Week 19: New Area, New Contacts, & Old Friend Elder Ruiz!

So, I am in a new area if you haven't heard. I am in a great area! It’s awesome here. This week was great, besides that I got sick and my camera broke so I had to buy a new one.  I hit my leg with a stone axe really hard so that will leave a mark… We were chopping up some wood for this ladies fireplace and she is now an investigator! :)  It was awesome! :) I got some videos of me and Elder Farr splitting some wood in one hit! Ha ha it was great. Don't get to do that in California (gas fireplace at home..). Felt like a man!!

Anyway, this week is great because WE HAVE 7 INVESTIGATORS RIGHT NOW AND 2 PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GET BAPTIZED! IT’S SO COOL! You have no idea what I am feeling. It’s awesome to see that they understand what they are feeling from this whole experience of coming unto Christ! One of the people that want to get baptized is named Savannah, and she’s 15. Her friends are all Mormon and invited her to some activities. She has also gone to church and just loves the whole experience. I got to ask her why she wants to be baptized, and she said it just feels right and I have been thinking about it for a long time.  I was just like WHOA! That is so crazy!  She was just smiling and super happy. It was great to see! She is on schedule to be baptized Feb 15th :)

Then we have a guy named Raul. He wants to get baptized as well but he doesn't really know when. He’s gone to church. He owns his own martial arts gym. It’s so awesome! Hopefully he can teach me a few things and we can teach him a few things as well. It’s just really good to be here where some work is happening and you feel like you deserve to be here. Members are giving us some work to do as well!

Also… You will never believe this but we got the opportunity to go to the temple this week. I was just waiting at the temple and ELDER RUIZ COMES BEHIND ME AND GRIPS MY SHOULDER! When I see him, I am just so relieved to see him. I got to give him a hug and it just felt like you were reunited with your brother again; and I was. I was so happy and it just felt perfect. I got some pictures with him but forgot my camera so next week. I will send you all some photos of us. :)

Me and Elder Farr are really into chess now. We play a game every night before bed. Ha ha it’s a very humbling experience sometimes :) I think it’s good. Teaching me a lot of patience and that it’s just a game ha ha ha. So yeah, it’s been a lot of fun here in Arapahoe.

I LOVE YOU ALL :) Everything is good with me and I hope everything is great with you! :) Let me know if I can do anything for you guys. I love this ward. There are a lot of people that I have felt like I have known before, it is awesome. I even met a guy that told me; golf is a celestial sport and that basketball is a terrestrial sport... Got a little bitter about that one… ha ha just kidding.  :) Y'all ROCK!

-- 

Love,

Elder Garrett Steven Harrington

Week 18: Parker no mo’, Arapahoe I go…

I have been transferred and I am no longer in Parker Colorado. I am now in Arapahoe.  I moved this weekend to replace an Elder who needed to go home.  I will really miss Parker, not going to lie.  The members were awesome and the area was super beautiful. I hope to go back there sometime, but I am in a new area and I am loving it so much. It’s nice, change is good. It feels like you are starting over again and that's really good, a fresh start.

Elder Anani is going to do good things in Parker. We got along for the most part but we really didn't talk much to each other about things. So it was hard to be with each other but it doesn't matter. The Lords work continues on and I am happy about that.

So now I am in Arapahoe and it is beautiful as well. We are in a walking area but I would much rather ride a bike. Back in my last area we could email at a members home; but now I am emailing at the library.  So, in about 20 minutes I could get kicked off, and then go wait for ten minutes, then get back on for another half hour, so I am bummed… ha ha.

So far I don't know the area at all but it’s cool! OH! my new companion is Elder Farr. HE IS AWESOME!! He can sing!! Ha ha ha  It’s so cool having companions around that can sing. It is just like an art and there is a technique to singing, so basically, I guess anyone can be good at singing…Idk.  He’s cool though!  His dad was born in Jerusalem and he came to America and converted.  I will have to send you guys a picture soon. He has a great teaching style and he is really good at asking questions and has a very good testimony.  I hope he stays one more transfer so he can help me know the area, because we have like 3 weeks left in the transfer. February 9th I believe is when transfers are scheduled.

