Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

                                             

                                                                                            Nov. 23, 2015                                              

                  

 

   

   FELIZ ANIVERSÁRIO pra vocês POPS e THEO  esta semana!!! Parabéns Theo e Rebekah for your newborn Jade!! She is absolutely adorable!!!

      

     HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!

 

It is so crucially important to be

            grateful for everything we have been given!!

We are nothing without our

          Heavenly Father and we must live in gratitude daily! 

 

     I am so grateful for God's love for us and I want to bear my testimony of this love.  

 

My companion and I are having more and more opportunities to strengthen recent converts and I wanted to share an experience we had this week. We always express our love for them, and expressed how much Heavenly Father loves them. Yesterday, we taught a recent convert who is 16 years old named Gabi, who was hurt emotionally by some members in the ward. It´s a long story, but at the beginning of the lesson with her, I didn´t know quite what to teach. I prayed to Heavenly Father silently in my heart that I would be able to teach her what Heavenly Father wanted her to hear. I did just that because I felt so much love in my heart for her. The minute I opened my mouth, I said the words, We want you to know that we love you so much, and especially, Heavenly Father loves you so much. You are a representative of a Jesus Christ. I started to sob because of how much love I felt in my heart for Gabi. She had been offended by some members, and she really needed to hear of Heavenly Father´s love for her.

I know our Heavenly Father loves each one of us and is anxious for us to know and understand this love!

We were also able to attend Veronica's baby shower and I wanted to share a couple of pictures.

I love you all so much!! Every time I bear testimony of the importance of families, I feel of your love, and Heavenly Father´s love for you all!!

I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving, and remember how much your Heavenly Father loves you and knows each one of you individually!!

 

 

Love,

Sister Harris

                                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Focus on what we know! Have faith--not fear!!

                                                                                                                  Nov. 16, 2015 

                                                                                                                         

 Oi familia!! So, tomorrow begins the first day of a new transfer, and I get to stay in Cotia with my companion Sister Bezerra for Christmas, which means you are all going to be able to meet her!! She is fantastic, doesn´t speak much English, but is AMAZING IN EVERY WAY!!

I´m so glad you will all have the opportunity to meet her over Skype at Christmas!!

 

 

 

This past week I had the opportunity to attend a training meeting for all of the new missionaries in the Sao Paulo West mission, and the President, President Del Guerso, spoke about something that really helped me refocus in the mission. He said that, for those who are learning the language and are getting overwhelmed with teaching lessons, that we should just focus on what we DO know, and we will carry the message of the restoration of the gospel into the hearts of the people here in Brasil. He said that we already know what is true, and it is important that, like the parable of the talents, we let our Heavenly Father strengthen us to double our talents and magnify our calling.

 

"Faith cannot exist with fear!" (Pres. Monson)

Also, this past week I looked back on my notes from Prophet Thomas S. Monson from the recent general conference, and he said something along the lines of faith cannot exist with fear. I took both of these things to heart, and have been talking to people on the streets by myself while my companion talks to other people on the streets by herself, and I have trusted in my own testimony, and the faith that I have that my Heavenly Father can help me in all things. I have praying for strength throughout the day, and not just when I desperately need help, and I have seen the Lord´s hand more in my life. Faith cannot exist with fear or doubt.

 

Yesterday, our ward had ward conference, and before then, our district had a district fast in which we would fast to find more people who are prepared to hear the gospel, and that more people would attend Sacrament meeting on Sunday. Let me tell you all that Heavenly Father truly consecrated the fast of my companion and I. We found two new investigators, Daniel and Veronica, who are a married couple and have one child, and also Veronica is 8-months pregnant with another, who have a strong desire to learn more about the Church. Yesterday they both attended sacrament meeting, and learned a lot about the Book of Mormon. Shortly after Church, we taught them about the Restoration, and gave them a book of mormon. They were both so excited to read, and fought over who would read it first (we only had one book of mormon to give them). Another miracle: Sandro, a young man about 23 years old attended Sacrament meeting, and he has a strong knowledge of the Bible. Before Sunday, he said that he didn´t think he could attend Church on sunday because he needed to visit his brother the morning of, but I was sitting in Sacrament by a recent convert and her family, when all of a sudden the Stake president asked all of the visitors to stand up in the congregation so that the Sister missionaries could give them a present ( a Liahona magazine). I turned around in my seat to look at who came to the Sacrament meeting, not knowing that Sandro had made it yet, and there he was with a great big smile on his face. Immediately I felt the Spirit rush through my heart, testifying to me that the Lord had heard Sister Bezerra´s and my fast and prayers, and was working with us for the Salvation of his children. Sandro has to travel a lot this week, so we may not be able to teach him for a while, but we are going to continue to work with him concerning the truths of the Book of Mormon.

