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!