Grandpa Eames! What a sweet story!

 dearest family friends and whoever reads this email!

   CRAZY WEEK. once again weather: tornado warnings practically all week!! weve had some intense weather here this past week. reminded me of them good ole mansoons back home! enjoy em for me! 110 degrees though? ill pass haha. ive never seen darker meaner lookin clouds than what ive seen here this week...SICK.

 theres a storm commin...thats for sure. not only in the weather but an amazing GOOD storm has hit us this week in this amazing work! we have been working so hard. so so so hard. really focusing on finding and getting this area rollin. its sad to say but orvelinas baptism didnt happen this week... luis her feounce in mexico and her need to get married first. the overall goal is for them to be sealed in the temple so the first step they need to make is marriage than they can make that first covenant with their heavenly father and continue to the temple as a family! the wedding will be soon though we are hoping!! so like i was sayin as a companionship weve been really praying specifically for a family to teach....and to be able to fullfill our purpose more in this area ..we know the feild is white so we have been working hard to find that area that family that is ready! weve gotten alot of doors slammed in our face along the way. but like i said ...we were blessed this week for sure!!!

  thursday night we had a dinner appointment! SCORE. free homemade mexican food. during dinner i got a text message from some number i had never seen.. it said "Hey this is jonathan. i go to school at uwgb and am staying here for the whole summer. im looking to become more involved in the church."  best text ive ever received! so we shared a message at the members house and headed over to see jonathan! jonathan is the man.we met him at a park over looking the bay with one heck of a view of the storm and the lake(had to add tht in sorry). the view would of blown your mind haha. he told us that he was having a pretty rough day and felt like he needed to contact us. he had some amazing questions and his faith was definently strengthened! it was a blessing to have someone we didnt even know text us and tell us to come over and teach him. he was so greatful that we were able too. the effect we have on people amazes me.the spirit was so strong as we sat there overlooking the bay and talked about our amazing heavenly father. crazy clouds,awesome view, amazing spirit as we testified and taught!

  also our investigator ricardo who comments more then members at church is getting baptized this week(8th)! he had his interview with president this week so as he was having his interview sister jones and i had to chat it up of course!...somehow we started talking about rupert idaho haha...SHE GREW UP IN GOOD OLE RUPERT...then she started talking about her stake president and how much she looked up to him and how powerful of a speaker he was. as a little girl she always looked forward to his talks...i asked her his name... sure enough it was gandpa! president garth eames. it was amazing to hear all these amazing things about grandpa...he was an amazing man.  juddith hyde is sister jones' name! she said she knows most of all yall down there!! small world...

   so back to this storm that hit us in this amazing work this week. we have been praying for a family....saturday night after getting stuck on westside and taking the 6 mile walk home (forgot the buses stopped at 5..) we were dead tired..we got to our apartment around 9 but felt we should knock one more door. a father who is amazing. great guy but him and his family are always working...so we thought what the heck..ONE more door. we knock on it and there is cesar(hes like 4 ft tall) and immediately tells us to come in. we sat down with his whole family...and taught an amazing lesson on the restoration. the first question cesar asked us is "porque ay muchas iglesias en el mundo" well....we can answer that!

the lord blessed us this week. it was amazing to be teaching again! and our prayers were answered.

although there were crazy storms this week that hit the wonderful land of green bay wisconsin...heavenly father provided a storm of blessings for us missionarys. he answered our prayers and guided us in this amazing work!

i love you all!!! keep those missionarys busy over there!

