Durham - Week 22

This last week was a BLAST!!!

We did a lot of good stuff this week,  but Christmas was definitely the highlight.

We spent Christmas eve at The Borries. They are a super fun family. They have two huge Malamutes. They kinda look like huskies or they are a special husky breed or something, I don't really know, but one is super playful and the other is super fluffy and looks like a small bear. If we get out to their house again I will get pictures and I am going to have one some day!!!  We decorated cookies and ate a ton of really good food. Then we watched Mr. Kreugers Christmas. Then we went home.

We woke up the next morning and opened presents. I got miniature scriptures, best present I have ever gotten. Then we proceeded back to our beds to take a nap!

We went to Sister Wood's house around Noon, where we spent  most of the day. We played Monopoly, Skyped our families, and ate a ton more food. Some of Sister Wood's family were there so we had a great time with them.

Also, it was 70 degrees here for Christmas, it was awesome but it didn't really feel like Christmas should.

Love y'all,
Elder Harper

North Carolina Christmas 2014

Durham - Week 21

Hey Everyone!

This last week was a lot of fun! Nothing super significant happened. We had our Christmas Zone Conference! Which included 3 zones getting together for some training, lunch, and a Christmas talent show. I'm pretty sure almost everyone sang. Even though there wasn't a ton of variety it was nice to have a break from the normal and just feel the Spirit. 

We also had exchanges, I went to the District Leader's area with his companion, Elder Medina. It was a lot of ,but everything was also in Spanish so I wasn't much help.... but I did learn a lot of things from Elder Medina, so it was good experience. 

It has been raining a lot lately, which has been a lot of fun! It hasn't really gotten all that cold here. We have had one day that was really cold but other than that it has been very nice weather. 

Love y'all and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Love,

Elder Harper

Durham - Week 20

Hey everyone!

Last week was a blast!

Elder Whatcott is a ton of fun and a phenomenal missionary. We did a lot of less active work this last week because we had a lot of appointments cancel, but we had a great  week.

Yesterday was probably the best day. We have an investigator, Brother Rosenthal, he has said he wanted to be baptized for a few months now but just a few weeks ago he became sincere about it. He has also developed several serious health problems over the last little while but he is holding to the rod. He hasn't been at church the last few weeks because of his health but yesterday he made it! He thinks his health problems got worse because he tried to quit smoking to fast so he is going to try again but a little slower this time and will hopefully be baptized sometime in February.

Then after church we went to see a less active, Brother Batterson. He was busy but said we could come back on Wednesday. So we started knocking doors in the area, found an amazing family but sadly they weren't interested, or at least not yet. Then we met another amazing single lady, Marilyn, she wasn't interested either, so we will probably give her to the Sisters. Then we had a feeling we should head back to the car to go to a different area. When we got back to the car Brother Batterson was taking out his trash and we started talking a little bit and he invited us in and we had a great lesson with him.

We finished out the night at the Harmon’s home for dinner and had a wonderful lesson and watched the “He is the Gift” video. Sister Harmon was crying and the Spirit was so powerful! Christmas is the best time of year!!!

Love you all!

Love,
Elder Harper

Durham - Week 19

Hello,

Yojham got baptized on Saturday! He asked me to baptize him. He asked us to make the water as cold as we could because he never wanted to forget it. I got into the font and I lost my breath it was so cold but as soon as he came up I felt warm. I wish I could always feel that way. After that we both had so much joy it crazy.

I got a new companion, Elder Whatcott from Pleasant Grove. He is a great Elder and I am excited to learn from him.

We went out contacting Sunday afternoon and started to talking to this man named Eric he is super funny and we taught him a little about the Plan of Salvation then as we were finishing he said we needed to take some sefies real quick. So we took some pictures with him and we are going to start  teaching him.

Those are the big highlights of the week. Hope y'all have a great week

Love,
Elder Harper

Elder Harper and Brother Yojham

Elder Harper, Brother Yojham and Elder Whatcott

Durham - Week 18

Hey everyone!

Last week was really good!

For Thanksgiving we went to Sister Franklin's parent's house. It was a lot of fun! We ate lots of food and met a lot of really good people. It was a little awkward at first because we didn't really know anyone. Sister Franklin is an institute teacher at Duke University and she invited a couple of her students over for Thanksgiving also.  We talked to them a little bit,  but mostly we talked to Sister Franklin's parents because we can't play games as missionaries, and her parents weren't up to playing, so we spent a lot of the time talking with them.