 

As for Karina, we haven´t been able to teach her this past week because she can only be taught later at night, and we have to catch a hard-to-catch bus before the schedule that she returns from work, but this week, we´re going to try to find a ride from a member so we can arrive in our house at night before 9 o clock. I have a feeling that before Christmas, Daniel and Veronica will be baptized, Karina also, and hopefully Sandro!! They are some of God´s elect, and I have so much love in my heart for them!! Veronica already invited us to her Baby Shower after the first lesson!! She is super sweet!!

We had a goodbye party for Sister Barbosa who has completed her mission and has headed home! Here are a few pictures from our celebration. 



I hope you all have a wonderful week!! LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART!!!

 

Sister Harris

With HIM, we can do ALL THINGS!

                                                                                                               Nov. 9, 2015
 

Oi Família!! I hope you are all doing so well!! I have had such a wonderful week recently, and have learned so much about trusting in the Lord.

This morning I was reading in Genesis 22:1-18 about the story of Abraham and Isaac, and Abraham offering his only beloved son, Isaac, who he loved dearly, as a sacrifice because the Lord tried his faith, and asked him to do so. Immediately, Abraham followed the counsel of the Lord, laid Isaac down on an alter, and was about to offer him as a sacrifice to the Lord until an angel descended from Heaven and told him not to. The Lord provided a way, however, because soon after he was told not to sacrifice his son, the Lord provided an animal for him to sacrifice instead. The angel visited him soon after, a second time, and pronounced blessings upon him and his posterity because of how much faith he had in the Lord to be obedient to His commandments.

 

This week I had an experience where I learned of the importance of recognizing the Spirit and trusting in it. It´s a bit personal, so I´m not going to go into details, but I know with all my heart that, like Nephi, not knowing beforehand the things which he should do before entering the estate of Laban to receive the plates, we too, need to trust Heavenly Father with all our heart, overcoming the nature of man to doubt our own capabilities or doubting the capabilities of Heavenly Father, that the Lord will provide a way for us to accomplish the thing which he has commanded us. Like Abraham, the Lord is going to test us, to prove us, to see if we are faithful and completely loyal to Him and to His commandments, and we will receive the greatest of blessings, that are far beyond our comprehension, if we do so. I know that the Lord loves each and everyone of us. I know that the Lord gave his only Begotten son to take away the sins of the world, to give each one of us hope and joy in this life. There are far more blessings than we can comprehend that come because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and if we will just trust completely in the Lord, even if we may not see the complete picture at first, he will trust in us, and pour out even more of his blessings. I know that we are here on this Earth to walk in faith. We can see the fruits of our faith only if we act. Some of the hardest parts of our lives will be when we are put in a situation when we need to act with faith, and I know that the Lord will bless us if we do so. Trust in Him, for He knows all things. He knows our past, our present state, and our future, and He knows us each individually. With Him, we can do ALL THINGS. 

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK FAMILY!!! Eu AMO VOCÊS!!!! 

 

I love being a missionary and serving in Brazil!!!

 

 

I wanted to share a few pictures of the fun animals that we have seen: 

 

 

Love, Sister Harris

Heavenly Father Prepares His Children to Receive the Gospel!

                                                                                                                Nov. 3, 2015

 

Oi Familia!!! So, today I had the opportunity to go to the temple in São Paulo, so my P-day was changed just for this week to Tuesday!!! I have so much to tell you, but so little time!!

  

First off, this past week was the first week in my mission that I realized that Heavenly Father really prepares His Children to receive the Gospel, and that He really is working with us in this marvelous work. My companion and I had been a bit discouraged and worried about the people we were teaching who weren´t keeping their commitments in São Miguel, a neighborhood most of our investigators were from. However, we decided it was time to explore a new area, and put our trust and faith in our Heavenly Father that we could find some of His elect. We sincerely prayed for a miracle, and that´s exactly what we received.

We explored a new area we haven´t been to yet in the mission, that is called Colinas, and it is absolutely Zion!

