November 17, 2014

Hello everyone! I don't have a ton of time unfortunately to email today cause we went on an awesome hike to come caves this morning and that took up almost all of our time... They are called the Coronado Caves I think. Basically, there is just a big whole in the side of the mountain and as you go deeper, it opens up into a GIANT cave! There are lots of tunnels and other little areas you can go from that big room but we mostly stayed there as a zone. It was actually really cool cause most of the people in our zone are musical and love to sing! And the shape of the cave is similar to the shape of the tabernacle in Salt Lake so you can hear everything in there! The acoustics are amazing! So we all gathered around in a big circle and for about 20 or 30 minutes we just sang songs. We started off with like "Come, Come Ye Saints" and just kept things going. We also said the song "Hallelujah" by Rufas Wainright and the some Disney songs that popped into peoples heads. It was AWESOME!!! It sounded so good (most of the time) and I recorded the whole thing! You can't see anything though cause it was pitch black inside of the cave and we asked that everyone turn off their lights for singing. 

I love my area. Elder McKenna is my best friend already! We have the exact same personality basically and that is really helpful for me! Now I don't have to change myself too much! Well, except in the good ways that a mission always changes you. :) Our area is pretty big and pretty ghetto. But we are totally safe and people loves us and respect us for what we do so don't worry about me! It's like 3 times safer than central Tucson. We have been doing a lot of service for an active family in the ward, the Froehlich's (like from the F.U.N. song from Spongebob when he says "F is for Frolicking through all the flowers). They have re-done the entire inside of their house from the floors to cabinets to the walls and everything in-between! We have helped her do a lot of painting and she asked me to be in charge of the base boards. That is really nice for me cause it is mathematical and I got to use a table saw! It worked out well :) I only messed up a few times but nothing that harmed me or anyone else or cost them anymore money luckily. So it totally worked out for the best!

We are also working with an investigator named Terrick. He is about 21 and just under 6 feet tall. But his big black afro makes him like 6 ft 3 in! He is African American and has completely changes his life around 180 degrees already! He has a past of drugs and spent some time in jail for getting into an argument with his girl friend who called the cops and said that he hit her. I don't know if he did or not but if so, she woulda had a big bruise cause Terrick is a UFC fighter! And he can bust out a rap like it's nobodies business! Anyway, he had been taught from Elder McKenna and Elder Cunningham a few times before and had even accepted a baptismal date for Dec. 6th. But we realized that he had no clue who Joseph Smith was. So we taught him the Restoration yesterday and it was a great lesson!! We have all our lessons at a members home named the McKnight's. They have basically adopted Terrick into their family without the paperwork involved. The parents both served in the same mission somewhere and that's where they met. They both have very strong testimonies, as do their 6 boys. So it is an awesome place for Terrick to be! Anyway, they all bore very powerful testimonies and the Spirit was very strong! We recommitted him to be baptized on the 6th of December and he is super excited for it! We also taught him about the Word of Wisdom and he committed to live that too. After the lesson, sister McKnight made cake so we call got some cake and sat around the table. Terrick asked Elder McKenna and myself if he could talk to us outside for a little bit in private. Kinda nervous and hesitant, we said yes and stepped outside. This is what he said to us:

"The other night I was out with my brother (who is 16) and some of his friends. Everyone except me was drinking, including the driver. The driver was the only other person besides me who was over 17 and she just barely turned 18. Well we were driving around and heading to a party but they wanted to get more alcohol. So we stopped at some girls house to get more alcohol and I just had an overwhelming impression that I needed to go home. So I asked the driver if she would take me home on the way to the party. She dropped me and my friend, Ty, off at my place and we just chilled the rest of the night at home. Well, about 5 minutes after they left my house, they got pulled over. My little brother and all his friends that were under 18 got arrested and taken home. The girl though, because she was 18, got arrested and is in jail tonight for drinking while under the influence and supplying minors with alcohol. Elders, if I had been in that car last night, I would be in jail right now too. But the Spirit of God talked to me last night and He kept me safe. I know it was Him. And that's why I know that what you are teaching me is true." I almost cried when he told us that! I went up and gave him a big bear hug cause of how proud I was for him!! I explained to him that he is what we call a "Golden Investigator" and what that meant. Brother McKnight later that night told me that Terrick isn't a "Golden Investigator"... He is a "PLATINUM Investigator"!! And it is so true!! I love him to death! I know he is going to get baptized! I just hope I'm here to witness it! :)

