On P-day this week, Drake and some of the missionaries planned on playing baseball, during a zone activity. A very kind ward member, Sister Howell, helped them gather up baseball equipment from many of the ward members, so they could play a baseball game.
I am told they were playing baseball in a very safe area of town, next to a library even, and during their baseball game, Elder Harper and Elder Bleckner's car was stolen. This is what I know so far, I will update this post if I get additional information.
Elder Harper and Elder Bleckner had their mission bags in the trunk of the car. Elder Harper's wallet was inside the car. Their car keys ended up on a pile of stuff next to them while they were playing baseball. Someone picked up their keys and took off in their car. I received a phone call (after receiving a few calls from the mission office, I have decided that phone calls are always bad news!!!) around 3 pm on that day from the mission office telling me the Elder's car had been stolen and I needed to cancel Elder Harper's personal debit card. I did cancel it. I had many more questions...what else was stolen? Driver's license? Scriptures? Camera?
I sent a message to Sister Howell, who is such a kind person. She was able to get in touch with the Elders by going to their apartment that evening. She was unable to contact them by cell phone, since that had been stolen with the car. She told me that somehow they had recovered Elder Harper's wallet. I guess whoever stole the car decided they didn't need it since there was no money in the wallet and he must know missionaries are poor, so he threw it out the window of the car!!! Thank heavens I didn't have to try and replace Elder Harper's driver's license. Drake lost his bag, scriptures, camera (with all of his mission pictures), and some other personal items. Most things can be replaced...except his pictures and the markings in his scriptures! This makes me so sad! I am very thankful that none of the baseball equipment that they borrowed was stolen. That would have been very sad too!!!
I am anxiously awaiting his email this next Monday, so hopefully I can get more information from him. Through the whole experience, Sister Howell said these Elders had the best attitude. They stayed positive and were smiling!!!
Thanks for taking the time to get caught up on Elder Harper's mission experiences, good and bad!
Love to you all,
Elder Harper's Mom
Monday, October 26, 2015
Wake Forest - Week 18 (Training Week 11)
Hey y'all!
Last week was way good but it was super exhausting! It was week 11 of training, that is the week when the trainee is supposed to completely take over the area (planning, teaching, finding, etc). Elder Bleckner did great! At the start of the week he was really struggling with having the confidence to lead and now he is solid. We had a lot of conversations that went like this:
Bleckner "Elder Harper what should we do?"
Harper "Elder I have no idea."
Bleckner "No really, I have no idea what to do."
Harper "You say that like I am supposed to know."
Bleckner "Okay, does ____ sound like a good plan?
Harper "....................... :) ......................."
It was way fun because he knew what to do the whole time, he just needed to trust himself.
We had a miracle come to pass this last week. There is a medically less active in this ward named Bro. Larson. He has been sick for almost 5 years now. He is one of the most spiritual people I have ever met and he loves to do missionary stuff, but because he is sick he isn't able to do much. On Monday we got a referral from some other missionaries and we went to contact the referral on Tuesday. Turns out it was right across the street from Bro. Larson. After we talked to the referral, whose name is Joe, we went to tell Bro. Larson and sent up a lesson at his house for Thursday. It went really well and Joe is a very open minded person and said he would read the Book of Mormon. During the story Brother Larson shared this story about Faith.
There was a man who had climbed to the top of a mountain. As he overlooked a large cliff at all the beauties of the world, a strong wind gust caught him off guard and blew him over the edge. As he fell he was able to catch on to a tree root. As he held on for his life and not knowing what else to do he pleaded with God to save him. As he prayed a voice came to him and asked, "Do you believe that I created all things?" He responded, "yea, Lord, I believe." Then the voice asked, "Do you believe that I created all things that thou canst see?" He responded, "yea, Lord, I believe." "Do you believe that I created the mountain that you climbed and the wind gust that blew you over the cliff?" He responded, "yea, Lord, I believe." "Do you believe that I can create a wind gust strong enough to blow you back to the top of the cliff?" With a little hesitation, he responded, "yea, Lord, I believe." Then the voice came to him again, "then let go."
I loved this story because it illustrates how, I'm sure a lot of people have felt in their lives. Everything seems to be going just right, then some trial or hardship comes and we feel like nothing can save us. As we trust God he will always catch us, often in ways that may feel like we are being carried by the wind. Love y'all!
Love,
Elder Harper
Last week was way good but it was super exhausting! It was week 11 of training, that is the week when the trainee is supposed to completely take over the area (planning, teaching, finding, etc). Elder Bleckner did great! At the start of the week he was really struggling with having the confidence to lead and now he is solid. We had a lot of conversations that went like this:
Bleckner "Elder Harper what should we do?"
Harper "Elder I have no idea."
Bleckner "No really, I have no idea what to do."
Harper "You say that like I am supposed to know."
Bleckner "Okay, does ____ sound like a good plan?
Harper "....................... :) ......................."
It was way fun because he knew what to do the whole time, he just needed to trust himself.