 

While exploring Colinas, we were making contacts with people on the streets, when all of a sudden we approached a woman named Carina and her young daughter named Lorena. We talked with her about the role of missionaries, and especially the Atonement, and she expressed her feelings how both the missionaries and the people they teach are edified together. She began crying when she talked about her daughter and how life is difficult, and I almost began to cry with her! I kept getting the impression from the Spirit that told me to just let her express her feelings and share her testimony, and that she will come to see that Sister Bezerra and I are representatives of Jesus Christ by doing so. My eyes got watery and I felt so much love in my heart for her. Closer to the end of the mini lesson regarding the Atonement, I expressed my testimony that we are never alone because we always have our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ to guide and direct us through the ups and downs of life. We had the opportunity to say a prayer with her in her home at the end of our visit, and she was so grateful afterwards. She repeatedly expressed her gratitude for us visiting her. After the prayer, while talking with my companion about Carina, I kept feeling the comfort/warmth of the Spirit rush through my body, and I KNEW that she was sent as a blessing for us. She is definitely ready to be taught the truths of the restored gospel, and this Wednesday we´re going to teach her, and invite her to be baptized. I am very confident that the Lord has placed her in our path to strengthen us, as we help her come closer to Jesus Christ. 

 

Sis. Dias and I get to work together for a day

This past week I had my first experience with splits with another Sister Missionary for one day--Sister Dias. I had the opportunity to teach with Sister Dias in her area of Cotia, so I got the chance to know some of her investigators and members in another part of Cotia. During the division, I had a really cool experience with a member of another ward. The member is less active, but she was sharing many difficult experiences with us about her conversion story/her being a single mother of six children, working non-stop to provide for her family. She told about how she had lived in her house for 30 years , and she compared the gospel to fixing parts of her home that are weak. She can´t do it all at one, but step by step, day by day. While she was speaking about preparing her home, a spiritual impression came to my mind that right now in this life, we´re preparing our eternal home. Day by day, we make several choices that determine the beauty and cleanliness of our eternal kingdom in the end. I felt the Spirit so strongly during this lesson, and I didn´t even know the woman for very long, yet had already so much love in my heart for her.

 

I know that this life isn´t easy, and I know that Heavenly Father´s plan for us requires challenges, and difficulties. We can overcome anything, however, with His help, through the mercy of our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

 

I want to share just a few more pictures: 

Sis. Bezerra and I enjoying time with Emily and Cesar. 

Emily gave me this funny little baby doll!

 

Sister Bezerra and I enjoying copoacu--a Brazilian drink



Halloween/Birthday Party for Sis. Oldroyd

The Good Witches of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Here is a scripture for you all this week that I LOVE: 3 Nephi 28:1. Think about the importance of doing the Father´s will this week, and asking yourself what the Lord would require of you until the very end!!

 

I LOVE YOU ALL!! HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!!!

Sister Harris

LOVE IS OUR MOTIVATOR!

                                                                                                                        Oct. 26, 2015

Oi Familia,

I´m going to make this letter a bit more brief than normal because I want to respond to a lot of you individually/send more pictures!! I am doing so well in Cotia!!! 

 

I had a recent experience with a recent-convert named Maria Fernanda (about 10 years old) that I want to share with you all!!

This past sunday at church was the Primary Program in which all of the children sang/spoke about Jesus Christ, and it was beautiful!!! Maria Fernanda had to prepare a talk about the Godhead prior to the program, so my companion and I taught her more about it in a lesson. While we were teaching her, the Spirit was evidently present, and Maria said something that I had never thought seriously about before. We asked her what she knew about Jesus Christ, and she responded that He was always obedient, and that He paid for our sins because He obeyed the Father´s will. But we told Maria that the purpose of Him suffering for us was much more than simply obedience--it was love for each one of us, and love for our Heavenly Father. I told Maria something along the lines of how we can´t be obedient without first having love for something/someone. This came into my mind, and is so essential in our lives: we must always remember that before everything else comes love. LOVE IS OUR MOTIVATOR in every aspect of the Gospel. This lesson struck my heart, and I continued to ponder over the importance of me serving a mission--it all began with love, and love for my Heavenly Father is what keeps me going every single moment of every single day.

 

I don´t know if there has ever been a time in my life when I have prayed as much as I do in the mission because I can always rely on my Heavenly Father to respond and help me through anything. Thank you all for teaching me the importance of relying on Heavenly Father and my Savior. 

