day 37

day 37.

 hola familia! como estan?

week 6!!! holly guacamole? already another week down!

ya know this week has been grand as usual! learnin learnin learnin! and im lovin it!

    this amazing language has been more of a struggle than ever...and through that struggle my studies have gotten so much better..i know the reason of this struggle was for me to become more humble. through it like i said my studying has become ten times better and by the end of this week my spanish has gotten ten times better! Elder Shipp has gotten so much better! the gift of tongues is real! during lessons with investigators and through teaching through the spirit ..constantly the spirit puts words into my head.

    last week i forgot to tell you about the closing of hollands talk...because of all the missionarys coming in..especially the sisters... 3 new buildings had to be dedicated! elder holland closed his talk with a dedicatory prayer. the spirit was so strong! it was flippin amazing! this week ive been really workin on the way i study the scriptures.. now more than ever i find answers formyself and for our investigators because of diligent study and pondering. my scriptures are starting to look like a missionary owns them... elder shipp and i actually had a pretty cool companion study this past week. we found exactly what we needed to teach to our struggling investigator through the book of mormon! i have a strong..very strong testimony of revelation through the book of mormon i know we can all find answers for ourselves in it if we have faith and ponder the words.

    so our devotional on tuesday...AMAZING. it was on faith...and through faith miracles are brought to pass. in order for miracles to occur we must act on our faith... for the past couple weeks or since ive been here in the mtc ive been praying to have the opportunity to give a preihstood blessing... hermana miller(one of the sisters in my district) randomly became super super sick tuesday during class... after our fireside president sanchez told me that she wanted a blessing...it was probably one of the worst days for her to get sick because they were scheduled to leave for the guatamala mtc the next day at 5 pm... sooo after the fireside my whole district and i went to give her a blessing. elder olenslager did the annointing and then i had the amazing opportunity to give her a blessing! i was a little nervous since it was my first one but i knew the spirit would guide me to what i needed to say. ....hermana heap and hermana miller both left for the guatamala mtc yesterday. hermana miller had the strength. what a great experience.

   well the mtc is great! just got back from a great temple session and eating that amazing celestial food!! love ya all so much! sorry this is a little on the short side. just know its been an amazing week and im still loving it hahaha!! i dont think i will never not love it!

  con amor,

        Elder Harper-Smith

 p.s probably will be able to write more later maybe! love you all!! hope all is well!

He looks SO happy! 

                                     

PICS

MTC Teacher

Zone Leaders that left

Elder Frost in the district

Elder Rogers

Sight from his room

Where he studies 

The district and his "investigator"

5

week 5? already?...time is flyin!!

  this week has been absolutely amazing. (one of the greatest spiritual experiences of my life)

somethin funny real quick..so on pdays we email our branch president...elder shipp decided to invite president sanchez to our weekly planning session and decided not to tell me..hahaha hes a stinkin goof! came to a huge suprise when president walked in and sat with us..elder shipp just laughed!  being district leader has been fun so far! learning alot of useful leadership skills!

   well family and friends! this week has been a huge blessing! im edified daily through the spirit that my teachers teach through and i have learned sooooo much!! this weeks fundemental weve been taught and applying in our lessons with our investigators is.."teaching people not lessons" what an important thing in missionary work!! listening to the investigator and listening for the spirits guidance is key.i wanna talk more about it but...theres one thing im dying to tell yall!!!

 Tuesday night i was blessed to be in the presence and hear direct revelation from an apostle of god. all 3000+ of us missionaries sitting in the gym PACKED...we sang our three intro hymns and then all of a sudden there was an undescribable feeling of peace..Then..all 3000+ of us stood as an apostle of god entered the room!! we had no idea who we would be hearing from!! so it was an awesome suprise... at first i couldnt see who it but as soo as he started to walk up on the stage i knew exactly who he was!