I did get my bike fixed by the way. I had a really bent chain and needed a new set of back gears. It only cost me about a total of $75. But the cool thing is that I got this bike for free from the mission. So I can sell it for like $100 and that will benefit both me and the missionary who buys it cause it is an expensive bike and has disk brakes and solid rubber tires that can never go flat! But we'll see what happens. :)

I’m very glad that you guys are safe coming down that mountain!! Don't scare me like that again, deal? That wasn't cool at all! it could have been a lot worse so I'm glad that the Lord answered your prayers! :) And who knows, maybe there was something up ahead that was in the road like a moose or something that you would have hit if you kept going down. That would have been worse than sliding into the ditch for sure! There is a blessing in it somewhere, you just have to keep looking for it! :) That cabin sounds very nice! I didn't even know we had a cabin, or that David had a cabin! Maybe I'll have my movie marathons up there when I get home!

Sorry this email isn't super amazing or long but I just wanted you all to know that I love you very much and I miss you more than you know! I pray for all of you that are included in this email that the Lord will continue to bless you with health and strength and guidance every night! Don't forget who you are and what you stand for!

~Elder Kyle Harris

p.s. The Phoenix Temple Dedication was this last Sunday. It was AWESOME! President Monson gave a talk then the dedicatory prayer. In his talk though, he said something to the point of "and soon we have Thanksgiving coming up. Oooo! Turkey dinner!!" then continued on with his talk! I laughed out loud when he said that and still laugh as I think of him saying it! Oooo! Turkey Dinner!!

November 12, 2014

Hello Family!!! Transfers have come and gone already... I swear that just yesterday we had our zone break-out session in the Gila Valley and everyone was introducing themselves. And that happened today again but here in Sierra Vista! Man oh man, I kinda wish that time would go slower but I can't wait to see what happens when I do get home! Like I said in my email on Monday, I am in Sierra Vista. Thank you mom and dad for checking out my area for me. It is a pretty nice town actually! It reminds me a lot of Lehi, except for the area that I'm currently living in. There are all the same stores that you would find in Central Tucson or even Salt Lake and just as many restaurants! No matter what I need, there is a store for it here. I was told that I was going to be in the Ghetto part of Sierra Vista but everyone that I talked to in the Valley didn't even know that there was a ghetto! And I was kinda surprised to find out that it is pretty ghetto, especially next to our apartments. We live in the 3rd Story of the Sierra Carmicheal Apartments and all of our surrounding neighborhoods are trailer parks. As we were driving this morning for our morning work out, the kids were coming to the curb to meet the bus. We passed about 30 or 40 kids and not a single one of them was white... I'm going to love this area! :)

My companion is Elder McKenna.  He is about 5'10" or so and super skinny. He has blonde hair that sticks straight up and brown eyes (i think they are brown). As I was at the transfer site, I talked to Elder Siglin (one of my companions in East Tucson like 6 months ago!) and he told me that Elder McKenna had a rough time with his trainer and that if I just stayed happy all the time that everything would work out great. I was kinda nervous coming into the area but we instantly clicked! He is really funny and is definitely "one of my descendants"! ;) He loves to play sports, especially golf and basketball. We are on bikes! I don't know whether I'm excited for that or not but I'm excited for the transfer! We have a decently big area. I forgot that my bike was broken though so Im gonna have to get that fixed today. I need a new derailer and a new set of front gears. Hopefully it won't be too expensive...

