This week was great. We went on assistant exchanges. I always learn a lot from exchanges and always come away with a clear idea of how I can repent and improve.
I've been pondering the question what makes a good missionary great? Why was king David in his prime able to expand Israel's kingdom to such an enormous size? Why was Joseph of Egypt able to thrive in any situation? Servitude, prison, second only to pharaoh? What's the difference in a good companionship and a great one? What makes a good district great?
I feel that it has to do something with love, prayer, diligence, desire, and attitude. I plan to continue studying and praying about this, and I plan to listen with my spiritual ears at Zone Conference to find the answers.
Right now, we still have the Chen Baba on board. He is so good. We meet with him 3-4 times a week. He has time in the evening so sometimes we stop by and sometimes we meet at the church. He knows the bishop and has a really good member friend Li Dixiong. We are excited about him. He works at a slower pace, but he makes the right decisions and when he is committed, he does it. He still needs a little time. We know he will make the right decision.
I love that God always blesses us when we make sacrifices to overcome bad habits. When someone stops smoking--God fills that hole with a testimony so perfect and pure. They are filled with spiritual strength. When someone abandons a sexual sin, virtue and spirit will quickly fill that hole. When someone sacrifices to come to church, their life aligns--spiritually and temporally. When someone digs a hole in their wallet to pay tithing, it's filled with a feeling of divine protection and security--this person will be filled with a deep commitment to God and his church.
Life's great, I love my companion, and I love the work. I love the people. I feel as though we walk with God.
I know miracles are possible; I know hundreds could be baptized here in Douliu.
We are working hard and the Lord is blessing us.
Love, Elder Harris
Monday, November 8, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
You Can Fly (Posted by Mom)
I remembered a line from Jacob 7 today..."Our lives passed as though it were a dream." I often feel that way. (but if you look up the scripture, we were unlike those people because we did not mourn out our days...haha.) Waking up, biking around a little town, meeting every kind of person, challenging and testifying, declaring the divinity of Christ, bearing His name, baptizing, coming home, planning, following up, and sleeping...It sounds like a dream doesn't it? I thought about coming up on my year mark and I felt like crying, I started missing my mission really badly. Then I rememberd a few things: firstly, 3 months of the first year were in the MTC, and secondly every missionary in Taiwan extends one month!
On Tuesday we had a Combined District Training Meeting. It was really good. I enjoyed rubbing shoulders with the other missionaries and getting some fairy dust from the assistants. "YOU CAN FLY!"
Right now we have two really solid investigators. One is a dad, Chen baba. The gospel has really helped him fill some void in his life. He loves coming to church and meeting with us. He really feels the need to obey the word of wisdom--especially to show an example to his sons. He shared with us some spiritual insights he had over the past two days. His sons and family were able to hear his spiritual insights and witness their father kneel and in prayer acknowledge their Father in Heavens existence. How cool is the gospel! A father leading a spiritual discussion, showing the way by example, and witnessing his humility and reliance on God by kneeling in prayer. He has discovered those things that give one moral authority. We are praying for him and have a plan to help him be baptized! He still has some doubts and misconceptions but if he continues to remain humble and search spiritual knowledge he will be 'shown all things he needs to do'. The other solid investigator is Chen xiaojie. She feels that God helped her quit Coffee really pain-free. She has a testimony and she understands the importance of keeping the commandments.
We have an obstical right now. That is, they are going to remodel the chapel--make it bigger. It's going to take a year to do. That means for the rest of my time and Elder Gillespie's time in Douliu we won't have a convenient place to meet with investigators and it also means that all our investigators will have to find a way to make the 45 minutes (by bike) trip to the next town on Sunday to go to chruch.
We are going to be praying, and working our hardest to get them there. We also are in need of a place to hold our Wednesday English class. I'm positive that God has a plan in mind for this area--chapel or not.
Loves!