We had a miracle come to pass this last week. There is a medically less active in this ward named Bro. Larson. He has been sick for almost 5 years now. He is one of the most spiritual people I have ever met and he loves to do missionary stuff, but because he is sick he isn't able to do much. On Monday we got a referral from some other missionaries and we went to contact the referral on Tuesday. Turns out it was right across the street from Bro. Larson. After we talked to the referral, whose name is Joe, we went to tell Bro. Larson and sent up a lesson at his house for Thursday. It went really well and Joe is a very open minded person and said he would read the Book of Mormon. During the story Brother Larson shared this story about Faith.
There was a man who had climbed to the top of a mountain. As he overlooked a large cliff at all the beauties of the world, a strong wind gust caught him off guard and blew him over the edge. As he fell he was able to catch on to a tree root. As he held on for his life and not knowing what else to do he pleaded with God to save him. As he prayed a voice came to him and asked, "Do you believe that I created all things?" He responded, "yea, Lord, I believe." Then the voice asked, "Do you believe that I created all things that thou canst see?" He responded, "yea, Lord, I believe." "Do you believe that I created the mountain that you climbed and the wind gust that blew you over the cliff?" He responded, "yea, Lord, I believe." "Do you believe that I can create a wind gust strong enough to blow you back to the top of the cliff?" With a little hesitation, he responded, "yea, Lord, I believe." Then the voice came to him again, "then let go."
I loved this story because it illustrates how, I'm sure a lot of people have felt in their lives. Everything seems to be going just right, then some trial or hardship comes and we feel like nothing can save us. As we trust God he will always catch us, often in ways that may feel like we are being carried by the wind. Love y'all!
Love,
Elder Harper
Monday, October 19, 2015
Wake Forest - Week 17 (Training Week 10)
Hey Everyone,
Last week was a blast!
We knocked on a lot of doors and were told some not so nice things, but it's okay because they don't understand...yet!!!
So, I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but we have a Baptist Seminary in our area. Sometimes we have a run in with some of the students. They are all studying to become pastors, so they think they are real smart. We went to see one on Tuesday because we get a referral for him. He was actually super polite and wasn't familiar with what we believed. It ended up being a good visit.
On Wednesday we had a Zone Conference in Raleigh. While we were all sitting in the conference and people were putting black boxes in all the missionary cars. Black boxes are used to monitor peoples driving... Luckily I am a good driver! :) If you speed excessively or drive aggressively or forget to log in with your card or don't buckle your seat belt, it tells you what you are doing or not doing, in a really scary sounding voice. It only talked to me once the whole week!
On Thursday we were out tracting and we found a Baptist Pastor that I am pretty sure would come to our church if we offered him a paid position!!! He is one of my favorite people we have met.
On Friday and Saturday some other missionaries had some baptisms and we were able to get Christian to one both nights and Andrew to the one on Saturday. Their Mom is against the church so it was a wonderful miracle that she let them come. Their older brother told them that the baptism would be done wrong because it wouldn't be done in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost. After the ordinance Christian turned to us with a big smile on his face and told us about what his brother said. Then on Sunday I got to Confirm Shamia and Shamona, they were the two people that got baptized on Friday. Giving blessings is always a lot of fun and the Spirit is so powerful
My ponderizing scripture this week is Romans 8:24-25:
"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."
Love y'all!
Love,
Elder Harper
Last week was a blast!
We knocked on a lot of doors and were told some not so nice things, but it's okay because they don't understand...yet!!!
So, I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but we have a Baptist Seminary in our area. Sometimes we have a run in with some of the students. They are all studying to become pastors, so they think they are real smart. We went to see one on Tuesday because we get a referral for him. He was actually super polite and wasn't familiar with what we believed. It ended up being a good visit.
On Wednesday we had a Zone Conference in Raleigh. While we were all sitting in the conference and people were putting black boxes in all the missionary cars. Black boxes are used to monitor peoples driving... Luckily I am a good driver! :) If you speed excessively or drive aggressively or forget to log in with your card or don't buckle your seat belt, it tells you what you are doing or not doing, in a really scary sounding voice. It only talked to me once the whole week!
On Thursday we were out tracting and we found a Baptist Pastor that I am pretty sure would come to our church if we offered him a paid position!!! He is one of my favorite people we have met.
On Friday and Saturday some other missionaries had some baptisms and we were able to get Christian to one both nights and Andrew to the one on Saturday. Their Mom is against the church so it was a wonderful miracle that she let them come. Their older brother told them that the baptism would be done wrong because it wouldn't be done in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost. After the ordinance Christian turned to us with a big smile on his face and told us about what his brother said. Then on Sunday I got to Confirm Shamia and Shamona, they were the two people that got baptized on Friday. Giving blessings is always a lot of fun and the Spirit is so powerful
My ponderizing scripture this week is Romans 8:24-25:
"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."
Love y'all!
Love,
Elder Harper
Monday, October 12, 2015
Wake Forest - Week 16 (Training Week 9)
Hey Everyone!
Are y'all ponderizeing? Mine for this week is In Eccl. 12:8.