The other big highlight was Sunday night. We had a lesson with Yojham and his girlfriend Caroline (she is a member) at the Matern's house. Sister Matern is the best! She made Cafe Rio for us which is something Elder Guymon and I have been missing a lot. Then we had an incredible lesson about tithing and fast offerings. Yojham said that he thought tithing should be more than 10%!!! He is so incredible.  At the end he shared his testimony, Caroline was crying and the Materns were grinning from ear to ear.  He is so ready for his baptism on Saturday! (I will send pictures next week)

Love you all!

Love,
Elder Harper

Durham - Week 17

Hey everybody! I'll make this update quick!

Yojham is doing amazing! He has a baptismal date for Dec. 6. We taught him the Plan of Salvation last night and he loved every bit of it!

The Rosenthals set their own baptismal date, which is huge because they have been investigators for a really long time and have had several dates.

Elder Guymon and I are doing really well! We had interviews with President and Sister Bernhisel last Wednesday, and we are trying to eat healthy but people love to give us goodies.... :)

Well, not a lot really happened this last week. Love you all!

Love,
Elder Harper

Durham - Week 16

Good morning everybody! This last week was full of tender mercies and interesting experiences.

On Wednesday we went on exchanges, I went to the District Leader's area (which is a Spanish area), and I was with his companion Elder Swinney. Elder Swinney is a ton of fun to be around because he loves to joke around.

At the end of the night we went to see a potential investigator  with a member, but when we got there nobody answered the door.  We left,  and when we got in to the parking lot walking toward our car this man started yelling at us saying "Hey! Seriously just come here! I'm about to blow a blood vessel just get over here!" We were really confused and a little bit scared, but we started walking toward him and as we got closer he said, still shouting, " Just pray with me! I really just need someone to pray with me!" So we said a prayer with him and taught him a little about Christ and we went on our way. It was a good reminder of the peace that a knowledge of what Christ can bring.

We taught Yojham 3 times last week. He is still doing really well and has such a powerful desire to learn more about the gospel. He has said he feels like it is true and he wants the gospel in his life but before he gets baptized he wants to know more about the history of the church. So that is a big focus of what we have been teaching him. I love going to see him! Every time we leave I feel so happy because he is so happy and all that happiness comes to us because we are all trying to come closer to Christ.

Sunday was probably the best day of the week. We taught the man that stopped us while he was jogging last Saturday. So we taught him, his wife Emily, and they invited their friend Tommy. They are all very religious and the religion they believe in is very similar to ours.  They are very easy to teach because they have a really good foundation that we are building off of. We taught them the Restoration and by the end of the lesson you could see these little changes start to happen inside of them.  It was really interesting to see how at first they were a little skeptical and just trying to learn more of what we believed, then at the end they were saying that it could be true.

After we left there we had this feeling that we needed to visit a less active family. So, that is what we did. We knocked on the door and they let us in and we talked to them about  hope. The family is an older lady who is the mom and her 35ish year old son. The son has had a really hard time lately.  At first talking about the gospel made him a little uncomfortable but by the end he seemed a little more open to it.

Then we left there and a member wanted to take us to see one of his home teaching families that is less active. So we showed up and talked to them about Christmas and asked them if they needed help with anything.  We talked to them about why they weren't coming to church and they said that they had been offended by someone and they were really hurt about it so they didn't want to have to see that person at church, so they don't come. We shared our testimonies and hopefully we can help them get back to church.

Well those were just a few of the exciting points of this last week. Hope y'all have great week!

Love,
Elder Harper

Durham - Week 15

Hey everybody! This last week has been an absolute blessing! Here are some of the highlights:

On Tuesday we taught Yojham the first part of the Restoration and we had a really good talk about why he is interested in learning more about the gospel. He said he really wants to learn because he wants to, not because any of his friends want him to but because he likes what we believe and it feels comfortable.

On Friday we went to teach Cassandra and her family.  We asked Brother Bowles to come with us. We got there and we taught Cassandra, a few of her kids, and her Daughters boyfriend. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and focused on life after death.  A few years ago her 7 year old son got hit by a car and passed away. She is kinda hard to teach because she has a really short attention span and loves to talk. Luckily Brother Bowles was really good at cutting her off and keeping the lesson on track.

