March 30th 2015 Letter

Disclaimer:  Sister Harris answers questions from other letters, so some of this won't make sense to every reader... just keep reading until it does.  Enjoy!  :)

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Lol Oh April...I've told her about you...and that my mom doesn't have a facebook. She must have forgotten.  She (April) is the honorary ABM missionary.  She can't go on a mission, so she just goes out with the sisters ALL THE TIME.  She is leaving to Idaho tomorrow, so our member present lessons in the mission are going to disappear.  Side note.  Things I didn't know about missionaries... 1) they have miles limits on their cars 2) member present lessons are gold 3)...they have tiwis.  I'm going to do so much for the missionaries when I get home.  But yeah not old everyone else's mom just has a facebook and she becomes friends with them.  Her and Brundog and Lewy are all coming to Yuma in 11 months so you can meet them :)

We indeed got to watch the women's broadcast on Sunday...two crazy old recent convert ladies from the branch were there and we couldn't figure out how to fix the tv.  It sounded like a dalek.  One of the ladies kept telling me it was because it wasn't connected to the internet lol.  So yeah everyone sounded like a dalek the entire time. 

Haha I'll keep writing Dave.  I need to write everyone and their mom too.  Gah so much to do.  4) missions are busy as crap. 

OK so this week friend. We met a single mom and her 5 kids when sister Woodard was here. Yes 5 kids. They are my favorite. We lost contact for a while, with spring break and everything, but finally caught back up with them this last week.  We commit her and her 8 year old daughter to baptism.  We had been praying for a baptism for Sister Rogers and I to have together, but we had to get someone to church every Sunday before the end of the transfer because they have to come to church twice before they can get baptized.  We did all we could to get them to come to church this week, but alas...they were still out of town come Sunday morning.  I have never been more grateful in my mission that we had no investigators at church...branches man.  We all got together 3rd hour, well more like second and a half because church is only 2 hours long, but the topic of discussion?...Word of wisdom.  Normally this would be fine, unless you are in Alexander City where you either have the guy who is still smoking with a temple recommend or the lady who thinks eating white bread is breaking the word of wisdom.  I wish you could have been there kid.  It was hilarious.  Us and the Elders just lost it the entire time.  Sooo glad no one was there for that. Quote from this meeting:  "You have to be careful with herbal teas.  When I joined the church, I really missed my tea, but then I found ginseng tea.  It was great!  Until I found out it was loaded with female hormones."  Oh Alex City.  We have the craziest members in the entire mission apparently.  But yes pray for Denisha and Ashunti and Nicole and for us to be able to hang onto them in the midst of all the crazy. 

THEN oh boy hahaha.  There is this old abandoned house right next to the parking lot of the church building.  The Elder's got a media referral for the address of the house, but you have to like hike to get up to it as everything around it is so overgrown.  So all week we have all been trying to get to it.  Sister Rogers and I decide to try and go around the back of it because there is a slight trail off to the side.  This trail leads out to this open pasture type thing with just grass and no trees and abandoned refrigerators and junk with thick trees surrounding it all.  Its getting dark and we are already sketched out trying to get to this creepy house.  We start walking in the pasture towards the house and we hear somebody say "Hey!" We both look at each other and then look around to see where it came from.  Then I see a shirtless bearded hobo dude in the trees, turn to Rogdog, say "that's a dude!"  then we both proceed to book it out of there.  This is all going down while the elders just so happen to be riding their bikes up the street towards the church.  We get to the parking lot and are half laughing our heads off half freaking out.  We convince the elders to go contact the hobo guy....turns out it wasn't a hobo...just a tree and I need new glasses.  They won't let me live it down.  We still have no idea who said hey though. 

Other than that we have just been doing the same old thing.  Its hard not to think that we aren't working hard enough when people aren't progressing as much, but I just have to remember that Alex City is a branch and it's a bit different than Cullman.  Although apparently everyone in Cullman got dropped. Which sucks.  The fambam is struggling too, but they are trying to hold onto them.  Keep praying for the people here.  Be good. Love you kid! 

March 23rd 2015 - Pictures!

She wanted to take my "senior pictures" because I never had any

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We take legit pictures.  Also I like the second one as it is like mine and Lewy's...except I'm the Lewy

March 9, 2015 Letter

Alex City is great!  Definitely not Cullman, but that's unfair to Alex City.  Cullman will always be the place where I came to know my Savior.  It's sacred ground, and I miss it so much.  Alex City is definitely a different area though.  It is a branch, so there are only two hours of church and the chapel is the size of our living room.  There are black people too, which is weird as I just spent 6 months in an area where there were literally none.  I thought I couldn't remember names before, but this is going to be impossible.  The 3 Musketeers are still trying to figure out how to be 3 Musketeers when we are used to being duos, but its getting there.  I don't know why God keeps giving me such hard assignments.  First transfer was my first transfer so that was naturally hard, second transfer I kill my companion who became my best friend, then I killed another one, then I train, and now I am follow-up training after 6 months in my first area in a trio...I can't catch a break.  Its alright though because it is making me grow...or its punishment. I really don't know at this point.  Its crazy hard because Sister Rogers is great and I want to focus on training her, but I also have to make sure that Sister Woodard isn't left out...but I want to focus on training. Its rather annoying, but we all have fun together so that is good.

Michaela is going to work at pita pit?  Oh boy.  Is Selena still working there?  I'll be praying that everything goes ok with that.  And with everything else that is going on.  Let me know if y'all need anything.  Love you!

also I'll send my address again as I don't know if the last one was right. 216 A Colonial Way Alex City AL 35010

March 2, 2015

Good morning! 

I got your email.  Y'all probably already know as you are watching the weather here, but we got 9 inches of snow on Wednesday...and now I am sick.  I told everyone in my testimony at church yesterday that it doesn't snow where I am from so I never learned that cold + wet = sick.  So we went tracting in it as I thought it would be fun...it was!  We thought people would feel bad for us and let us in, which some people did, but there was one lady who said "I appreciate what you're doing, but I don't agree with your doctrine. I'm sure your boss will understand if you go inside. You're going to get sick."  then I told her that I thought it was fun as I am from Arizona.  She told us her daughter was living in Arizona and that she was going to take a picture of all the snow.  Then I told her, "you could take a picture of the two Mormon girls knocking on your door in the snow."  So she did.  Poor sister Winchester...I embarrass her a lot. Then we met a Hispanic lady who let us in and I taught her the restoration in Spanish so that was cool.  There definitely were some miscommunications, but we both understand enough to get the message across and schedule return appointments with her.  Then I realized there were holes in my shoes so we trekked over to the elders' who leave their door unlocked to steal their dryer and dry my socks.  They were home though, so we built a snowman together before going to play in the snow with Tucker, We started to walk home after that because they text us and told us to go inside for the day, but I nearly ate it in the snow and tore a muscle somewhere, so there were two sister missionaries limping down the street in the snow.  I can only imagine what a sight we were.  Then I broke our phone, so we had to use the elders to get transfer calls early. I am leaving and follow up training, and sister Winchester is staying.  I've known all transfer that I was leaving, but it has been hard to say goodbye to people.. I said goodbye to the Gaufins yesterday.  they are members, but we got really close.  I'm going to say goodbye to the fambam today.  That will be the hardest.  I know that they need someone new though, and whoever gets sent here will be good for them and the area.  I will be able to write on Wednesday to tell you where I am and my new address.  Love you! be good.