Elder Harris
Pictures: 1) My companion doing some street contacting. 2)Bruce's baptism, 3) some super big youzi pomello... it is Douliu's speciatly
Monday, October 11, 2010
Answers to prayer, and Brother Lin (Posted by mom)
I've been impressed lately with the way God answers prayers. I feel as though I've witnessed the mercy, grace, and power of God in the recent experiences of my mission. He is directing this work. All we can do is do our best, strive to hear and heed the promptings of the spirit, and trust in Him. Things have usually worked out differently than we had planned, but God has carried us through and his purposes have been accomplished.
Our experience with teaching Brother Lin is really teaching me the different way's God will inspire a person or answer their prayers. In the time we've been meeting with him, I've had the spirit speak words to my mind, I've had confirming impressions and feelings, I've had other people tell me exactly what and how to do something, and I've at one point not been able to attend our meeting with him because of a training in another City--but my replacement knew exactly what to say and was the right one to meet with him that day. Brother Lin passed his baptismal interview today. This man will be baptized before long.
We were so blessed at church this week. It was really fun to see people keep walking in. There were two members that brought friends, a good referral, and a girl who just walked in! The members really took care of them which really helps to make them more solid investigators.
Also this Sunday, an investigator who we've had a chance to work with before, but left to Tainan for school, attended in Douliu again. He said he was getting baptized this Saturday!! What a joyous thing!
We also tracted out a golden investigator in Gukung this week. It was a lady who believes in God and Jesus Christ but has never quite known how to practice religion. She told her member friend she has been thinking a lot about baptism. We had a good talk with her about baptism, we gave her a planner, and set up a time for a discussion. Right after our lesson she will attend institute with her new member friend.
God directs the show, conducts the orchestra, and writes the novel--but He requires a willing, seeking, humble heart.
Love you all, Elder Harris
Our experience with teaching Brother Lin is really teaching me the different way's God will inspire a person or answer their prayers. In the time we've been meeting with him, I've had the spirit speak words to my mind, I've had confirming impressions and feelings, I've had other people tell me exactly what and how to do something, and I've at one point not been able to attend our meeting with him because of a training in another City--but my replacement knew exactly what to say and was the right one to meet with him that day. Brother Lin passed his baptismal interview today. This man will be baptized before long.
We were so blessed at church this week. It was really fun to see people keep walking in. There were two members that brought friends, a good referral, and a girl who just walked in! The members really took care of them which really helps to make them more solid investigators.
Also this Sunday, an investigator who we've had a chance to work with before, but left to Tainan for school, attended in Douliu again. He said he was getting baptized this Saturday!! What a joyous thing!
We also tracted out a golden investigator in Gukung this week. It was a lady who believes in God and Jesus Christ but has never quite known how to practice religion. She told her member friend she has been thinking a lot about baptism. We had a good talk with her about baptism, we gave her a planner, and set up a time for a discussion. Right after our lesson she will attend institute with her new member friend.
God directs the show, conducts the orchestra, and writes the novel--but He requires a willing, seeking, humble heart.
Love you all, Elder Harris
Saturday, October 9, 2010
A Baptism, Early Mornings, & New Investigators (Posted by mom)
Can I just tell you, I love being a missionary: This week has been a lot of fun. Tuesday through Thursday we traveled to Gaoxiong for a leadership training. We got up at 5:30 a.m. each day so we could get there on time. I enjoyed the training. There are so many great missionaries in this mission. Their language and teaching abilities are amazing! It was an honor to learn from them and have an opportunity to practice teaching with them. I felt I learned a lot.
On Friday, we took part in an early morning seminary activity. We woke up at 5:00 a.m. to it. It was a lot of fun, but boy after all those early mornings we sleep well on Friday night.
Most importantly, this past Saturday Lin Jia Cheng (BRUCE) was baptized! He came to our English class, and then to church. The gospel message just really clicked with him. He reads the scriptures and prays each day. Bruce rode his bike to his own baptism that his parents didn't even attend. That shows the kind of faith he has. The spirit was there.