On Saturday all our plans fell through, so we went out and tried to follow up on some things. While we were walking this lady and her dog were out jogging and they ran right past us and didn't say anything. Then a man passed us and after a couple steps he turned around and asked us if we were on out missions. We told him we were and he said his name was Jim and we started talking to him. He asked us questions that matched perfectly with the Restoration lesson so we started teaching and then we caught up to the lady that had passed us earlier and we found out she is his wife. So we taught them both a little bit and they want to learn more so we are going to start teaching them this week.

On Sunday Yojham came to church! It was the primary program and he said he really enjoyed it. After sacrament meeting we introduced him to Brother Hatch who just got released from the mission presidency and who also speaks Spanish. Brother Hatch took Yojham to the Spanish class and now all the Spanish missionaries want to steal our investigator because Yojham is from Honduras and his native language is Spanish. Anyway, he said the more he learns the more comfortable he feels and the more he has a desire to learn more. He is the best!

We have been extremely blessed over the last couple weeks. Love you all!

Love,
Elder Harper

Durham - Week 14

Weekly Update! On Saturday a less active lady wanted a blessing because she saw a young man get shot and killed.  She said she hadn't been able to sleep since.   My companion gave her a blessing and after we talked about the plan of salvation. She said she felt like the feelings she had been feeling,  were draining out of her body,  and she felt peace from her Father in Heaven. It was an amazingly powerful blessing and lesson. After we asked if she knew anyone that could use a message of hope or some service and she said we should knock on her neighbor's door.  We walked next door and as we were walking past her neighbor’s car in the driveway, she rolled down the window and started talking to us. She said she was going through a really hard time and that they had just had a death in the family. She got out of her car and invited us into her apartment. We found out that she had been taught by missionaries before, she believed in the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, and that she had been baptized before into a different church, but she felt like that  wasn't.  We set a baptismal date with her and one of her daughters and talked about the Plan of Salvation, which she said she also believed in.

Yesterday we contacted a media referral. His name is Yojhan and he is incredible. He said he went to church yesterday and he wanted to learn more about what we believed. We talked about how he grew up Catholic, but from the time he was little he felt like it wasn't the correct church and that the repentance process they believe in doesn't make sense. So we talked about prophets, authority, and the correct repentance process.  It was really awesome!

We also had a ward Halloween party that we went to on Thursday. Then Friday we had to be in our apartments by 6 o'clock if we didn't have appointments set.  We didn't have any apppointments and neither did the Spanish Elders and our District Leader and his companion.  We decided to have a halloween party at our apartment.  We played Dew Pong (Beer pong but with Mountain Dew)!

Love,
Elder Harper

Durham - Week 13

This past week was really good.

We were out knocking on doors and found this black lady named Nicole. She has two little boys and she has a super fun personality. When we knocked on her door her two sons Elias and Enzar were looking through the blinds at us, and then she answered the door. We talked to her for just a minute, then she said she had something on the stove and we asked if we could come back the next day,  and she said YES! We stopped by her house the next day, but she wasn't there, so the day after we tried again. She was there and remembered who we were and a little about what we had told her.  There wasn't another male present so we taught her on the doorstep. She seemed genuinely interested and said she would take a copy of The Book of Mormon and read it, then pray about what she read. I will keep you updated on what happens with Nicole and her little family. 

Not much more to report for this week, but life is good and I can't complain. Love you!

Durham - Week 12

Happy Missionary!!!

This week was week six of my second transfer so we had to do deep cleaning in our apartment.  The next day our apartment go inspected. The inspector said he was really impressed with how well we cleaned it (so thank you Mom for teaching me how to clean)!

We met some really nice less active people this week and hopefully they find the desire to come back to church. It is really frustrating sometimes when you know all the blessings that Heavenly Father has for them but first they have to go to church. I wish I could just make people understand the gospel but they have their agency and if they don't want blessings I guess that is their choice.

On Saturday we helped a family move. We were there for almost 5 hours! They had a few things packed, boxed, and ready to go but we got that stuff done and they were still trying to pack things up, so it took forever and they weren't even done when we left. Theyreally are an amazing family and we were so happy to help them.

Love,
Elder Harper

Missionary Bike!

Durham - Week 11

Our District Leader is a Spanish missionary, so whenever we go on exchanges we aren't very helpful in teaching or contacting people.  I went with them to their area for the first time, and we had a dinner that night.  It was with an older member couple and there were 4 Spanish Elders there,  so one of them translated for me, so that I knew what  was going on. With the little Spanish I know, I asked some questions and simple stuff, and at the end I bore my testimony, in Spanish!

