! Sis. Burton is awesome!

So remember our investigators, Vanessa and Herve? Well we stopped by to see them yesterday morning and they weren't home. But we got to teach their mom, Helen, and their sister, Saundra, and they're both investigators now! They're native language is Swahili, so we picked up some Swahili Book of Mormon's from the mission office today. I'll have to read it side-by-side with an English Book of Mormon and maybe I can learn some Swahili! This family is so awesome! They love Christ and have such strong faith! And they've met with Elders before! We're going to see them this week and hopefully we can have a lesson with the whole family!

We also got to see our investigator Lorena on Saturday. We read 1 Nephi 1 with her in Spanish! I definitely had to look of my English Book of Mormon, but it was so much fun to read with her in Spanish! Sis. Craig and I took Spanish in middle school and we don't remember like anything. But we actually didn't do too bad on the pronunciation haha! 

On Saturday we saw a less active and her family and it was so sweet! So the less active's name is Hilda, her husband is Roberto (non-member) and the kids are Alicia, Veronica, and Joey. We had a lesson with everyone except Roberto and Alicia. We made paper boats and read in 1 Nephi when Nephi's commanded to build a ship and it was super fun! Then right at the end of the lesson, Alicia came home and she ran to her room and grabbed her Book of Mormon and came out to read with us! How cool is that?! I love this family! They're so great!

Thursday we had Zone Conference and it was so great! We learned a ton about the spirit and it was super cool! Here's some of my notes from it:

-the purpose of prayer is to have a heartfelt conversation with God

-"If we start to entertain temptations, pretty soon they entertain us." Elder Neal A. Maxwell

-Alma 57:21 the stripling warriors obeyed with exactness because of their faith

-obedience brings blessings, but obedience with exactness brings miracles

-you have to be obedient to have the spirit with you

-the most important commandment is the one you're having the hardest time living

-3 things to have the spirit=search, ponder, pray (Moroni 10:3-5)

-searching, pondering and praying are critical for an enduring conversion

-2 Nephi 31:19-20 to endure to the end, we must feast upon the words of Christ

-when you study the scriptures, you will see yourself and others differently 

-1 Nephi 15:24 reading the scriptures will help protect you from temptations

-revelation comes when you ask questions

-care more about the amount of time you spend in the scriptures than how much you read

-1 Nephi 4:15 your heart should ponder the scriptures continually

-thinking makes your mind wander, pondering makes your heart wonder 

-pondering is and should be a spiritual experience

-pondering allows revelation to occur

-BD Prayer ask for things that God is willing to grant you, find out the Lord's will for you

-answers to prayers will speak to your mind and to your heart; it will make sense and it will feel right

-teach the Lord's way by the spirit; you receive the spirit by the prayer of faith

-to be an effective missionary, be prayerful, personal, and powerful

-the spirit always edifies

-doubt your doubts before you doubt your promptings

-God trusts you, so trust God

-2 Nephi 32:3 feast upon the scriptures and you will know what to do

-seach+ponder+pray+desire+obedience=revelation

-if you're uncertain in your direction, be certain in your patience

Oh my goodness zone conference was so good! Spiritual feast! Pres. Stoker talked a lot about search, ponder and pray. They seem so simple, but they are so important! It's what will open the door to revelation! 

I love the Bible Dictionary definition for prayer and this is my favorite section!
"As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings."

I'm running out of time so I gotta go! I love you all and have a super awesome week!

Love, Sister Harper

week 24: you might live in New England if you have icicles inside your house

Hi everybody!

This week was super awesome! We saw a ton of people and had so many great lessons! 

On Tuesday we got to be in a trio with Sis. Pankratz, who was Sis. Craig's MTC companion! That was super fun! And Tuesday evening we saw Brian and he's doing so great! His baptism is in 2 weeks and we're so excited for him! And he finished the Book of Mormon yay!

On Wednesday we had a lesson with this girl named Kylee. She's 6 years old and she's so cute! She's technically not an investigator, because she's not old enough to be baptized, but she really wants to learn about God. The sisters taught her the Plan of Salvation a while ago, and Kylee remembered like the whole thing! She's so smart! Her mom isn't really interested, but is super supportive of Kylee learning more. I hope they start reading the Book of Mormon together and then hopefully her mom will get interested! :)

We got a new investigator this week! Her name is Aimee and she's awesome! The sisters found her back in October but have been kinda stuck in the friend zone with her. We stopped by on Thursday to say hi and to give her a Book of Mormon. Then she was telling us about how it's kinda hard for her working at the hospital, because sometimes her patients die. So we taught her a really brief Plan of Salvation and shared Alma 40:11-12 which says, "Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow." She loved it and said that we could share more! Yes! I love sharing the Plan of Salvation, because it applies to everyone and it really helps me to know that God lives and that He cares about each and every one of us. And because of this Plan, we can know who we are, what our purpose is in life, and eternal potential. It's so amazing!