 

As far as the other investigators I told you about, Leonardo, Bianca, and Geovana are having trouble keeping their commitments, but we are going to work on that with them!! We had to be bold with them to see if they really had a desire to learn about the gospel or not, and Leonardo and Bianca are going to keep learning, slowly and surely, and we don´t know about the desire of Geovana yet, but we are going to work with each one of them this week to progress towards keeping their commitments. Ivan wasn´t able to come to Church this past Sunday, but he has opened his heart and his feelings toward us as to why he has rejected having the missionaries teach him in the past, and he is still having trouble overcoming his smoking habits due to how difficult his job is. We are going to work with him this week, and testify of the truthfulness of the Atonement. 

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! Have a wonderful week, and a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Sister Harris

When We Lose Ourselves in the Service of Others, We Find Ourselves!

                                                                                                                Oct. 19, 2015

 

Cotia is amazing!!! First off, I have been having some trouble speaking English...yes, as crazy as it sounds, my brain is switching over to Portuguese, and so forgive me, if at Christmas, I sound a little different haha.

Many members/nonmembers here try to speak English to me, and I automatically respond in Portuguese. For example, they will say thank you in English, and I´ll say, "de nada." One night a woman named Danielle wanted to hear me speak in English, but it took me a while to describe something as simple as my family in English.    

I want to share with you a quick experience I had with regards to trusting in the Spirit this past week.

One day I was teaching a lesson to Leonardo, Geovana, and Bianca with my companion, the third lesson, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. During this lesson, I struggled with Portuguese. I was stuttering a lot, and I couldn´t express simple doctrine to our investigators in the language. There was a moment during the lesson when I just paused. Words were scrambling through my brain like rapid fire, and I was trying to translate in my head from english to portuguese and portuguese to english, and I thought to myself, I can´t do this. I really don´t know what I am teaching, and I am failing my Heavenly Father. The lesson was poorly taught on my part--so poor that the member who was teaching with us had to fill in the blanks of my sentences. I just remember walking out of the lesson feeling horrible about myself. Immediately after the lesson, however, we had another lesson with a woman named Daiane. This lesson was on the Plan of Salvation. I prayed like no other that I would be able to have the Spirit. That I would be able to focus on her needs, and not on my own needs in learning the language. During the lesson the Spirit touched my heart that I just need to listen. I need to listen with my mind and my heart, and not worry about what I am going to say. So, I did just that. I listened to Daiane, I listened to my companion, I listened to the member that was teaching with us, and I listened to the Spirit. When my turn came to speak, I testified with power. Portuguese words came into my mind in the moment that I needed them, and I walked away from the lesson feeling like a new person. I actually felt worthy to be a missionary. Yesterday, I put this tactic to use of simply listening to the investigator´s needs as well as the Spirit, and THEN opening my mouth as the Spirit fills my mind with spiritual truths, and it really works.

 

I know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers. He will always be there for us when we need Him, and the Spirit will always guide our thoughts and our hearts to truths in the moment that we need them if we LISTEN. 

My companion and I recently received a referral of a man who is having some trouble with his relationship with his family, but he so desperately wants to do whatever it takes to come unto Christ. This week we are going to teach him the Plan of Salvation, and I will let you know how it goes! Ivan, the man who has some trouble with smoking, accepted our plan to diminish his cigarette usage to 0 within the next 2 weeks, and he attended Church recently!! We are going to help him this week keep his commitment, and hopefully his heart will be softened to progressing towards an actual baptismal date.

 

I LOVE YOU ALL!! Remember that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you!! When we lose ourselves in the service of others, we will find ourselves, and we will then see Heavenly Father´s plan for us!!! 

Sister Harris

My First Area

                                                                                                                       Oct. 12, 2015

 

   Well, I made it to the field!!! I absolutely love it here in Cotia, Brasil (pronounced Cochea)

    I didn´t think I would love being a missionary/teacher this much, but I really do!!

 

 
 As for my surroundings, the streets are more like mountains I get the fun opportunity to climb up and down every day.

Let´s just say my calves get quite the work out every single day, so I use my physical activity every day to stretch! On top of that, it´s spring time, and REALLY HOT, so I´m burning calories every minute!





Also, many of the homes are colorful, and the apartments are white.

The people here are amazing, my companion is the perfect trainer for me, and the food is to die for (yes, I know, a bit of a problem...).

 

 My companion is amazing! She is from Rio de Janeiro, and she is exactly obedient, and organized in every way. I am her first American companion, so I´m pretty sure that´s probably a bit of a challenge for her. But she is absolutely patient with me, and we laugh about several things throughout the day together. She is amazing at giving analogies during lessons that are applicable to the people we teach, and she always teaches with sincerity and love in her heart for others; she never fights over doctrine, but defends the truth with grace and integrity.