 Jefferey R. Holland!! he expressed so much love and respect for all of us! i felt his love through the spirit! and i felt gods love through Elder Holland. it was the most powerful talk i have ever heard..i was glued. he said something ,a promise, to all of us close to the beginning of his talk... he was talking about how the early saints knew they wouldnt succeed...but they knew we would. these are the latter days!! "Although they knew they would not succeed... they continued with faith because they knew we would." the next thing he said hit me really hard... and was so powerful.."You are the dispensation that will see the lamb of god." elder holland speaks with so much power and emotion! i wish i could write his whole talk out ! i will look back on it forever. he also talked alot about RMs who come home and become inactive...WHY?  how can someone be so emmersed in the truth and then fall away? elder holland started to cry... "everything i have relates to that day i received my call.".. i remember him pausing for quite some time... then he  said "I command all of you to come home with atleast one convert...yourself." then he jokingly said "if your an inactive RM... you dont want to see me in a dark alley."

    "invest in this for yoursake, for Heavens sake, for those peoples sake."

what an amazing talk ..that was honestly just the first 20 minutes or less... it was such a powerful talk and the spirit was so strong!

 everything is goin great! the best two years are rollin! :( spanish is amazing! struggling a little more than i was ..but the gift of tongues is real!! the spirit has no language barriers. when i find myself teaching through the spirit i know exactly what i need to say in order to meet the needs of the investigator. i love this work and i love you all!! thankyou for all the mail! im sorry if i dont get back to ya for a while!! mom those cookies are so amazing! haha there gone so quick! my district loves you! grandma!!! congrats on your mission call!! im so happy for you! that is so amazing! Tristen keep your head up! pray always! god loves us all so much! hows the real world like?haha... but really! sissy! thanks for your letters! i love em! i promise im workin on a letter for you!... pops! i love all your letters as well!! mail is so nice to have sometimes! love ya! tell danielsons hello for me!! JUNE BUG! and LIVIE! miss them! cant wait to meet claire! congrats! thos pictures were amazing! haha there hanging on my wall along with melodys also!! aunt wee thankyou for your amazing letters!! 

  our new district is practically all from arizona! 2 of them actually know rigin and somehow me...probably from just me bein awesome i guess....haha love you all! have an amazing week!!  i would love to hear from everyone!  one last quote from elder holland.."people can have earthquakes directly where they stand...you are the ones that cause them." ( i could give quotes all day from his talk) what an amazing week. love ya all!!

   - Elder Harper-Smith

Week 4

Hola mi familia y mis amigos!!!

 como estan? dont worry i wont speak anymore spanish (mom/dad)!! hahaha

its already week 4?? its crazy how fast its getting!! well.. i just got back from an amazing temple session! what a blessing! the spirit is so strong here at the mtc but it was great to be able to be in the lords temple this mornin and feel the peace and the strong spirit there. i love the temple. this week has been great! ...mom my study habits are pretty stinkin amazing now haha.. but really they are! i find myself loosing myself in the book of mormon every day... its really great to read the words but to sit back and ponder and pray about it has become one of my favorite things to do! its a great feeling when your reading and then to come across a scripture that applies strait to an investigators needs... its happened to me alot this week. as we prayerfully read the words of the lord we will receive answers...

  this week we received two new teachers as a district:( hermano Bulloch and Hermano Harris had schedule changes in school so they were unable to keep teaching us i learned so much from them both but especially from hermano bulloch.. he was an amzing teacher! the spirit was always so strong. he taught me alot of life lessons and has strengthened my testimony so much! our last class with him he taught us a fundemental of missionary work as always but then after that he shared with us all of the stories of the investigators we taught (he acted as investigators from his mission) they were pure miracles of the lord on how he met each one. such humble people who went through so much in life. he bore strong testimony of that where the lord has called us to serve.. there are people that the lord has prepared and is continuing to prepare just for us... people that only our personality, only our testimonies, only our experiences can help them come closer to christ! cant wait to get out there! hermano bulloch is one stellar guy ...did i mention hes practically a professional skier haha last saturday he was tellin me he was pullin back 540s of those massive kickers at park city...and it was his first day back for the season..noo big deal. haha!