This past week, given the time we had in our area to proselyte, I feel that we made a lot of progress. We had many first discussions. My companion found this boy who ended up bringing 5 other boys with him to the discussion. They are all super willing to come to the church and meet with us. Each time they came a few more boys show up with them. They asked us to meet with them every evening to read scriptures. They are 14-16 (some of them have a few bad habits, but they have quickly learned to be respectful in the chapel). I am amazed at their willingness to read and discuss the scriptures. They are pretty open about answering questions too. We are praying for them and hope they will come to general conference. I have a feeling if they come and attend, at least, the priesthood session, they will truly be pricked in their hearts. (We will get conference a week later than you do in America).
We also have a golden referral. Lin Jia Wen. A female investigator. Yes, in my area there no sister missionaries, so we teach girls. We have to have a Melchizedek priesthood holders with us, and we also try to find a female member to sit in on the lesson. It's like an army of people... (if an investigator cancels, the whole army has to be called and relieved of duty). We have a few female investigators right now so there is a lot of coordination that goes on.
I know this chruch is true. I know there is a sustaining power in this work. It enables the willing servant to complete all that is required at his hands. What a great blessing that is!
I love you lots.
Elder Spencer Harris
On Friday, we took part in an early morning seminary activity. We woke up at 5:00 a.m. to it. It was a lot of fun, but boy after all those early mornings we sleep well on Friday night.
Most importantly, this past Saturday Lin Jia Cheng (BRUCE) was baptized! He came to our English class, and then to church. The gospel message just really clicked with him. He reads the scriptures and prays each day. Bruce rode his bike to his own baptism that his parents didn't even attend. That shows the kind of faith he has. The spirit was there.
This past week, given the time we had in our area to proselyte, I feel that we made a lot of progress. We had many first discussions. My companion found this boy who ended up bringing 5 other boys with him to the discussion. They are all super willing to come to the church and meet with us. Each time they came a few more boys show up with them. They asked us to meet with them every evening to read scriptures. They are 14-16 (some of them have a few bad habits, but they have quickly learned to be respectful in the chapel). I am amazed at their willingness to read and discuss the scriptures. They are pretty open about answering questions too. We are praying for them and hope they will come to general conference. I have a feeling if they come and attend, at least, the priesthood session, they will truly be pricked in their hearts. (We will get conference a week later than you do in America).
We also have a golden referral. Lin Jia Wen. A female investigator. Yes, in my area there no sister missionaries, so we teach girls. We have to have a Melchizedek priesthood holders with us, and we also try to find a female member to sit in on the lesson. It's like an army of people... (if an investigator cancels, the whole army has to be called and relieved of duty). We have a few female investigators right now so there is a lot of coordination that goes on.
I know this chruch is true. I know there is a sustaining power in this work. It enables the willing servant to complete all that is required at his hands. What a great blessing that is!
I love you lots.
Elder Spencer Harris
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Stars and Dots (posted by mom)
Thanks for the prayers, the prayers, the prayers, the love and support, and the prayers.
I think I've been letting myself get stressed out a little too much lately. This past week, I tried to not let the dots and stars stick to me. I tried to talk to everyone I met and just tried to be a little more cheerful. I tried to hold up a clear banner and some people answered the call.
The times when I was refused, I let those dots slide off. The times I felt I had done something special, I let those stars slide too. It was a prayer process. I tried to do as king Benjamin invites in Mosiah 4:11-12 and tried to remember my nothingness before God and retain a remission of my sins. This kind of existence was more joyous and happy.
It's odd how we get in these patterns of thinking that what we do makes a difference. Clearly God requires our all, but that is not the main requirement for success. A broken heart and a contrite spirit, humility and meekness, charity and faith give our words and actions meaning and power. When we realize this, things just happen on their own; and more often than not, the blessings come with little or no correlation to our focused efforts.
Elder Gillespie and I are having fun getting to know some less-actives. Not many people have the privilege that we have of being born in the covenant and having the blessings of eternity before us at the moment we take our first breath.
I love you lots. I pray for you too.
Elder Spencer Harris
I think I've been letting myself get stressed out a little too much lately. This past week, I tried to not let the dots and stars stick to me. I tried to talk to everyone I met and just tried to be a little more cheerful. I tried to hold up a clear banner and some people answered the call.