 

We have three elect investigators named Leonardo, Bianca, and Geovana who are about 16 years old, and have accepted baptism for the 25th of October!!! I absolutely love them! They have a strong desire to read the Book of Mormon! My companion and I only had one book of mormon to give them the day we taught them about the Restoration, and they practically raced to grab it out of our hands because they were so eager to read it. We´re going to give each of them their own pretty soon haha. It´s so interesting that whenever I teach Brasileiros, they sit forward in their chairs and really have a desire to listen to me....it´s probably because I struggle a bit with the language haha, but I like to think it´s the Spirit touching their hearts.

 

This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to bear my testimony in our Ward, Cotia 2, and I felt so much love in my heart for the members there, that I cried. The Spirit touched my heart, and I knew that the Church is the same everywhere. MANY members shared their testimonies in our ward. It´s incredible how strong their testimonies are here!!

 

During my first or second day here, we taught a man named Ivan who has always rejected the help of missionaries to teach him in preparation for baptism. He also has a smoking problem, and it´s very difficult for him to quit. A scripture came to my mind when my companion told me about him before we taught our lesson, and I shared it with him one night (my first lesson with him). In 2 Nefi 31: 5 (i think that´s the reference), it talks about the importance of Christ being baptized even though he was without sin, and how much more need we have to be baptized because we are imperfect. Anyway, he didn´t commit to a date for baptism, but he committed to let us help him in preparation for it!! BREAKTHROUGH!! We´re going to eat dinner/share a message with him and his family tomorrow night about the Plan of Salvation, and we´re going to create a Quit-Smoking calendar for him as well. Oh, and here in Brasil, we eat lunch every day with members--it´s amazing!!! The people here are so loving and kind, and I am loving every moment being here.

Although it is difficult at times to speak the language, I have seen the Lord´s hand in my life numerous times when I open my mouth and testify what´s in my heart during lessons. Somehow, my words are carried into the hearts of the investigators, and both me, and the investigators are strengthened.

 

EU AMO VOCÉS!!! I hope you are all doing well, and know that I pray for you every day!!!

 

MUCH LOVE!!!! SISTER HARRIS

Goodbye CTM-- Hello Mission Field!!

                                                                                                                      Oct. 6, 2015 

With Jesus Christ, the Work is Possible!

                                                                                 Sept. 30, 2015
 
Well, I can´t believe I only have a week left before I am in the field. I have been trying to only speak portuguese every day, but at times, I mess up or get frustrated because I don´t know enough, and then I remember that I can´t be perfect right now and that, with Heavenly Father´s help, I can speak the language better.
















Funny things that happened to me in the CTM so far:
I told an investigator that babies don´t have agency when I was really trying to find the word in
portuguese for accountability.... At the beginning of a lesson on a SATURDAY, I asked an investigator: Como foi Igreja ontem? (How was church yesterday),  and I honestly couldn´t remember what day it was for the life of me until I asked him if he was going
to go to church tomorrow (Sunday) at the end of a lesson... FAIL....

This past week I was trying to do everything perfectly well, and trying to only
speak portuguese because that´s usually how I speak better in lessons
(when I speak portuguese 24/7). I was beginning to get a bit
overwhelmed, however, because my district wouldn´t speak portuguese
24/7 which caused me to break my english fast as well, and I was just
trying to be as perfect as possible. Well, yesterday, I broke down a
little bit, and realized the Lord is on my side. I was thinking about
everything that I needed to get done in preparation for two
investigators´ baptisms soon before the field, and I was thinking
about everything that I was doing wrong as well. Needless to say, I
hit my wall yesterday. My companion stopped me when we were preparing
for a lesson, and asked me what I thought about what we should teach
this investigator, and I just broke into tears. I expressed my
feelings that the work is hard, and that I don´t want to have to speak
Portuguese all the time, and how I felt like I was being so prideful
because I wanted everyone to be exactly obedient to the schedule, and
to be quiet during their studies because it was affecting my work, and
my companion, Sister Hunsaker stopped me and told me lovingly that
Heavenly Father loved me, and was so proud of how hard I was trying to
do His work. She asked me if I know that Jesus Christ loves me with
all my heart, and I responded yes, in tears of course, and then she
encouraged me that with Jesus Christ, the work is possible. I really
needed to hear those words from her, especially because she is a
representative of Christ, and I have gotten so close to her recently.
After this talk, I taught a lesson to Wesley one of our investigators,
and I spoke with the best portuguese I have ever spoken.

The Lord is MINDFUL OF US!!!!