   so sissy sent me like a gazillion questions this week! hopefully i can answer them all.. the mtc food as you all know is not the greatest... haha so i stick to cereal and fruit for breakfast in the mornin...STAY AWAY FROM THE OJ. uncle john..the oj here has problems haha. but i did hav celestial breakfast this mornin! holllllly amazing. Elder shipp and i have quite a bit of fun! he can be a pretty big goof ball especially in the mornings... i dont really know what gets into him but he always randomly bursts out into song ...yes, just like skylar but skylars voice is a lil better haha. sorry skylar. on my desk i have alot of pictures! lots of family pictures, an amazing picture of the prophet that grandmama sent me THANKYOU. and lots of pictures of my amazing friends! alot of them have a really good friend in them..haha! AND of course june bug!! the "zombie apocalypse" has come to a hault here at the mtc... everyone is way better! which is great! every week ive been studying and applying a new christlike attribute from chapter 6 (PMG)  this week its been charity! finding the good things in people. as soon as you start thinkin about anything negative about somebody..immediately think of three good things! it works! it really helps. its hard to love everybody all the time but as long as we strive to follow christs example the lord will bless us. momma and daddio i have not yet received your "suprise" hopefully i do today though! pretty dang stoked!!  here at the mtc my excersise is basketball!! my game is good. haha play for about an hour everyday and then heave a personal insanity/abb ripper routine that ive thrown together for at night! its still nothin close to mountainbiking..but it does its job haha. tuesday devotionals are amazing!! love em. this past weeks was from a quorum of the seventy elder fabella was the speaker. " taking the easy path is what makes men and rivers crooked." was a great quote from his talk...it was on setting goals and achieveing them! and how without new goals there is no way to progress!

   the weather... ITS COLD...but i love it... im lovin havin a shedule! it makes it easier to stay focused and makes the days fly by!  im still leavin my humble abode here at the mtc on febuary 19th WITH elder shipp. its hard to see elders from my zone leaving...they have all become some of my best friends!!

  so i said i lost the greatest teachers last week ...this week we got two new teachers one of them is Hermano Bailey..he served in the dominican republic! hes pretty great! esteban is one of our new investigators haha during the prayer he chants... i shouldnt laugh or say its funny but it was kind of a funny experience it totally threw me off! hes gonna be rough but hes growin in faith everythime thats all that matters! my other new teacher is Hermano beesten!!! hes a flippin stud hes half canadian and plays hockey he served in the hermesillo mission! served in puerto penasco for a transfer! i learn so much from him! hes set some huge goals for us as a district (which is awesome) 20 new words and 5 new phrases in spanish! 100% all week so the language is gettin way good!! felipe is our other new investigator! hes already committed to baptism! (first lesson) i love teachin him! we have 1 other investigator thats really a challenge... last lesson elder shipp took the lead hes gettin alot better but he still is havin a hard time! he gets down on himself quite a bit so ive been trying as much as i can to help him! this week hes increased so much which is awesome!  do we have free time? hahahaha no. but thats good. learnin lots!!!

   well family! ...and friends! i love ya all! i hope all is well!!! say hi to roxy for me and thos awesome neighbors!

-ELDER HARPER-SMITH      elders of district 35A! 

our whole district and the greatest teacher of all time Hermano Bulloch!!!!

First set of pics

 Farewell with his friend Brianne for 2 years             / Temple Day

Farewell with Grandmas Elder Walker & him

Zone leader

Zone leaders before they left 

 The District

 Snowman that him and his comp made

 Elder Shipp... his companion 

Week 3!!!

Sorry that this letter is a few days late!

WEEK 3 email!! yes...its already week three! CRAZY.

  Happy New years!!!! what a great year 2012 was for our family!! 2013 will bring even more blessings! hope you all made some great goals!!