The times when I was refused, I let those dots slide off. The times I felt I had done something special, I let those stars slide too. It was a prayer process. I tried to do as king Benjamin invites in Mosiah 4:11-12 and tried to remember my nothingness before God and retain a remission of my sins. This kind of existence was more joyous and happy.
It's odd how we get in these patterns of thinking that what we do makes a difference. Clearly God requires our all, but that is not the main requirement for success. A broken heart and a contrite spirit, humility and meekness, charity and faith give our words and actions meaning and power. When we realize this, things just happen on their own; and more often than not, the blessings come with little or no correlation to our focused efforts.
Elder Gillespie and I are having fun getting to know some less-actives. Not many people have the privilege that we have of being born in the covenant and having the blessings of eternity before us at the moment we take our first breath.
I love you lots. I pray for you too.
Elder Spencer Harris
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Typhoon and Some Great Investigators (posted by mom)
I love this work. We had a Typhoon here yesterday. They cancelled church. It was bad in the morning as far as wind goes, but in the afternoon it was the eye of the storm. Then in the late afternoon we got the end of the storm, but it wasn/t as strong as had been predicted but everyone was still worried, and no one was on the street.
We are excited about some investigators right now. This week I had, what I consider, a powerful insight. That insight was that regardless of how many people we have investigating the church, I always have an investigator with me 24/7. That would be my trainee. After this realization, I found myself riding a little faster and striving to be more focused. I found that I was praying more often, using the scriptures more, striving for a cheerful attitude, pointing out the successes, and being more thankful.
We truly have been blessed. One day we had one investigator call us up and tell us she was at the church. We were able to get a member there and share the importance of the restoration. The spirit was there, and she came ready to learn. She understood much of the depth and importance of prophets and the restoration. She agreed to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it was true. She has cancer and I felt to promise her that in those times of pain and discomfort, if she prayed with faith in Jesus Christ she could receive power to endure and comfort from the pain.
The same day we went to meet with a Mr. Zhang. His family loves us and have encouraged us to continue meeting with him. When we taught him, he was very somber and I believe he was touched by the atonement and my companion's simple, pure testimony. We found out that he had been divorced just a little under a year ago.
Also the experience we are having with the Lin part-member family has truly been a revelatory experience. I've been learning the power of the promise in 1 Nephi 10:19 about seeking and finding. I've prayed daily for this man for around a month or more. Two times ago meeting with this family, he was in a bad mood and kept getting up and walking around. I knew it was deliberate and a pain entered my heart--it was hard to continue sharing something so sacred and personal to someone was wasn't listening. At one point I thought of saying, "Maybe now isn't a good time, you two seem busy, maybe we can come back tomorrow."
I said a prayer.
In that moment, the spirit distinctly told me, "Just get to the restoration." As the lesson neared that point, he sat down and focused for a moment. My companion started to recite the first vision. I hadn't heard him mess up before, but this time there were some struggles. Brother Lin helped him with his Chinese and soon the recitation turned into my companion saying a portion and Brother Lin repeating. The spirit came, his heart softened. I felt brother Lin realize that we are in the same spot his son is in (on a mission), and I felt how he wished people would listen to what his son had to say--I saw this change happen on his face and in his heart. The lesson ended well and on a much higher note than it started. As we left the door, the spirit gave me the next, clearly distinct piece of inspiration. From the time I left the door of their home to the time I got to my bike, I knew exactly what I needed to do for the next lesson. The spirit brought to mind a deeply personal experience of mine that needed to be shared.
Throughout the week, I had plenty of time to practice sharing the experience to myself, I did it in English, I did it in Chinese, I practiced it as I lay in bed, I practiced during my prayers. By the time the next visit came around and the time came to share, the spirit filled the room and attended my words. They listened intently, I cried, and they were touched.
We gave the invitation to be baptized and found out about brother Lin's current concern. (undisclosed) As much as this seems like a dead end, I know that the spirit will continue do direct this process. Brother Lin's wife has worked with him for over 20 years. Her faith his very strong. I know there is a happy ending to this story and I'm excited to see what the Lord has planned and how the spirit will continue to direct my companion and I as we work and pray for him.