Love,

SISTER HARRIS

Testify What is in Your Heart!

                                                                                                  Sept. 23, 2015
Wow, time flies here in the CTM!!!! I cannot believe I only have two
more full weeks before I head out to the field!!

First of all, I just want to say that I love you all!!! You are all in my prayers every day,
and I am grateful for your prayers in behalf of me!!!

So, I have some experiences that I keep forgetting to share!!!
This past Friday I had the opportunity to go the Center of São Paulo and
share the gospel!! My district had an hour and a half to hand out six books of
mormon (three each) to random people in a small market-like area that
was really crowded. Before the experience I was honestly freaking out
because I still hadn´t learned enough portuguese to keep up a
sufficient conversation with Brasilians (they speak REALLY fast), and
I didn´t want to make a fool of myself when trying to share my
testimony with them. But I soon realized that it wasn´t as bad as I
thought. Brasilians are really accepting people, and they will take
the time to actually listen to you, and express their gratitude for
your gift to them (the Book of Mormon) if you are confident and
friendly with them as well. Before the experience, I prayed that
everything would go according to God´s will, and that I would learn a
lot from that experience, and that´s exactly what happened. My
companion and I first encountered a couple, and asked them if they
believed in Jesus Christ. They said yes, and then we talked a little
bit with them about the Book of Mormon, and gave them one. The
husband wholeheartedly accepted the Book, and then told us that his wife was
very Catholic, and very religious. Lucky for me, I got to speak with
his wife about the priesthood because she had an interest in it, and I
continued to explain the restoration of the priesthood after the Great
Apostasy, and a little bit of the First Vision with her. At the end of
our what seemed to be 10 minute conversation, I asked her and her
husband if they were going to read the Book, and she said no, and
handed it back to me. I honestly didn´t know how to respond. I kept
going over the experience in my mind, and thought that I might have
shared too much during our conversation. I felt that I had failed
myself, failed my Heavenly Father, and honestly did not speak
Portuguese well enough to convey the importance of the need for a
restoration. But, I continued to press forward. I prayed for strength
to have enough faith to share my testimony with others, and to share
the other books of mormon with others, and I did just that. I had to
keep going. Even though I wanted to break into tears, I had to
represent the Savior Jesus Christ, and proclaim the gospel
confidently. We handed out the rest of our books of mormon pretty
quickly, and the people we gave them to were really sweet and
accepting of our message. My testimony was more genuine after that
first encounter with the couple, and I realized that you just need to
testify what is in your heart about the gospel, and the details about
the history of the church, and the history of the Book of Mormon will
come later.

I want to share another really quick experience!!! This
past week I had a lesson with an investigator Luis who is having
trouble keeping his commitments with reading the Book of Mormon, and I
honestly prayed for strength to understand his needs, and to teach
what the Savior would teach him. During a recent lesson, I received a
strong spiritual impression to share a personal experience with him
concerning finding rest in the scriptures. Luis works a lot, and
doesn´t find any time in his life to read the word of God, but I
strongly testified to him of the importance of the Book of Mormon as
the central focus in your life amidst a life of chaos, and I probably
testified stronger than I ever have in the CTM. It was amazing!!! I
felt so much love in my heart for Luis, an investigator that was just
a member acting like a real investigator in the past, but it felt SO
REAL.

I know that Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways. I know
that the Spirit is real, and I know that the Spirit is what changes
hearts, if you just listen to the needs of investigators through the
Spirit.

I love you all!! Have a beautiful week!!!!
TCHAU!!!!

Sister Harris

You Never Know Who You Will Teach

                                                                                                          Sept. 16, 2015

Minha família!!! I don´t have too much to write you this week, but I
just wanted to say that I loved the pictures you sent me from your
trip!! Also, there is an elder in my district right now who is like
the same exact person as Alex Ray...like the same quirky, funny
personality. hahaha.

Funny story!! A sweet hispanic sister who just
arrived here from America asked me one day if I was Brasilian.
hahahahahahaha. I was speaking with some Brasilian Sisters in
Portuguese, and she thought I was from Brazil. I seriously couldn´t
stop laughing inside my head, but what a compliment!!!