It was a really powerful experience for me.  It was a testimony to me that the Lord will fill your mouth if you open it... even if it comes out in a different language!

Then just this last Wednesday we had the wonderful opportunity to go the the Temple. We get to go every time there is General Conference. When I first stepped onto the grounds I had a feeling of peace that I really miss having so close and accessible. We did our session which was incredible and after the session I got to sit in the celestial room and read scriptures for an hour. It was really nice to have a chance to let my spirit "recharge!".  I have a new appreciation for what the Temple does for me and I look forward to going back in 6 months.

Lots of Love from North Carolina,
Elder Drake Harper

Durham - Week 10

Hello,

Last week was a really interesting week, in a way it was disappointing but it wasn't discouraging. We taught a lot of people that have such amazing faith and trust in Christ but they don't accept the Book of Mormon or they don't agree with some of the fine points of the doctrine. Reading and praying about the Book of Mormon is great, but you won't receive a true and lasting confirmation unless you read and pray with real intent.  That is what I have found that a lot of people don't have when it comes to learning about the fullness of the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

Conference was absolutely incredible! It is very different from how it is back home.  We watch it live and there is a two hour time difference from home so the first sessions started at Noon.

There are a lot of things that really helped me, but the biggest thing I am going to take away from conference is the feeling I got while listening. I might forget some of the lessons that were shared, but I will never forget the confirming witness I felt from the Holy Ghost, that the words that were spoken are true, and that this church is Christ's church and that I am where I am supposed to be and I'm doing what I am supposed to be doing.

Love,
Elder Drake Harper

Durham - Week 9

Dear Family and Friends,

I have been really humbled the last couple days.  On Friday,  we were totally led by the Lord all day.  We found an incredible new investigator and another one that also has a lot of potential, but it might be a little harder to get the process started with her.

A lot of times I feel weird  about contacting people on the street but you never know who is ready to accept the gospel,  so we talk to everyone we can, no matter how awkard.

Yesterday we actually contacted a man who spoke Spanish.  My companion,  Elder Guymon can't say much and didn't really understand anything that he was saying, but I was able to get bits and pieces.

Love,
Elder Drake Harper

Durham - Week 8

Hello Everyone,

Last week was crazy! On Tuesday we biked over 20 miles to contact some people, Wednesday was a little bit slower, Thursday we did service for an investigator, Friday we went out with the Zone Leaders, and Saturday we did a lot of service. We helped a family move in. Their last name was Hurlbut and his aunt and uncle live in Cascade 2nd Ward (my home ward!).   Kinda crazy.

Not much to write this week,

Love,
Elder Drake Harper

Durham - Week 7

Hello Everyone,

This week has been a lot of fun!  Elder Bowie got transferred and now we have Elder Young instead. This is his last transfer before he goes home.

On Thursday we were out knocking on doors,  we didn't have much success but on the way back we saw a man walking his dog so we started talking to him and teaching him about the Book of Mormon. Then a cop pulled up and said he got a report of two suspicious persons in the area wearing white shirts and ties. We told him who we were and what we were doing,  and then  we kept teaching the man. When we finished teaching him, we took about ten steps and these three huge dogs came out of nowhere and ran right at us. Luckily they were super friendly dogs, but we were really scared for a second. That has kinda been the highlight of this last week.

We are still teaching Donald but he still wants proof and we keep telling him the Book of Mormon is that proof.  We showed him how to get on lds.org so he could listen to the BOM on the computer.

Hope y'all have a great  week!

Elder Drake Harper

Durham - Week 6

Weekly update!!!

Last week was fun. We had zone training, which is basically the whole zone gets together and we are taught by various Elders and Sisters from the zone, and the zone leaders have a short lesson. Our zone leaders are great! One of them goes home at the end of this transfer so that is kinda sad.

The ward had a big cook out on Friday.  It was a lot of fun!!!  Elder Guymon and I got to play soccer and some other games with the primary kids in the ward. There are so many of them it's ridiculous (almost  50 I think). They are all so smart, kind, and very energetic.

Donald came to the cook out and had a really great time and told us he wanted to come to church on Sunday, so we found him a ride. When his ride went to pick him up for church they knocked on the door  for at least 4 minutes.  When Donald finally answered the door he said  9 o'clock is too early, I can't make it. So he didn't come to church,  but he is still eager to learn more about the gospel and continues to pray about what we teach him.

Love you all,

Elder Drake Harper

Men in Black!

This is a great Picture!!!