I read a talk this week called "Lord is it I?" by President Uchtdorf. It's so good! Please read it this week! https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/lord-is-it-i?lang=eng He shares a lot about how when we are humble enough to learn and to change, then we can feel the power of the Atonement in our lives. I love the gospel so much, because we can continuously learn and grow. The gospel is all about change, and it's possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

This morning I read a really cool scripture in 2 Nephi 7:1 which says, "Yea, for thus saith the Lord: Have I put thee away, or have I cast thee off forever? For thus saith the Lord: Where is the bill of yourmother’s divorcement? To whom have I put thee away, or to whichof my creditors have I sold you? Yea, to whom have I sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away." God is constant. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. So if we ever feel like we're not close to Him, it's because we have moved away. God will never force us to follow Him, because we have the gift of agency. But it's up to us to choose to follow Him each and every day. And He wants us to follow him! He's given us the commandments, scriptures, and prophets so that we'll know how! He wants to bless us and those blessings come when we live the gospel! I love D&C 130:20-21 which says, "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." President Uchtdorf gave a really cool analogy in his talk "Living the Gospel Joyful." He said, "Part of our challenge is, I think, that we imagine that God has all of His blessings locked in a huge cloud up in heaven, refusing to give them to us unless we comply with some strict, paternalistic requirements He has set up. But the commandments aren’t like that at all. In reality, HeavenlyFather is constantly raining blessings upon us. It is our fear, doubt, and sin that, like an umbrella, block these blessings from reaching us. His commandments are the loving instructions and the divine help for us to close the umbrella so we can receive the shower of heavenly blessings." I love that! We can feel Heavenly Father's blessings all the time when we choose to follow Him!

 

This week I've been thinking a lot about how important the spirit is in missionary work and in the gospel. 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." The spirit is pretty important, because you can't teach without it! This is The Lord's work and the only way we are going to be successful is if we do it the way He asks us to: by the spirit. The spirit is the ultimate teacher and is what will help others to grow the most. I love 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 which says, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building." It's so cool, because as we help others to feel the spirit and to grow, we grow ourselves. It's amazing how much I've grown in the short time that I've been a missionary! This is the greatest work ever, because as we help others to grow in the gospel, we then grow ourselves! 

I'm running out of time, so I gotta go! But I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week! Stay warm! 

Love, Sister Harper

Week 23: It's 2015!!!

Hi Everybody!

I hope you all had a happy and safe New Year's! We went to a party with all the older people in the ward and it was a lot of fun!

We got another new investigator this week! His name is Herve, and he is Vanessa's brother. They both have met with missionaries before and come to church and they've seen the Restoration movie which is super awesome! He has such strong faith and he committed to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it! We also got to see Carmen and Lorena and we taught the Plan of Salvation. Lorena has been reading the Book of Mormon everyday! She's doing so awesome! And Carmen has been praying! 

I read this super awesome article this week called "Becoming Perfect in Christ." It's super great and you should definitely read it! https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/07/young-adults/becoming-perfect-in-christ?lang=eng

I can't remember if I shared this last week or not, but there's a line in the hymn "Come Let us Anew" that I really like. It says, "Our talents improve by the patience of hope and the labor of love." I love that! I've been working a lot on loving others and I've noticed that my listening skills have gotten a lot better! 

We've been sharing this spiritual message about Samuel the Lamenite with a lot of people this week, and I thought I'd share it with you too. Samuel the Lamenite was asked by Heavenly Father to tell people that Christ was going to come and they needed to prepare themselves spiritually (Helaman 13:1-5). The people wouldn't listen to Samuel, so he got up on the city wall. Then people started throwing things at him and shooting arrows at him, but he wasn't hurt, because he had the Spirit of the Lord with him (Helaman 16:2). There are spiritual arrows that are shot at us everyday, and I think the biggest ones are doubt and fear. But we can always pray to Heavenly Father for the strength and protection we need to stand strong and overcome our fears and doubts and the doubts of others. 

There's this awesome section in Preach My Gospel and praying with faith and there's this really cool quote by President Hinckley. "Every morning . . . , missionaries should get on their knees and plead with the Lord to loosen their tongues and speak through them to the blessing of those they will be teaching. If they will do this, a new light will come into their lives. There will be greater enthusiasm for the work. They will come to know that in a very real sense, they are servants of the Lord speaking in His behalf. They will find a different response from those they teach. As they do so by the Spirit, their investigators will respond under the influence of the same Spirit." What sticks out to me the most is that if missionaries pray with faith, there will be greater enthusiasm for the work. I love being a missionary and I love what we do, but sometimes I feel like I'm just going through the motions. But this past week I've been trying to pray with more faith, and I've found that I'm a lot more focused on the work. There is so much power in prayer! And when we pray for specific things, we get specific blessings! 