This past week I had the opportunity to teach an investigator about the Plan of
Salvation, and the investigator´s name was Wesley. Wesley´s dad passed away,
and he is hopeful that he will be able to see him again someday. During the
lesson, he asked my companion and me if we had ever lost someone in
our lives like he did, and I felt impressed to share with him that I
had lost my grandpa. I got emotional just thinking about it, but then
I testified to him that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we could
overcome any difficult experience like that, and that I knew I would
see him again. It was amazing how much the Spirit confirmed the truth
of my words, and my portuguese just flew out of my mouth so easily!!!
This week I have a scripture for you all to look up!! I was reading in
3 Nephi one day, and thought of you: 3 Nephi 18:32. You never know who
you will teach with your witness of the Savior, Jesus Christ!!! Last
night we sang the EFY Medley in Portuguese, and I felt the Spirit so
strong that we really were a part of the Army of Helaman, all of us
150 missionaries!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! HAVE AN AMAZING WEEK!!!!
TCHAU!! Sister Harris

We Must Pray For What We Need!

Hola minha família!!! I am so grateful for all of you!!!                                   Sept. 9, 2015

So, to start off my family email, I just want to say thank you for all of the
prayers you have said in my behalf!!!

This past week I got pretty sick with some weird flu (don´t worry, I´m a lot better now)
and I didn´t think I would get better. However, come this past Sunday, I received a
Priesthood blessing, and I am slowly regaining my voice, and I am also
regaining my strength.

Something I learned from this trial was that blessings and tender mercies cannot always be poured out upon us if we don´t ask for them. While I was sick, I was trying so hard to come
closer to Heavenly Father by being obedient and thinking of others. I was even praying that my roommates who weren´t feeling well in my room wouldn´t catch my cold, and I felt that I was doing everything I could to show my willingness to Heavenly Father that I would do whatever he
asked of me, YET I FORGOT TO DO ONE ESSENTIAL THING. I forgot to pray
to my Heavenly Father to ask if I could get better! I forgot to ASK
for blessings. So, needless to say, I finally learned to humble myself
enough and ask for strength to carry me through each lesson with my
investigators. Lesson learned: Heavenly Father´s blessings and
miracles are conditional on us asking for them :).

Another cool story: This past Sunday there was a Church broadcast at the CTM for all young
adults in Brazil preparing to serve a mission (I´m not sure if it was
also broadcasted in the U.S). It was AMAZING!!! The Sao Paulo Oeste
Missão (My mission) joined us that Sunday, and I got to see my Mission
President and his wife!! I didn´t get to meet them, but when I
recognized them, I immediately felt the Spirit from my head to my
toes!!! It was incredible!! I am so excited to enter the field (and
super super nervous), because my Mission President and his wife look
like the happiest people alive!!! I hope you are all doing well!!
Another lesson learned this week: THE SPIRIT IS ESSENTIAL TO TEACHING
THE LORD´S WAY. The more we act on that Spirit, the more we will be
trusted by our Heavenly Father to receive it.

Today, I got to go to the Sao Paulo Temple, and it was AMAZING!!! Every Wednesday, on P-day,
we get to go to either the Campinas temple or the Sao Paulo temple. Below are a few pictures of the Campinas temple.


CTM District visit to Campinas Temple





I am loving life, and I love Brasilians because they´re some of the
happiest people alive!!!

LOVE YOU ALL!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR
PRAYERS!!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

Sister Harris

Remember Who We Are Representing!

Hi Family!!!                                                                                                         Sept. 2, 2015

 

I just wanted to tell you how much I love and appreciate everything you´ve done for me!!! You are truly amazing examples to me of truth and righteousness, and I looked forward to hearing from you all today!!

Sister Hunsaker and I attending the Campinas Temple 

I wanted to share with you a few things I´ve learned while being here:

I was thinking about the Sacrament prayers recently because I was preparing to teach our Investigator, Gustavo, here in the CTM (who is actually an instructor), about baptismal covenants, and the three promises we make to our Heavenly Father, and what He promises us in return if we keep those promises. As I was preparing my lesson for him (and the lesson is supposed to be taught in Portuguese of course), I thought of the importance of those three things in order to ALWAYS have the Spirit with us. We must 1) Take His name upon Us 2) Always remember Him, and 3) Keep His Commandments. It´s that simple!! When we invite others to be baptized on a mission, we are simply asking them to become like Jesus Christ!! Jesus always looked to the Father in all things, He always remembered the Father´s will for Him, and He always Kept the Father´s commandments. We are really inviting them to FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS CHRIST!!! It just clicked in my head one day, and the Spirit touched my heart as I remembered who I was representing on my mission--Jesus Christ.