Durham - Week 5

Hello,

So last week was crazy! We had our first transfer training meeting for 6 hours on Tuesday, then District meeting for 3 hours on Wednesday, then we did 4+ hours of service both Thursday and Friday.

On Friday we did service for a single mother named Bridget. She just moved into a house with her three kids a few months ago and has needed some help getting it all put together. We helped her rake her backyard that had a layer of leaves that had been there for years. We killed 7 copperhead snakes that were just laying under the leaves. Bridget was so thankful because she absolutely hates snakes.

We did a lot of service for some less actives last week also, Brother Honeycut, Sister Wood, and Sister Gibb (sister Gibb is sister Wood's mom. she is 92 and still walking around like she is 50 (she's crazy : ) ) and Brother Honeycut is a good friend that helps take care of their 4 acre yard).

We went fishing yesterday for p-day in a pond that is in their backyard. I caught a fish but the fishing line was super old and it broke.... but it was still a lot of fun.

We are teaching a man named Donald who is older, has had 3 strokes, is very educated in religion, and he can't read anymore. He is so eager to learn more but he always wants us to prove it. We are also teaching a couple Jehovah Witnesses, Tyrone and James. We taught them earlier today and it was a little bit of a bible bash. Our beliefs are surprisingly similar but the differences put them WAY out there.

Elder Drake Harper

Durham - Week 4

Hello Friends and Family,

This last week wasn't very successful, but I really had my eyes opened to a lot of things. I realized (and was reminded) how loving our  Heavenly Father is and I am so grateful for the patience he has had with me, especially this week.

We were given a long list of less actives to visit and we spent a good amount of time trying to track them all down. It is really hard to visit some of them when we are riding our bikes.  It can even be hard when we have the car to use, especially at the end of the month when we are low on miles. We are managing though, and we have met some great people.

My favorite thing that happened last week is when we were leaving the library a man called over to us, so we went over and started talking to him. He immediately started telling us that we are delusional for having a belief in god and how if god were real he would be an evil god. We both wanted to just stand there and argue with him but I just kept my mouth shut and let Elder  Guymon take the lead because he tends to be more calm than I am in situations like that. Then Elder Guymon started to argue with him so I cut in and bore my testimony.  After that we just said goodbye and went on our  way.  It was a lot of fun talking to him though, but he is the one that is delusional.

This gospel is the only way to true and lasting happiness and I love it with all my heart.  

Love,
Elder Drake Harper

Durham - Week 3

Greetings from North Carolina,

Last week was really rough. On Tuesday we had 3 different appointments, one wasn't home, another canceled, and the third just wasn't very interested. 

Wednesday was fun. We had district meeting and went out to lunch after.

Thursday we had an appointment in the morning with Tyrone who is a Jehovah's Witness, but he wasn't home so we tried to contact some referrals for an hour.  On our way back to the apartment for lunch we were on our bikes and Tyrone, who we had the appointment, stopped us and asked why we didn't show up. He said he was 15 minutes late and we said we were right on time and thought he had forgotten.  We set up another appointment for Friday.

We met with Tyrone on Friday and he brought his friend James. They have some truth, but it is really distorted from the full truth.  They were very respectful and it was a really fun lesson.

Later that day we had a referral that lives 7 miles away that we needed to contact. So,  we jumped on our bikes at and started riding. We met some really nice people along the way.  At mile 6 Elder Guymon got a piece of glass through his tire and we walked the rest of the way. (We have a very nice brother in the ward that fixes all the bikes for the missionaries!)  The Spanish Elders were in the area and were able to pick us up and take us home. To make this week worse I lost my camera..... I looked everywhere and talked to everyone that might be able to help me find it, but i have no idea where it is.

WE PLAY ULTIMATE FRISBEE EVERY SATURDAY! Saturdays are lots of fun. Elder Guymon started feeling really sick around three so he slept until dinner and I studied. It is amazing how much you can learn from the scriptures when the Holy Ghost is teaching you.

I'm having a great time despite all the let downs.  Being positive is all about finding the little things that God does for you and focusing on those.

Until next week,
Elder Drake Harper

Durham - Week 2

Hello,

This past week has been great! We had exchanges, so i had to "take over the area" which basically means my companion leaves for a day and I am with the District Leader.  I had to plan out the whole day and basically be the senior companion for 24 hours. It was kind of nerve racking for the first little bit, but then we found 3 new investigators and it turned out to be a really successful day!  Monday we went to UNC and looked around. We went down onto the football field and the track, which was a really cool experience for me.  Today we are going to go back, and we are going to the Michael Jordan Museum. We had the car this week.  We switch off every other week with the sister missionaries in our area.  There isn't really a lot to say. We do a lot of knocking on doors and a lot of street contacting which doesn't have a very high success rate, unfortunately, but we are having a lot of fun and I am enjoying the work.