May 29

pops! im afraid i wont have too many more crazy stories.. my milwaukee days are over. but ive got a list of some good ones that are gonna have to wait two years!!  elder jimenez is awesome we are really working well together..and get a long great. we are working so diligently...not much fruits yet but they will come. Green Bay is awesome though! the work is harder but challenges mean your growing! and ready to take on more! its sure great to have my wheels back! first time this week ive riddin a bike in 5 months...no...i didnt need training wheels ! haha. the work here is hard but its pretty great too... it has its ups and downs! there is lots ..tons of spanish work!! weve been trackting trailer parks and apartments all week. the first thing we do when we get to apartments is go strait to the mailboxes, look at the last names, write down the apartments that seem to be hispanic, then start knocking!! its been working really good lately! we were at some apartments this week and were walking out the door back outside and there was a family! next thing we know we are in there living room teaching the restoration! they had some amazing questions and are really intrested! especially interested in the book of mormon!  as a companionship this week one of our main goals was to be more bold and teach every lesson towards baptism. everyday we have prayerfully seeked days for each investigator that we were going to teach that day for a date we knew they could be ready to be baptized by. the power that brought into our lessons  was immense. fransisco is an amazing guy we are teaching rightnow... our first lesson was last week we teached the restoration and baptism...he said he wants to but only wen he is ready. our last lesson this week was amazing. we went in with a date that we knew he could be ready by. he didnt read 2nephi 2 so thats what we ended up doing! we read with him that amazing powerful chapter. the spirit was so strong. and elder jimenez and i were really unified. something ive leardned this week is that the spirit has no language barrier. as we sat in his old rundown trailer... the spirit filled the room. i received so many promptings as we taught. wether it was just a thougt or an experience or being able to address a need of his the spirit guided me it guided both of us in that lesson! and we both knew it. another thing ive come to know is that when we follow promptings that firs one we do follow opens the door to so many more! this week , like i said before, our goal was to be bold and to always teach to baptism...and to prayerfully seek a date. in our lesson with fransisco i had a a very strong feeling to invite him to be baptized again. so i did. and then we were both able to testify that we both knew he could be ready by the 22nd of june because we had prayerfully seeked to know! fransisco was really touched by the spirtit saturdaynight as we taught. he told us that thats exactly how he wants to feel. he wants to change. he told us that he will pour out his soul to his heavenly father and ask if this is the path he needs to take.our lesson with fransisco was so powerful. the power of two, the power of teaching through the spirit (the only way), and the power that comes through following promptings.  last night we were able to teach how to have family home evening to a young family in the branch! haha it was so fun and the lesson went great. i had an anology with when we trust in god and have faith he will always lift us up! i dont know if you have ever heard or seen the fire and tea bag analogy ...but what happens is you empty all the tea out and set the bag on the persons hand light it on fire and right before the fire gets to the persons hand (Hno aranda) the bag flys into the air meaning if we have faith and put our trust in the lord through what ever comes in life he will always ...lift us up.  note to self...dont use the lipton kind....it doesnt do the most important part....lift off. haha in other words haha hno aranda got a little burnt!! dang. it was a crack up though...we were all laughing! now ,i have to get him to trust me again !

 

love you all! your all amazing!!!

-elder Harper-Smith

 

"I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made; I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tinted visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am lifted up in prayer, and labor with power. My face is set, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed, will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table with the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the case of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. When He returns for His own He will have no problem recognizing me, my banner is clear”. -henry b. eyring

 

get em ivie!!!!!

May 20

last week i got an email from one of my best buds that had 6 words. a quote that he had found the last week in some book or something . these 6 simple words were this "If your not happy, work harder" its the truth. when you loose yourself in this great work you find yourself. you "become" that person that heavenly father designed you to become! ive seen it in my mission. the harder i work the happier i am even when the occasional door gets slammed in my face! the harder i work the closer i feel to my heavenly father. the harder i work ...the harder we work as missionaries to bring others closer to him ...we lift ourselves up as well. we grow closer to heavenly father and our savior as we help others come unto him.

WELCOME TO PACKER LAND. im here in green bay! and let me tell ya its amazing! open feilds smell of the good old farm life in idaho! wild flowers everywhere haha the sun!. gettin humid though! and the people...there amazing. as always! there is alot of spanish work here...im really excited! my new companion is from pachuka hidalgo mexico! he is learning english. safe to say hes crankin up my spanish! alot of english phrases he doesnt understand so im helping him with that but we usually just speak in spanish. its been helping me alot. my spanish has gotten so much better in the past 4 or 5 days! im stoked for these next 6 weeks. we both get along great and are working really hard. really hard. im loving it. hes one heck of a missionary. saturday night we got a call from the 1st councilor in the branch presidency....yesterday i gave a 12 minute talk in sacrament meeting sobre el dia de reposo. (sabath day) it was awesome!!!