On Satruday before transfers, we had morning sports as a zone. It was fun to see everyone again before transfers. We played basketball for a little while and some dodgeball. I grabbed a basketball when we were finished and pretended like I was gonna dunk it. Amazingly enough, I hit the rim with my hand! Ii couldn't grip the ball cause it was super old and worn and slippery, but I grabbed a dodgeball and I dunked it! I couldn't get a video though cause I didn't have my camera... Well, out here in Vista, we played some basketball yesterday for sports. I grabbed a basketball and could palm it. And guess what.... I DUNKED A BASKETBALL 3 TIMES!!! I may not be able to beat you guys at ping pong but just wait till I come home and whoop you in basketball! It will be like playing against 6th graders! ;)

Mom, you talked to my two favorite people in the Gila Valley! I wasn't there for either of them but I wish I could have been! Sister Beals used to be a Sign Language Interpreter for a long time. So she and Elder Gilson got along really well. I loved spending time with them because they were always so spiritual and all the kinds were very good, honest, hard working kinds. They made you want to be better just by being around them! And then of course, Grandma Despain. If I could only pick one person I could go back and see, it would be Grandma Despain! I absolutely adore her! I have decided that if it's at all possible, I want to adopt her as my grandmother. I have never met anyone who is so loving and kind to missionaries, especially to me! She fed us every Monday and any other day that we needed it. Somehow, she could tell when we were lying about having a dinner and would make us one anyways knowing that we didn't have one even when we said we did! I guess I'm not as sneaky as I thought. ;) I wished that I could have done more to help her out! I feel like I told her plenty how much I loved her but I wish that I could have done more to show her how much I loved her! I will though when I get back! :)

Other random facts that I feel more comfortable talking about, today is my 17 month birthday!! I can't believe that the sisters that I came out with from the MTC are going home at the end of this transfer!! Crazy... Also, I have been thinking about the future and I think that I want to go into Pharmacy. :) What do you think? I don't really want to go back up to BYU Idaho but I need to retake a class or two. I would like to do online classes for those and then transfer to somewhere closer to home to do my generals and then go to a University to graduate! That would also provide me with an opportunity to do some intern work at a pharmacy before I get too far into school to make sure that it's something I actually want to do. There are a lot of really good schools that I can try and apply for, but the best ones are in Utah and Cali. We'll have to see what happens but I want to see if that works out. :)

Well, I best be off! My hour is about up. I want you to know that I love you and I miss you and I can't wait to talk to you on Christmas!! Rumor has it that we might not be able to skype though... it is using the members computers and that is against the mission rules... We will have to see what happens though! I'll keep you posted! I love you all so much!

~Elder Kyle Harris

November 10, 2014

Hey so this isn't my email for the week! As you know its transfers and I received a call. I will be staying district leader and be heading to Sierra Vista. My address will be:

800 S. Carmicheal Ave.

Sierra Carmicheal #313

Sierra Vista, AZ 85635

My companion is Elder McKenna. Turns out, in my mission posterity line, he is my great grandson! Im super excited! I will do my best to email tomorrow but I can't promise it will be super great and such. What I do know is I'm excited for the transfer and I can't wait to get out there and work!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!