Another sweet experience I had recently was when I was really overwhelmed by the Portuguese language, and almost ready to never speak Portuguese again...even complaining about why I was in the MTC...yeah, that was a sad day. But then, all of a sudden, the Spirit touched my mind and my heart, and said, Remember who you are Representing. It was like an Oh, Duh, moment, and I realized that I am really representing the Savior everywhere I go while I am here, and I need to be acting like Him in all things, pressing forward in faith, and not with fear or sadness.
 

I LOVE THE MTC, I LOVE BRASILIANS, AND I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! You are all amazing!!

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!!! CIAO!!!! :)

Is this real life?

Oi Family!!                                                                                                 August 26, 2015

 

I made it to Brazil!!! I just wanted to tell you that I love you so much, and I am so grateful for everything you have done to help me get this far!! So, that lady who you met at the Chicago airport was an absolute angel!! She ended up being on my plane as a standby, and she guided me to the International terminal so quickly and efficiently!! I gave her a pass along card, so hopefully she will order a Book of Mormon, and look up mormon.org. I was also able to give a college girl (my age) who was traveling all the way from China to Georgia a pass along card. She wasn´t religious, but she had so much light in her eyes!!! SO MANY TENDER MERCIES WHILE TRAVELING!!

I arrived safely to the Georgia Airport, and met up with about 20 other missionaries, one of which is a sister named Sister Hunsaker, who is serving in my mission, and is now my mission companion!! Crazy, right?
 

So, my P-day will either be next Wednesday or Friday, so I can talk to you a little bit longer then.

 

Some fun things that happened on my adventure to Brazil:

I´m pretty sure the flight attendant on my international flight thought I was Brasilian because she kept talking to me in Portuguese...she thought that, that is, until I responded to her English haha.

There are some pretty crazy drivers here in Brazil! Traffic is, well... it needs a stronger word than traffic. There is always a line of motorcyclers who honk three times to warn other cars that they will be driving right between them...their honks are so cute!! Motorcyclers don´t act like car drivers here because they drive in- between lanes (like on the dotted line).

 

Anyway, I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for sending me here. The people are so kind and warm-hearted, and I absolutely love speaking Portuguese! Pretty soon today, I will have two more Brasilian sisters who will join Sister Hunsaker and me.

 

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! Abby, your sweet note made me cry, but in a good way of course. You are all such incredible examples to me of truth and light, and I cannot wait to tell you more of my experiences here pretty soon! Let me know if you ever need anything!! I would be so glad to serve you because of all you have done for me. THE GOSPEL IS SO TRUE!!!

 

Sincerely, SÍster Harris

Sister Harris arrives safely at Brazil Missionary Training Center

Dear Parents,                                                                                                  August 26, 2015

Sister Swensen and I are very happy to let you know that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil Missionary Training Center.  What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they begin their missionary experiences with us. We will surely take good care of your missionary.

                                                                                    

 

The missionaries now have companions and are settled into their rooms.  They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study.  Their branch presidents and wives, will meet them this Sunday.  These wonderful couples are richly blessed as they work with, motivate, and interview the missionaries assigned to their branch.

The MTC has a full-time live-in physician to care for their health needs.  He is assisted by his able wife who is a nurse. We are also happy to report that the cafeteria food is plentiful, healthy and very good.

Your missionary will be able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple.  This will be either Wednesday or Friday, depending on individual assignments.

Your missionary is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of many others. President Lorenzo Snow said: “There is no mortal man that is as interested in the success of an elder when he is preaching the Gospel as is the Lord who sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord's children".  We love these missionaries as if they were our own.  We will watch over them carefully to ensure they are ready for a wonderful missionary experience after the rewarding time they will have in the MTC.

We thank you for preparing such a wonderful representative of the Lord.

President Robert Swensen and Sister Julie Swensen

 

August 25, 2015 - Rachael's Mission Departure

I'm off to Brazil for 18 months and cannot wait to learn the language and meet the wonderful people!

Although it is hard to say goodbye to family and friends, I know how important it is to serve the Lord, and the wonderful blessings it will bring to me, my family, and those I serve!
I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission and look forward to sharing my testimony and experiences through this blog. Thank you for all your love, support, and prayers!!

"Your Heavenly Father loves you--each of you. That love never changes... God's love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there... I promise you that you will one day stand aside and look at your difficult times, and you will realize that He was always there beside you."--Prophet Thomas S. Monson

 

I am so excited to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I cannot wait to serve the people of Brazil to help them learn about God's love and to understand that He has a plan for each one of us. As we learn about our Savior, Jesus Christ, and follow His example, we come to understand this love and realize that true happiness comes from righteous living.