the work is amazing over here. thursday morning we had a lesson with orvalina. she has a baptisimal date for the 31st. her story is really interesting and really shows that the lord works in crazy ways sometimes. she has been receiving the lessons for over a year now. goes to church love it. keeps all of her compromisos. but one thing was stopping her from making that first step. to make that first covenant with her heavenly father...marriage. her boyfriend luis (lives with her) also loves church loves everything keeps all the commitments but marriage was holding them both back from the waters of baptism. a month or so ago emmigration office took luis and sent him back to mexico... prettyu harsh. but because of that the way is now [paved and orvelina will be baptized on the 31st!  since luis has been gone away from his family his wife and his kid he has realized what it would be like after he dies... he wont be able to be with them forever unless the get married and are both able to make that first step. so... crazy how the lord works sometimes!! it shows how perfect his plan is for each and everyone of us.
  this week we had alot of fall through appointments but were still able to find some new investigators! we are hoping to tech them all this week! buses buses and more buses! haha yes im in another bus area! i love the buses though. friday night we had a dinner appointment with a member family..the gonzalez familia! they are amazing. hno gonzalez is puerto rican and hna gonzalez is from the dr! haha there hilarious and have tons of youg kids that love the missionarys!! the branch here is so strong..not very big but the members are amazing.
 saw my first wild beaver this week ha cool fact...i really wish i had more time but im such a slow typer ... ive had some amazing experiences this week. im loving green bay!!

 i love you all!! Find joy in the journey!!

Elder Harper-Smith

730 Abrams ST. Apt.#14
Green Bay ,WI 54302

-thanks elder skylar margaritis!


love you all have a great week!

pictures

May 13: GREEN BAY HERE HE COMES!

Elder Harper-Smith... pack your bags your headin to GREEN BAY!!! yes brother danielson that means i WILL wear that tie you gave me now ha!. but dang i am stoked! I heard there is a temple there too...have you heard of it? anyone?.... its known as lambeu feild ... gotta convert them all and get them to the real temple! my new companion is a native! im pretty excited about that. so im headin out of milwaukee.... sorry mom no more crazy stories i guess for a while. im sure you will be okay with that though!

  it was great to see you all yesterday! happy mothers day momma! 

this week was the longest week of my mission!  tuesday was zone conference. 2 hour bus ride there! had an amazing conference. and then 2 hours home. TOOK ALL DAY but we did meet some amazing people on the bus for all the english elders! on wednesday ity was back out on the streets! contacted alot of formers and set alot of appointments for this week. wednesday morning we had our second lesson with the hernandez family. there an amazing family that have an amazing spirit in their home. they are all so open to the spirit. wednesday we taught the restoration. it went great! they really opened to us about their concerns and really accepted the lesson. the spirit was their and they knew it. the fruits of the spirit... the spirit is our most powerful tool in this work and when our investigators except it into their lives ...you see a change in them. sometimes its immediatly sometimes it comes over time. with the hernandez family it is their. the lesson was amazing and as elder squires gave the amazing experience joseph smith had that morning in the sacred grove... the spirit hit everyone. hna. hernandez was crying and hno hernandez was holding back tears. they will be baptized the 22nd of june. it was an amazing lesson!! then that night we had a lesson with diego. bernadinas old boy friend who wants to change his life. hes one that has changed immediately. our first lesson with him was so powerful and on wednesday we taught the gospel of jesus christ. ive seen a change already in him haha but bernadina will not let him be part of the family till he shows real change in himself. bernadina is the best haha. but diego has changed. the spirit and the change in the tecualt family has touched him and he knows what he needs to do! diego is set to enter the waters of baptism and take that first step to being sealed with his family for eternity on june 8 th. 

  it has been such a blessing to be in milwaukee. i will always be greatful to my heavenly father for the opportunity he has given me to find those here that he has prepared for me. for trusting me with this part of his vineyard!!! the feild is white. whiter then ever. with this age change and with so many young man and young women enlisting in this great work of our heavenly father he is preparing people / familys more then ever! the feild is white!!!!  watch out green bay! haha

love you all!

Elder Harper-Smith

p.s send stuff to mission office till i know my new address! 

May 6th

What an amazing week! What a busy week! Everyday this week was full of meetings and trainings! Thankfully all the buses arrived on time and we were able to make it to all of them early! Busses are an adventure. Meet some awesome people.