 First off ... Feliz Compleanos hermano!! i sent ya a letter this week sorry it will probably be a lil late! :( but happy birthday anyways!!! heard ya got a uekelelele (dont know how to spell that one) haha thats awesome!!! awesome pictures from the trip!! we got dumped on here!! and then it was sunny blue bird skies on tuesday and all week so far! dreammmmy but super cold! got to learn to acclimate though... -20s are commin at me fast! heard you guys were in the negatives also! but the powder im sure made it well worth it!! we will put somethin crazy together for when i get back!! suplomente.

  so the food here...started repeating itself 6 days ago...and i actually havnt gained any weight!! ive lost like 4 pounds!!... kinda wierd!

 the mtc is kinda a death trap hahahaha....one person got the flue which then turned into 350 different cases and now tons have it... only 8 kids survived this "zombie apoccolapse" as we are callin it... and yes i was one of the ones that didnt survive:( but im feelin a ton better today! its only a 24 hour ordeal! but it was funny to be somewhat quarantened (ya dont know how to spell it).. it was a huge bummer to have to miss all my classes yesterday.. i love my teachers here i learn so much from them!!

   the anology of th mtc is... days feel like weeks but then weeks feel like days... its so true time is flyin! im so excited to get out in the field!! cant wait to find those that are prepared for me! gotta use these nine weeks to the fullest so that im prepared for them! spanish is pickin up! elder shipp still struggles quiete a bit but hes doin alot better!!! so glad! i dont remember if i told ya last week but our investigator from last week we were able to set a baptism date with him! NAILED IT! i love this language! Now we have 2 new investigators this week!! nicholas y leonardo! we are goin lesson by lesson...but since this sickness has struck weve only been able to teach once...BUT tomorrow we are gonna invite them to be baptized! i have the invitation memorized now and gotta have the first vision memorized by tomorrow!! i am enjoying every second of this experience! when im feelin down i get my focus off of me and back to my purpose." invitar las personas a venir cristo al ayudarlas a que reciben el evangelio restuarado mediate la fe en jesucristo y su expiacion, al arrepentimiento, el bautismo la recepcion del espiritu santo y preseverar hasta el fin." im not here for me im here to bring others unto christ!! it was either late last week or early this week when i was teaching enrique our investigator... i could feel the spirit guiding me in our lesson...it wasnt necessarily the way i had planned... and it being a new language and all ...it was hard to go off in some way that i hadnt studied...but i tried my hardest...and did follow the spirit (ALWAYS). it was amazing to see the outcome..even though my grammar wasnt the best enrique still understood it...a asked "como siente" how do you feel? after i talked to him about prayer and how joseph smith had a question and received an answer...i promised him he would also..he told us hes never felt better and feels at peace! BAM. it was an amazing experience to be guided and see the outcome and feel the outcome!!! enrique ended up bein our second teacher here at the mtc!! Hermano Harris! hes amazing!!!! the investigators are now our teachers but they act just like a person they taught on there missions!!!! i love teaching! its so stinkin fun!! our objectivo as a missionary is to have our investigators gain a better relationship between god! as missionaries if we dont talk through the spirit how are the investigators suppost to grow closer to christ?? as missionaries teach through the spirit and gain a stronger and closer relationship with christ our investigators do also!!

  in class one of our main focuses has been the "How to Begin Teaching" part in preach my gospel! and its helped alot with my teaching and also elder shipps! the purpose of it is to gain an understanding of the investigators needs then be guided by the spirit on what the first lesson should be!! its grand! as missionaries we are represnetatives of christ... what better way to represent christ then to show our love for the investigators! there is no better feeling than feeling the spirit direct you in a lesson then see the outcome of why you were directed in that way!

  im in 3rd nephi in my reading rightnow! LOVIN IT and am learning so much!! capitulo siete is probably one of my favorites! nephi(the son of heleman) had so much faith that it was impossible for the people he taught to deny his words! what an amazing example in missionary work! 3rd nephi is amazing its pretty much all highlighted now...hhaha

   our workshop this week was on PMG... our teacher in there served in my same mission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he is on heck of a teacher and i always feel the spirit super strong when he teaches! hes also like 6'6 i wonder if milwaukee did that too him...we can only hope right?

  well family and friends!! its so great to be serving the lord! im livin it and lovin it!! i love you all so much!! thank you for all your prayers! ive felt them bless my life!! i challenge you all to grow closer to the lord every day!!

 -ELDER bryce osmond HARPER-SMITH