Esquina Blanca Week 3

This week was a great one! Each day is something new...and a lot of challenges to solve with missionaries who have problems. However, it is very rewarding working so closely with President and Hermana. They have so much love for the missionaries, and even though the mission is doing very well, they are so humble and recognize that it is all a blessing from the Lord. It is so powerful when he prays...one feels the Spirit so strongly.

We had the baptisms of Claudio and Mariela last Sunday. It was a very special service and much of the ward attended! It was great to have the members support. After the baptism, on Tuesday, Mariela told us that Claudio proposed to her to get sealed in the temple! It was a very special experience and i know that they are going to be strong members of the Church.

We have another investigator that is progressing well. We found him contacting. His name is Osvaldo. He lives with a man who has been less active, but when we showed up he decided he wants to come back. He is very excited and so is Osvaldo. Osvaldo will get baptized on the 21st.

We had a meeting with President yesterday in his house. We planned some Zone Conferences that we will be doing in the next few weeks. It will be fun to train a bunch of missionaries and learn from them all. I enjoy meetings and it is fun to plan and prepare. It is such an essential skill to success. I am so excited to continue learning and become a more effective instrument in the Lord´s hands. I love the mission and I know that God lives and is real. I am so happy to be here on the mission. I love you all and happy Valentine´s Day!

Love,

Elder Harries

Esquina Blanca Week 2

Hola!

How great it was to hear from you all! Time seems to fly and it seem like yesterday that I just wrote you all! Elder Ballard and I are doing well and we really enjoy working together. The office is definitely a different environment, and I am trying to constantly share the Gospel in the street or in any way possible. We do many divisions, and the days when we are not on divisions, we leave the office always before 5:00 to go work in our sector. The Lord has blessed us a lot, and we have a married couple that will be baptized tomorrow. They are named Claudio and Mariela.

Elder Ballard found them with his previous companion, and we started teaching them when I arrived. They are very excited for their baptism and have invited many friends and family. We hope to work with them to find more people to teach! Please pray for them!

 I am unsure if last week I talked about the world-wide Missionary Broadcast. If I haven´t mentioned earlier, it was incredible. It was the first time in 10+ years that the Quorum of the twelve have done something like this. They titled the braodcast: "Teach Repentance and baptize converts" For two hours we listened to Elder Anderson, Elder Oaks, Elder Bednar and other general authorities. They focused a lot on the Doctrine of Christ(2 Nephi 31; 3 Nephi 27:13-22) and the importance of making covenants. It was a very refreshing experience to hear them teach so clearly. 

We are to help people to come unto Christ by:

1. Developing faith in Christ and His Atonement

2. Repenting of sins

3. Making a covenant of obedience through baptism 

4. Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost

5. Enduring to the end. (Attending temple and renewing covenants through the Sacrament)

It is so simple. No unclean thing can enter into the presence of God, and the way to be cleansed from sin is through these steps. They are the way to access the power of the Atonement--which heals us and changes us. 

Yesterday we had a lesson with a family from North Carolina! The father lived in Savannah, Georgia. They have been living here in Maipú for the past two years. They are missionaries for a baptist church and have 6 children here. They are very nice and have the southern charm, but it was hard for them accept much of what we taught. They invited us to come back and I think we will give them one more try. It was strange to teach in English; it was a first for me in the mission. 

I love you all and am saddened by the passing of Nancy. Send my love to the family and let them know that they are in my prayers. I have a strong testimony of the Plan of Salvation. I know that the promise of the resurrection is real. I know that God lives and that His Son, Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know that His Church is on the Earth today, and that it is guided by a living prophet. I know that those who have faith in Christ, repent, are baptized, and endure to the end by making covenants in the temple may live with their families forever in the Kingdom of God!

Have a great week!!

Love,

Elder Harries