I love you all. Keep being all that I know you are!
Elder Harris
We are excited about some investigators right now. This week I had, what I consider, a powerful insight. That insight was that regardless of how many people we have investigating the church, I always have an investigator with me 24/7. That would be my trainee. After this realization, I found myself riding a little faster and striving to be more focused. I found that I was praying more often, using the scriptures more, striving for a cheerful attitude, pointing out the successes, and being more thankful.
We truly have been blessed. One day we had one investigator call us up and tell us she was at the church. We were able to get a member there and share the importance of the restoration. The spirit was there, and she came ready to learn. She understood much of the depth and importance of prophets and the restoration. She agreed to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it was true. She has cancer and I felt to promise her that in those times of pain and discomfort, if she prayed with faith in Jesus Christ she could receive power to endure and comfort from the pain.
The same day we went to meet with a Mr. Zhang. His family loves us and have encouraged us to continue meeting with him. When we taught him, he was very somber and I believe he was touched by the atonement and my companion's simple, pure testimony. We found out that he had been divorced just a little under a year ago.
Also the experience we are having with the Lin part-member family has truly been a revelatory experience. I've been learning the power of the promise in 1 Nephi 10:19 about seeking and finding. I've prayed daily for this man for around a month or more. Two times ago meeting with this family, he was in a bad mood and kept getting up and walking around. I knew it was deliberate and a pain entered my heart--it was hard to continue sharing something so sacred and personal to someone was wasn't listening. At one point I thought of saying, "Maybe now isn't a good time, you two seem busy, maybe we can come back tomorrow."
I said a prayer.
In that moment, the spirit distinctly told me, "Just get to the restoration." As the lesson neared that point, he sat down and focused for a moment. My companion started to recite the first vision. I hadn't heard him mess up before, but this time there were some struggles. Brother Lin helped him with his Chinese and soon the recitation turned into my companion saying a portion and Brother Lin repeating. The spirit came, his heart softened. I felt brother Lin realize that we are in the same spot his son is in (on a mission), and I felt how he wished people would listen to what his son had to say--I saw this change happen on his face and in his heart. The lesson ended well and on a much higher note than it started. As we left the door, the spirit gave me the next, clearly distinct piece of inspiration. From the time I left the door of their home to the time I got to my bike, I knew exactly what I needed to do for the next lesson. The spirit brought to mind a deeply personal experience of mine that needed to be shared.
Throughout the week, I had plenty of time to practice sharing the experience to myself, I did it in English, I did it in Chinese, I practiced it as I lay in bed, I practiced during my prayers. By the time the next visit came around and the time came to share, the spirit filled the room and attended my words. They listened intently, I cried, and they were touched.
We gave the invitation to be baptized and found out about brother Lin's current concern. (undisclosed) As much as this seems like a dead end, I know that the spirit will continue do direct this process. Brother Lin's wife has worked with him for over 20 years. Her faith his very strong. I know there is a happy ending to this story and I'm excited to see what the Lord has planned and how the spirit will continue to direct my companion and I as we work and pray for him.
I love you all. Keep being all that I know you are!
Elder Harris
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Eternal Families (posted by mom)
I'm so greatful for our eternal family. What a HUGE blessing it is. Not a week goes by that members don't express their gratitued or desire for an Eternal Family (yonghengjiating) or Momomon Family (momenjiating).
We met with three part-member families this week and they all came to church. We are going to meet with another husband of a part-member family on Tuesday. I'm excited that God has given Elder Gillespie and I an opportunity to work with part member families. Our plan of action: HELP THEM FEEL LOVED. We are going to create opportunities to stop by, have members meet and friendship them, and help them keep commitments and grow in their testimony, faith, and desire. We are going to continue to be bold.
Here are a few scriptures that really help me as a missionary: Alma 36:24-25 helps me find joy in the work. Alma 16:14 helps me have the courage to talk to everyone to find that person who is willing to listen. 3 nephi 5:13 helps me remember what the ultimate goal of missionary work is--Eternal Life.
I love you all, Elder Harris
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