Baptisms and Miracles (posted by mom)

We celebrated two baptisms this past weekend. Because the chapel is under construction, we held them at the bishop's house in a pop-up font. The same, special feeling prevailed as we sang the opening hymn. As I introduced our investigators who were being baptized, my heart was filled with gratitude. One of them has made more sincere changes in his life than anyone else I've known. I was really excited for him to make this covenant with God. At his baptism there was a light in his eyes and a certain smile that I have never seen before. I think I felt a little of what God feels when His children choose to repent.

Yesterday we fasted for Brother Lin. The commitment we gave him was to stay for all three hours of church. Regardless of having much excuse to leave, he stayed the entire time.

Since being on my mission I feel like every time the alarm goes off in the morning, another miracle begins.

Two short stories in particular have increased my faith and have displayed the Lord's blessings in the work we are doing.

One was in my first move call, I prayed daily that I could find and baptize someone, and help them accept this gospel message. In the end, I found two people who were baptized in the same move call. I was so new to the work and I truly felt God heard and answered my prayers. I felt He knew me personally and he knew the people we baptized. God is mindful of us and daily takes care of us; He provides our needs and righteous desires.

Another story was when me and my second companion, decided we would break our personal record for adding investigators in one day and collectively break our companionship record. When we woke up the next day, it was raining. I had heard a lot of things about adding fewer people in the rain, but we prayed and had a firm resolve that we could do it. We went out and challenged EVERYONE we saw to hear the gospel and accept baptism. At the end of the day when we were counting numbers, my companion had crushed his personal record but I was short 2 adds of breaking my record. I was heart broken, but then a thought came to my mind--"reach in your rain coat pocket". I had forgotten about 3 adds that I had put there to protect them from the rain. God had truely blessed me and I was able to add more investigators on a rainy day than I had ever done before that time.

I love missionary work and see miracles every day.
Thank you for all your prayers. Love, Elder Harris

Thanksgiving

I am so thankful to be a missionary--my mission has been the best experience of my life, and I still have another year!!

We got our move call this week and I'm excited for another go around in Douliu. It's such a great place! I feel like I've grown up here. I feel like I finally got a grip on the language here. I feel like I actually know the ward members and investigators here. I have learned a lot about myself and leadership here. I love this place--It's a part of me and always will be.

I am also excited to train another missionary. My new companion is really confident. He added 3 people the first day and found us a sit down.
In the short time we've spent together I've learned a lot. Mostly I've learned that everyone is different. New methods need to be used with new people.

Last time we met with Lin Baba, he was PROGRESSING! He said he was reading and praying. He agreed to attend church for 3 hours this next Sunday and agreed to pray with us the next time we meet with him (He still hasn't prayed while we've been there.) We were bold, and he committed himself to action. I'm excited to follow up. I have a feeling that he will keep these commitments. My desire is to see Bro Lin join the church and on the path to be sealed to his family in the temple.

We have two baptisms coming up this week. One is a girl who was brought into the church by her boyfriend. She was ready for a baptismal interview the day we met her. The other is a former investigator. He showed up at church one day and has had a change of heart. He passed his baptismal interview and we are really excited for him!!

I recently refocused my mission on goals. Most of my goals are under the umbrella of becoming a better teacher. I think this is an important way we can influence others for good. I think improving my teaching will help in all phases of the work especially in leadership.

To accomplish this goal, I am striving to have the spirit's constant companionship, developing an increased knowledge of the scriptures, and working on Christlike attributes and teaching skills. I've found that in times when I've needed words the most--a scripture has come to mind. I know that the Lord's promise of giving us the words in the moment we most need it is true, but we, first, need a store of knowledge and scriptural understanding. I am also focusing my personal and language study around this purpose.

This past district training meeting was about teaching people, not lessons. I enjoyed preparing it and sharing what I learned. The conclusion was that, everyone is a brother or sister and if recognized and treated people as such we will have a genuine concern and love for them.

We need to ask ourselves: Do we just go through the motions and get casual in our relations with others? Or do we ask how they are and then really listen to what they say? Do we remember that Brother liao's mom is in the hospital and ask how she is doing? or do we forget?

This is an exciting goal for me and I feel really motivated about it.

Thank you for all you do,
Elder Spencer Harris

A Week in the Life of a Missionary (posted by mom)

This morning we rode our bikes to the very north of our area. It was about a 1 hour bike ride. There is a long red bridge there. Elder Gillespie and I had personal study out on a peninsula in the river. It was quite a sight, a good time to ponder and reflect.


I guess the biggest news this week is I did my first baptismal interview. Also, because our English class can no longer meet at the church we are holding our class in a company's second floor. It's kind of like the school of prophets... In an upper room...

Another exciting things is Brother Lin randomly called me up on Sunday and said he wanted to come to church. I love this guy, he had passed his baptismal interview awhile ago and then came across some commandment problems, and went missing. It was good to see him at church and we really want to help him start progressing again. The other Brother Lin has been out of town so we didn't get the opportunity to teach him this week.

Elder Gillespie ran into a guy the other day who was so touched by our missionary spirit and hard work that he wrote a blog article about it...I thought that was cool. He met with us and we are working with him. We need to help him overcome the problem of work on Sunday.


Move call is this next Monday. This is the first time I haven't been excited about it. I love this area, the people, and my companion.

Zone Conference this past Thursday was about setting goals and making plans. I feel that this is super important.

Elder Harris

What is the difference between good & great? (posted by mom)

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

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

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

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