Oct. 21, 2013

Hello my dearest and most favorite and really only family!! and friends-

I am so happy to hear that things are going so great at home! Things couldn't be going a whole lot better here!

We ran into a guy named Zack the other day. He is 19, moved out, working full time, and has a 2 year old son. I can't believe that he had a kid at 17! That's so sad. When we asked where the mom was, he just said she was out of the picture. We taught him the Restoration and he loved it! When we went back to visit him though, he wasn't home. So we called him and he said he's on his way to Merana to get a job up there. He moved out of his apartment and into a house he'd been looking at for about a month. Unfortunately, the house is out of our area so we have to pass him off.... But he said that it was him and his girlfriend that were moving into the house together so Im glad that his son will have a mom-figure to be with!

Edward is doing alright! He hasn't freaked out yet so that is a plus!! He is trying to read through the Book of Mormon but is having a really hard time understanding what all of it is saying. He said he started getting angry when he read through it by himself and he eventually had to put it down and do something else or else he would have flipped. So we are going to read through those chapters with him and help him understand. I really think that he is going to start coming  back though! Elder Flake is pretty much taking him under his wing and I am stepping  back to let him do so. This is great for Elder Flake!

We only have a few investigators currently. We went from 12 last week to 5 this week. We dropped a lot cause they weren't so much interested in becoming a member as they were being friends with us. We have Zack (who we have to pass off), Bones (who we may have to drop cause his wife doesn't want him to join our church), Vincent and Maria (We have been teaching them for 3 months now and they still haven't read any of the Book of Mormon or come to church because she is prego. She should be having the baby in the next week or so.) There is Mark (His wife doesn't really want him to join our church but she is alright with him listening and coming to church every so often) and Mike (he is homeless and we were told to be really careful that his intentions are right for wanting to join the church). So not the best group to work with but still not too bad! Torian (the black guy who lived in the house with only white pictures on the wall and old person decor) actually lived there. The apartment belongs to his girl friend and she is white. They just got together about a week before we came by so thats why it looks the way it does. We unfortunately had to drop him though because he didn't want to hear about our church, he just wanted us to come over and chill with him. I am really trying to focus on finding and teaching the elect out here. It is tough finding them but they are out here. I just need to keep the faith and keep moving forward!

That is so sad about those missionaries that were killed. They were in the best place they could be though. You don't need to worry about me! We are very safe and only talk to strangers when we are riding down very sketchy roads in the middle of the night. We try to talk to large groups of guys, they are usually all black, who are huddled in a circle in a dark alley. It hasn't worked out yet but I'm sure we'll find someone soon! ;) But we really are being safe down here. We lock our bikes everywhere we go and obey every traffic law just like I would in a car.

Elder Flake got a really bad miagraine this week. He was throwing up and couldn't see out of his right eye. So he slept almost all of Saturday. So while he did that, I was studying for your lesson mom! 

Hello My Ward Family!

I miss you all so much! I can't believe that it has already been 4 and a half months! Time is flying out here in the field and the work is progressing just as fast! We have had 3 baptisms in our ward since I've been in the ward. The work is tough and the heat was killer but the satisfaction in seeing someone I've come to love and call a brother or sister get into the waters of baptism is just inspiring and pushes me to work harder everyday! The one principle of the Gospel I have been working on the most so far in my mission is Faith. Faith is, just as the Fourth Article of Faith states, The first principle of the Gospel. Faith is knowing that my investigators can read and pray about the Book of Mormon and knowing they will receive an answer that it is true. Faith is knowing that by following the Spirit's promptings when it tells me what to say or who to talk to, they will accept my message and soften their hearts. Faith is knowing that my Father in Heaven knows me personally and knows what I'm going through so I can turn to Him and my Savior, even Jesus Christ for comfort and peace. Faith is an action word. If faith dwindles, it perishes. Just like a fire when camping. Once you get it started, if you just let it burn, soon it will die down and go out. But if we add to that fire daily with personal prayer and personal scripture study, we cannot fail. I know that this is the Lord's Church. I know that this is the Lord's work. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is Prophet of God and that he speaks in behalf of God. I know that Book of Mormon is the word of God and that by reading it and applying it's teachings in to our lives, we can come closer to God than by any other book. I love this work and I love this church!

~Elder Kyle Harris