Last week was fantastic and eventful! To start off, two Fridays ago our phone stopped wanting to charge, then our phone finally died on Sunday night. We have been scrambling to get everything back together in our phone. Then on Wednesday we had exchanges with our Zone Leaders. I went with Elder Owens in their area (it's a Spanish area) and Elder Bleckner stayed in our area with Elder Chandler.
Elder Owens is awesome! He is 25 and he is really good at building his relationships with people quickly, which is super helpful in missionary work. With four years of high school Spanish under my belt I got to pray twice in Spanish, it was rough, and I understood very little of what was going on, but the Spirit was there and that is what was important.
When I got back Elder Bleckner told me that 2 of our investigators, Kevin and Wendy, that we have been working with forever, want to get baptized in February, because they are going on vacation to El Salvador. Even though it is far away, at least the desire is there.
Then Thursday we got to see Harold and he said he wanted to get baptized as well. So our week was going really well. I didn't think it could get any better then Friday Happened. We had a lesson scheduled with Christian and Andrew at a members home, two brothers that want to learn about the gospel, but their mom doesn't want them to. As we prepared our lesson we felt like we needed to teach them about daily prayer and scripture study, which wasn't the "next lesson" but we went with it. Andrew was a little quieter and Christian was a lot more into it, usually it is the other way. It was a great lesson and people were sharing lots of powerful personal experiences. After we got home we got a 12 page text from Andrew telling us all about the terrible day he had had and how he had been praying all day for help and guidance and he said that our lesson was the answer he was looking for and he knew that God had answered his prayer through us.
Last week was just awesome. Hope y'all have a great week! Love y'all!
Love,
Elder Harper
Are y'all ponderizeing? Mine for this week is In Eccl. 12:8.
Last week was fantastic and eventful! To start off, two Fridays ago our phone stopped wanting to charge, then our phone finally died on Sunday night. We have been scrambling to get everything back together in our phone. Then on Wednesday we had exchanges with our Zone Leaders. I went with Elder Owens in their area (it's a Spanish area) and Elder Bleckner stayed in our area with Elder Chandler.
Elder Owens is awesome! He is 25 and he is really good at building his relationships with people quickly, which is super helpful in missionary work. With four years of high school Spanish under my belt I got to pray twice in Spanish, it was rough, and I understood very little of what was going on, but the Spirit was there and that is what was important.
When I got back Elder Bleckner told me that 2 of our investigators, Kevin and Wendy, that we have been working with forever, want to get baptized in February, because they are going on vacation to El Salvador. Even though it is far away, at least the desire is there.
Then Thursday we got to see Harold and he said he wanted to get baptized as well. So our week was going really well. I didn't think it could get any better then Friday Happened. We had a lesson scheduled with Christian and Andrew at a members home, two brothers that want to learn about the gospel, but their mom doesn't want them to. As we prepared our lesson we felt like we needed to teach them about daily prayer and scripture study, which wasn't the "next lesson" but we went with it. Andrew was a little quieter and Christian was a lot more into it, usually it is the other way. It was a great lesson and people were sharing lots of powerful personal experiences. After we got home we got a 12 page text from Andrew telling us all about the terrible day he had had and how he had been praying all day for help and guidance and he said that our lesson was the answer he was looking for and he knew that God had answered his prayer through us.
Last week was just awesome. Hope y'all have a great week! Love y'all!
Love,
Elder Harper
Monday, October 5, 2015
Wake Forest - Week 15 (Training Week 8)
Hey y'all!
I can't believe it is already October! The more time I am out, the more my motivation builds, because I know how short time is.
I absolutely loved conference this past weekend! For some reason it is just better on your mission. One central theme stood out to me, "Have Faith." Simple as that. Faith is like a muscle, the more we use it, the stronger it gets, while if we neglect it, it becomes weaker.
I hope y'all will take the invitation to Ponderize a verse or two of scripture each week. I am excited to start. This week I chose 2 Tim. 1:7-9. It starts by saying, "For God hath not given us the Spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind..." I think it's ponder worthy! :) I would love to hear about y'all's experiences and what ponderings you have!
Last week was a fun week. We caught the edge of a hurricane, and I was not impressed. Hurricanes are supposed to be crazy, but this one wasn't bad at all, just really wet. I also got my cast off on Friday. Life wasn't fun with one hand, but it's all better now.
Love y'all! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Harper
I can't believe it is already October! The more time I am out, the more my motivation builds, because I know how short time is.
I absolutely loved conference this past weekend! For some reason it is just better on your mission. One central theme stood out to me, "Have Faith." Simple as that. Faith is like a muscle, the more we use it, the stronger it gets, while if we neglect it, it becomes weaker.
I hope y'all will take the invitation to Ponderize a verse or two of scripture each week. I am excited to start. This week I chose 2 Tim. 1:7-9. It starts by saying, "For God hath not given us the Spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind..." I think it's ponder worthy! :) I would love to hear about y'all's experiences and what ponderings you have!
Last week was a fun week. We caught the edge of a hurricane, and I was not impressed. Hurricanes are supposed to be crazy, but this one wasn't bad at all, just really wet. I also got my cast off on Friday. Life wasn't fun with one hand, but it's all better now.
Love y'all! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Harper
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