Tuesday we had district meeting and president and sister jones were both there doing interviews. President Jones is the man. He really helped me find alot of answers through elder hollands talk "I Believe , Help Thou My Unbeleif". to build upon strengths that we do have rather then our weaknesses, to look on what we know rather then what we dont, to really focus our lives in the positive things.
Wednesday was specialized training and then thursday was 9 to 12 week training! Was with Elder Kanahele alll day! and we did all our role plays together too. Soo good to see him. He is the man.
After three days strait of meetings and then getting home just in time for planning because of the busses finally it was friday! We weekly palnned and visited with a less active family. Its crazy how many less actives their is here.. They all have strong testimonies but for some reason dont come to church! Our lesson went great and they want us to come over next week for dinner with the whole family.
Saturday was an amazing day. We had exchanges with the zone leaders. I stayed here in Milwaukee end Elder Squires left to parkway. It was such an amazing day. We worked and worked than worked some more just how me and Elder Kanahele did it. I love being out and finding ...meeting those and teaching those that god has prepared. Its simple, if your not outside doin what your supposed to do and waiting for things to happen...nothing is going to happen. We have to show our Heavenly Father that we are doing our part. I have the strongest testimony of this being the work of our loving Heavenly Father. He is in it every step I take. Elder Gnautuvi and I found so many people and filled our week with appointments! Spanish is so much better than it was. I love these people. I had a feeling we needed to go to Fidels house again this week... as we were walking up to his door step there he was cookin in his back yard!! Everyone was there. For some reason people like to party here for no reason haha hey i cant argue. His wife fed us some amazing food. Best Ive had out here!  We met all of his family and before we left Fidel gathered them all around and asked for us to bless his home. What a neat experience. Then as we were waiting to catch the bus home after a long day a car pulls over and says " ELDERS!!" they ended up just moving here from good ole Mesa AZ and were taking the lessons there and have been looking ever since they got here for us! Solid refferal for the english elders!!! Miracles happen everyday out here. Im so greatful for this opportunity god has given me to teach these people.

 I love you all!!!
- Elder Harper-Smith

April 29: sorry so late

hola is kinda getting repetative...haha if i knew elder margaritis' language id throw that out there but i have no idea how to even say his new language! get em elder!

Hola familia!
   haha hey everybody! last week was awesome! dang is time flying!! this week i have interviews tomorrow! specialized training wednesday, and 12 week on thursday! get to see kanahele! pretty stoked.

this week was yet again a great week in this amazing work! tuesday we had an amazing district meeting. Elder squires had brother wheeler (hes over all the institutes and seminarys of the northeastern states) he came and went deep docterine on the power of faith! dang it helped me so much i received so many answers. there is two kinds of faith.. the willingness to do what god requires no matter what (obedeince) and then the power of faith that we receive when we are obedient and do his will! God will test your faith ..then give you power through your obedience!

  After district meeting i headed out on exchanges to waukasha! with elder jordan from napa idaho..hes been out 3 weeks now. it was an awesome exchange AND I GOT A CAR soo that kinda put the iceing on the cake you could say! we did alot of conatacting and service in the morning at a food bank which made my week. it was at the food bank and it was so fun to talk with so many different people for three hours strait! all the people working with us were so awesome too. when latinos came through and found out i spoke spanish they were so stoked. here in wisconsin there are so many different cultures and people. ive taught puerto ricans, cubans, latinos from all over mexico, chileans, dominicans, guatamalans, el salvadorians, and a lady from madrid! everyone has different ways of saying things so the language can sometimes be a struggle of understanding what they are saying haha but each day is getting better! speaking of days getting better rockin the short sleeves now. so im happy to say spring is finally here in beautiful milwaukee!

   Elder Squires had to go to the doctor on friday and we had alot of work to be done in our area! the next day was our ward party dia de los ninos so we had alot of inviting to do with our investigators and everyone we saw... the city elders had all there appointments fall through so elder squires and a city elder went to the doctor while me and elder schvandavelt took over our area. it was an awesome growing experience for me! since the weather is amazing rightnow here everybody was outside. its hard to beleive but my area is probably 70 to 80 percent latino.. so elder schvandavelt(english elder)  and i walked the streets contacting everyone we saw! it was a growing experience to have to rely on my own spanish. we met so many people. so many families! we had over 10 lessons on friday it was awesome.  when we would invite people to the party after sharing a message the only word Elder schvandavelt knew was "fiesta" and he would say it a the perfect moment! crack up.
  the party on saturday was suppost to be this amazing missionary opportunity. we were so ready to meet and help so many people! we had the hernandez family there they loved it!  so many less actives came also and it was great to see there faces the next day at church.
 well another great week! an amazing week. tonight we are goin to the tecualts for fhe! im so excited to go see them haha. they remind me so much of all of you back home!  the mission is amazing and i am so greatful for the opportunity i have to be in wisconsin. im so greatful to my heavenly father for letting me serve the people here.
  love y'all!! les quiero mucho!
Elder Harper-Smith