~Elder Kyle Harris

November 3, 2014

Hello everyone!! I’m sorry this letter is coming in so late! We had some issues this morning... No! Not Elder Gilson and I. Our truck. We have a 2011 Chevy Colorado and I love it! Well, except that the cd player is broken and doesn't read most c.d.'s but that's what our voices are for! We usually just sing whatever is on our minds as long as it isn't too weird or anything ;) Well, we have vehicle inspections this Wednesday and we needed to clean out the inside of our car. So we went out and picked up some trash and took out some of Elder Gilson's clothes and got it all picked up. He went inside to finish writing a letter and I kept cleaning. I cleaned all the windows on the inside, wiped down everything that was a hard surface (and some soft places too that something spilled on) and even vacuumed!! We were going to go wash the outside after we finished the inside but our car wouldn't start.... For the past 45 minutes, we had had our key in the on position so we could listen to music as we cleaned (or so I could while I cleaned and Elder Gilson wrote his letter! lol) but we didn't actually have the car on, just the battery. Well, we killed the battery. And the unfortunate thing is, out here in Pima, EVERYONE works! And the only ones that don't work only don't work because they can't drive for one reason or another. So this left Elder Gilson and myself stuck at home trying to find someone to jump our car. We finally got a hold of Chad Kelliher after trying for 30 minutes. He told us he would be there in about 30 min. That was longer than we wanted to wait so we said that would work and anticipated calling up someone else to come jump us then call him and let him know we didn't need him anymore. It would have worked if we could have found someone else... 30 minutes passed and he didn't call or text or show up. 40 minutes passed and still, nothing. After an hour we called him and he said his boss told him he couldn't leave for another 20 minutes. He told us 30 minutes for sure this time. Right after we got off the phone with him, we talked to a couple named the Fletchers. I LOVE the Fletchers! They are an awesome older couple who works all the time in the Temple because of their love for the church! His name is C.B. and her name is Eddie. C.B. called us and said that he heard we needed to get our car jumped and that he would be over in 5 min. And he was! I realized right then how important punctuality really is. Lol! So that is why I am emailing you at 5:00 p.m. instead of 11 like I normally do, cause we spent our morning trying to get our car jumped!

I can't believe I've emailed you this many weeks and I never told you guys, I have stopped by the Norton’s twice now. They have the CUTEST triplet boys!! But not the cutest single baby boy, that one goes to Calvin. :) They are an awesome couple! We have tried lots of other times to stop by but they are rarely home unfortunately. But we will keep trying!

Transfers are this upcoming week. We get calls on Saturday night... There is only 1 thing that would surprise me and that would be if I didn't get transferred! I am completely expecting to get transferred...unfortunately.... I love it out here so much! And I have made so many friends! Especially Hermana Blackford! We are totally gonna be best friends when I get home! She is from Washington, just south of Camino Island where Elder Flake was from. Some place around there. Anyway, she is going to BYU Provo and we've decided that when I get home, we are gonna hang out all the time! We may or may not have a bucket list of things we plan on doing already including hiking Mount Timp. and having like 5 movie marathons! She will get home 1 transfer before me which is pretty great timing cause she will be going to BYU in June. We went on a pretty sweet hike to Red Knolls on Saturday Morning. There was Elder Gilson and I, Hermana Blackford and Sister Harrington, and our Recent Convert John who was being taught by the Sisters before he was baptized, so we are all pretty tight friends. But we got to Red Knolls at about 5:30 and up to the top just as the sun was rising. It was AWESOME!!! We got so many super awesome pictures! I'll attach some after I send this email off! :) But yes, I am probably getting transferred.

Halloween was kinda lame this year compared to last year. We went up to Fort Thomas for a Halloween party for the ward. It wasn't a trunk-or-treat though, just dinner and a few rooms that were decorated for the kids to go into and pick up some candy. It was supposed to go from 6 to 8 but at about 6:45, everyone that had come left... Including us! Haha We just didn't see a reason for being there anymore cause none of our investigators showed up. But that's okay! We went in that night around 8 to do our weekly planning but no one knocked on our door. I don't know what we would have given them if they did! Maybe a Book of Mormon, maybe a pass-along card, I don't know! But we didn't carve pumpkins or go trick-or-treating or anything. Just sat at home and planned. But Elder Gilson and I are getting along super great so it was totally cool with me!

For school when I get home, I am not quite sure what I want to do yet... I have 2 options that are in my mind. The first is sign up and register back up at BYUI to start back up in January of 2016 and just attend on my assigned track. This would give us LOTS of time to hang out and spend time together and go on some trips before school. :) That's option number 1. Number 2 is I do online school for the Fall Semester (R.M.'s can go to school for the track they aren't assigned if you come home a while before your normal track starts back up) up at BYUI and then either transfer somewhere or stay there and go to school on campus for the Winter Semester. What do you think? I don't want to start right away and move up to Idaho like a few weeks after I get home. I want to stick around and spend time with y'all and then see what I feel is right after that. I can't believe I'm actually worried about school already! Weird...