But yeah, not much to report on this week. But I hope you all are doing well :) I am sure I will have some more information later because I just got here Friday.

But so far on a mission what is really interesting about this all is that you are meeting people that you have never ever met but yet they seem so familiar to you.  You feel you have met them before; but you haven't.  I love meeting people here and making new friends and building friendships.  It is amazing and I truly feel loved by the Lord.

Anyway I love you all and hope you are doing well :) 

-- 

Love,

Elder Garrett Steven Harrington

Week 17: New Year, New Resolutions, and the Atonement

HEY EVERYONE :) HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Wow its weird to look at this 2014. It feels like one year left basically, but it’s like a year and some more. I am still a new guy :) How was all of your New Year’s? I am starting fresh now.

This week was a little tough :) but I liked it. I became stronger I definitely feel like and I am going to work on a lot of things now! So that I can be the best missionary I can. I have a huge vision and good vision of what I would like to become from the mission and I want to share it with you!

This week wasn't anything really special, we had New Year, had to go in early… Holidays aren't that great on the mission, except Christmas and Easter. Christmas and Easter is always amazing :) So yeah, ha ha. Just played some p-day basketball and then had a lot of service and meetings during the week. Not a lot of time to go work and proselyte but we tried. Now for this week we are just trying to find some more people that would like to hear the good news!

SO here is my "new resolutions" or vision, something that I want to become from the mission :)

Knowledgeable (like smart in the gospel and in a lot of things)

Patient (patient with criticism, with other people's actions and choices)

Charity and Love (avoid negative feelings, Try to understand others and their view points and to love others perfectly)

Humble and Meek (submit my will to the Lord, Teachable, No bragging, acting with loving kindness and being a good person to others. I heard that humble means knowing that you need the Lord. Meek is behaving appropriately, kind of like being "mature".

Obedient (live all the rules in the white handbook)

Faith (more faith in Christ, faith that things will happen. faith in myself)

Hope (endures through hope, not just endure, be more optimistic)

Virtue (behaves, be clean, pure and quickly repent.) 
Diligent (steady, earnest, consistent, energetic, working hard and good in everything I do)

Trustworthy (trust me with anything)

Honest (honest with myself, honest with others

Be better at talking to people.

Peaceful (being okay in rough situations, knowing that you are doing the right even though some results are not what you expected)

Be in tune with the spirit (be at peace, knowing what to do, recognize and feel)

Forget the Past, (don't worry about waht you did, can't change it now. You can help it though )

Forgiving (to forgive myself and not to hold grudges)

Fully represent the lord Jesus Christ (Be Christlike in actions, behaviors, words, thoughts)

Be the best missionary I can be (apply principles you know to be true, study, learn and be a missionary.)

Eternal Perspective (knowing that it will work out in the end, seeing things in a different light.)

Don't think of myself (turn outward instead of inward, serve others constantly)

Enlarged desire to work hard and do good.

Comfortable and confident (knowing that everything is okay and that I can do anything)

Grateful (do not take ANYTHING for granted)

Proactiveness (always be ahead of the game)

Have fun doing what I am doing (because the mission life is what’s best!

So I got to do a lot of little goals to meet my New Year’s resolutions. Because If I do the small things to these things the big things will be how I accomplish it. I got to measure my progress and have a huge passion for it.

So yeah! I am excited :) can't wait to work!! I told you all this so I hope you guys can keep me accountable.

I really experienced a better part of the atonement, and that it can help you through anything. We can't always just run away from the things. Don't pray for the situation to change, pray for the strength to get through the situation. The lord can help you :) one of the things that I have come to realize is that Heavenly Father doesn't want to see you struggle, especially by yourself. He doesn't want you to think that you are nothing when you are everything to him. That is one of the hardest things that He doesn't like to see his children go through. 

So keep journeying on, if you have had a hard year a new one is here. :) so don't worry about it!

Journey on and Hope on. I know that you can, I know that you will, with the Lords help. Go give them Heaven :)

I love you all and hope you are all doing well! 

Love,

Elder Garrett Steven Harrington