This week we got to go to two baptisms! There was one a convert baptism on Saturday for the Bedford ward, and then there was a 8-year-old baptism in our ward yesterday. The spirit is so strong at baptisms! It's so awesome! One of the Elders gave a talk on the Holy Ghost at the baptism on Saturday. And he said something that I really love. He said that if we can feel the Holy Ghost with us, then we know that the Atonement is working in our lives. I've never heard it said like that before, but it makes so much sense and I love it!

I read Moroni 7:41 this week, and I love this scripture so much! It says, "And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise." The Atonement gives us so much hope! Hope that we can be clean and become better, hope that we will live again. And it's all because of our faith! When we have faith, it motivates us to use the Atonement, and we truly can become better and more like Christ. 

Time's running up, so I gotta get going! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love, Sister Harper

Week 22: Happy New Year!

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a great Christmas! We did too! It was super busy, but I'll tell you more about it later. 

On Monday and Tuesday night we got to ring bells for the Salvation Army in front of Wal-mart and it was super fun! Kinda cold, but still fun! And we sang Christmas songs and people loved it! 

Wednesday we had zone meeting and it was so good! We talked a lot about extending commitments to people and following up. Then we did this little activity and had a mini testimony meeting at the end. There were a few missionaries that were asked to share their testimony of the Savior, and oh my goodness the spirit was so strong! It was so powerful and undeniable! Then we had lunch and watched "It's a Wonderful Life." It was really weird watching a non-church movie, but it was approved and President Stoker wanted all of us to watch it on Christmas Eve! Then we went to the bishop's house for dinner, and he had all 10 missionaries for the Manchester ward over. We had lasagna, which was perfect, because my mom always makes yummy lasagna on Christmas Eve! Yay traditions! Then we went to our investigators' (Carmen, Victor, and Lorena) house for another dinner and it was yummy and a lot of fun! 

Christmas day was crazy busy but so much fun! We didn't have any snow and it was like 50 degress! It was so weird, but I'm not complaining! We had brunch at a member's house (Sis. Wheeler, she's the cutest little grandma!) and then another brunch at our neighbors' (Karen and Kathy). And then we went to a member's for lunch (the Goyette's). Lots of eating in a short amount of time! Oh my goodness I was so full! After we went a saw a member (Sis. Moody) and we sang a bunch of Christmas hymns with her and that was a lot of fun! Then we went a visited Sis. Connolly. She was a less active that Sis. Turley taught when she was in Manchester. And when we went to the temple in September it was for Sis. Connolly to receive her endowment. I love Sis. Connolly! She is so cute and sweet and has such strong faith! And then we went to a member's (the Williams) for Christmas dinner and to Skype our families! I loved talking with my family! It was so much fun and so good to see them! 

We got a new investigator on Saturday! Her name is Vanessa and she's 18. We were trying to contact her older sister and aunt, who are potential investigators, but then we got to talk to Vanessa. We introduced her to the Book of Mormon and talked about how we can receive answers from it, and she said that she would read and pray! We also talked to her dad, Hubert, for a few minutes, and he seemed interested. We're going to see them again on Thursday, so I'm super excited! 

Yesterday we had a lesson with Carmen and Lorena and it was so good! We read the intro to the Book of Mormon and talked a lot about how we can receive answers and what the spirit feels like. Lorena has been reading the Book of Mormon everyday! She's so awesome! Oh and she's like 15 and she loves coming to youth activities! And they said they would come to church next Sunday! Our ward is switching to 1:00pm church, so hopefully more people will come now haha. But I am so excited for them to come to church! 

This week was so much better than last week! I am more patient with myself and less stressed out and it's great! I'm still working on talking more in lessons, but I'm doing a lot better. One of my goals for this week was to listen better and I feel like I did really well with that. It's kinda funny, because I want to talk more, but when I listened, I talked less. But whenever I did talk 

I felt like what I said was what I needed to say and it was by the spirit. 

I studied a lot on charity and love this week and I found a really sweet scripture on it. It's D&C 88:125 and it says that charity is a bond of perfectness and peace. How cool is that?! I've been working hard this week to show more Christlike love to others and I've noticed that I've been a lot more peaceful and less stressed. Charity really is a bond of peace! 

Okay, well I think that's about everything for this week. Thank you for all your love and support! I love you all and happy new year! 

Love, Sister Harper