Oh! Really fast before I forget again, I want a Special Musical Number for my homecoming! :) There are 4 (kinda 3 cause one is a couple) people I've been thinking about singing for it: Dad, Shane and Jennifer Lee, or Chris Jones. Or all 4 of them! Or even just the men. I don't know. But I've been wanting to bring it up the past like 6 or so weeks but I always forget right when I start emailing and then remember right as I get off and back to the car. What do you think? Could we work something out with that?

This Sunday we had a Stake Conference with the whole state of Arizona! It was super sweet! Ours started at 9:30 instead of 10 because the Pima Stake was getting a new Stake Presidency. Turns out that President Tyler, the old Stake President, moved up to Mesa area about a year ago or so. For the past year, he has come down every weekend for his meetings and such. They are finally releasing him though! Everyone had guesses at who the next Stake President would be, but everyone was wrong! "Bishop Mark Beus has been called to be the Stake President for the Pima Stake in Pima, Arizona." President Beus was our bishop in Pima 1st ward and NO ONE knew he was going to be released from that called to be stake president! That means that this next Sunday, we are getting a new bishopric! There was a lot of talk about Missionary Work for the Adult Session on Saturday night. On Sunday, they turned off all the lights and so it was basically pitch black except for the little light that was coming from the projector. That made it almost impossible to write notes cause I couldn't see what I was writing. But the one thing that stuck out to me was something along the lines of "When we call each other 'brother' or 'sister', it is a one-worded testimony of the Divinity of God and His role as our Father and our relationship as siblings." I never thought about it that way, but it really makes sense and was really cool to hear and think about!

You have all been waiting for this... Hope Young. Unfortunately, nothing has changed.... She doesn't find out anything until about the 24th of this month. She won't go into Surgery until they do a scan to find out what they need to work on. So, if our prayers are answered (AND THEY WILL BE!!!) she will not have to go through the surgery on the 25th :) But I will keep you updated on how they are doing!

The Thomas family is just about one of my favorite families I've met on my mission! They are in Palo Verde Ward in east Tucson. There are both parents and 4 kids living at home. Sarah and Craig are the parents and then the kids at home (in order of age): Melanie, Graham, Zoe, and Tate. Tate is still pretty young, I think like 3 or so, but he loves me! I have visited them when I went for my doctor’s appointments in Tucson and he still calls me his favorite missionary! :) If you guys became facebook friends, that would be pretty sweet! I send my emails to them (Yes I mean you momma Thomas!) so if you look up her email in my recipients list and look it up on facebook, you might be able to find each other. :)

So this email is a little different than my usual one because pretty much everything that happened this week is already included in my email! Oh! Except I wrote a poem this week! 

Behold Your Little Children

Elder Kyle Harris

"Behold your little children"

the Savior humble said,

then gathered them around Him

and blessed them, every head.

"Behold" is not a simple phrase,

it means much more than "Look".

Carefully watch and listen to them,

study them like a book.

We can't just take a small glance

or just spend minimal time

because we need to learn from them

and their spiritual gifts sublime.

A child is meek and humble

and their love is sincere and broad.

For this reason they are the greatest

in the kingdom of our God.

"Behold your little children"

and watch their every move

Cause every single trait they have

are traits God wants for you.

Well there it is! What do you think? I really like it personally! Maybe it will be big someday, but probably not ;)

Well, I think that’s about it! We turned our truck over 70,000 miles! haha just realized that kinda sounded weird but I don't want to try to think of another way to phrase that! I hope it makes sense to you :P I am pretty sure that I've been here from when we hit 60,000 and now 70,000. We do a LOT of driving out here! Good thing I'm not on a bike! :) Well, I better let you guys get this email before you go to bed!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! NEVER FORGET THAT!!!

~Elder Kyle Harris