Until next week,

Love Elder Harper

Durham - Week 1

 Hello!

North Carolina is really great!! My companion is a lot of fun and really encouraging and patient. We haven't had a lot of success but we are having a great time doing the work of the Lord. I have been relying on the spirit a lot for comfort and it has been incredible.

We ride our bikes a lot usually 15 - 30 miles a day but it really hasn't been that bad. On Thursday it was pouring outside and we had to go out and ride our bikes. My rain jacket couldn't handle all the rain so we got soaked all the way through, but by that point we really didn't care how wet we got. My shoes are still drying out!

That was probably my favorite day so far.  We have a Spanish speaking companionship that lives right near us and we eat and work out together a lot.  Everything has been going really good and even though we haven't seen a ton of success,  we are having a really great time doing what we are supposed to be doing.

Love,
Elder Harper

Elder Harper on his way to North Carolina

View from the airplane

A Missionary Hard at Work

Elder Harper in front of the Raleigh Mission Home

Scenery, North Carolina!!!

Elder Harper's Spirit is Glowing!!!

New Missionary Apartment!

Welcome to North Carolina!

We are very pleased to welcome your son, Elder Drake Ammen Harper, to the North Carolina Raleigh Mission.  As we spent time with him in the Mission Home and in orientation meetings, we felt his spirit and his heart.  He is ready to do the Lord’s work here.

Elder Drake Harper, His first area will be Durham, NC

1st Companion, Elder Guymon

President and Sister Bernhisel

MTC - Day 11

Hello Everyone,

Provo MTC

I had the most amazing spiritual experience on Friday (July 25)!  We are teaching a man named Christian as a district. We had our first lesson on Thursday and another on Friday. He has a really hard time believing that we have a loving Heavenly Father. He lost his son a year ago and had another experience where he was in Egypt and the hospital he was at got attacked. A grenade set off an oxygen tank and burnt and scarred the left side of his torso. A fragment from the tank hit his friend in the chest. He watched his friend offer the most sincere prayer he had ever heard and then die.  Just listening to him tell us his stories made me and the rest of our district love him. My heart really went out to him because as he spoke you could almost feel his pain. During our lesson on Friday we all shared heart wrenching stories and the love I felt toward each member of my district grew.  Several Elders and I all shared very painful, personal stories that really touched Christian. At the end of the lesson I testified of how if we let Christ take away our pain and our anger he will, and he will bring us joy and peace.  The way the spirit testified to me and through me during that whole lesson was indescribable. My heart physically feels different. I feel very humbled and fortunate to have lived the life I have.  I truly know the love and power of the atonement and know that if we exercise faith in him knowing he will bless us in return, he will raise us too far better than we could ever be on our own.

Love,
Elder Drake Harper

MTC - Day 6

Hello Everyone,

Today is my first P-day.  I am having so much fun here and I am still so happy. I have seen Gods love and I have felt the amazing power of the Holy Ghost so many times in the few days I have already been here.

 I fly out next Monday the 28th.  We have to report to the travel place at 3:30 to leave for the airport. I am so excited to get to North Carolina, the MTC has already been to long of an experience. I just want to get out there and start teaching the gospel.

I'm so happy!  I really love being a missionary.  I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else right now in my life.  I can't even explain it. 

Tell everyone hello and give them my love.

Love,
Elder Drake Harper

MTC - Day 2

Hello!

The MTC is amazing the spirit is so strong and I have already learned so much.  I am having so much fun here in the MTC.  My companion is amazing.  He was just called as our District Leader. I have seen lots of people that I know, but I have not seen Elder Prugue yet. My district is all Elders and our teachers tell us it's better that way because we are their Stripling Warriors.  Our teachers are great, the brother teacher is hilarious I call him dad or father and the sister teacher we call mom and she is great also. I miss and love you all and I know I'm where I am supposed to be. I don't think I have ever been happier in my life. I love the lord, and I know my decision to serve a mission is and always will be the best decision I ever made.

Love,
Elder Drake Harper

MTC - Drop off

Raleigh, North Carolina, Here I Come!!!