1/24 Completed!

Hey Guys!

Wow the days are starting to go by super fast, last week seemed like yesterday!

So as a Zone Leader part of my job is to help all the new missionaries in the zone get acquainted and feeling comfortable in the MTC. So about a dozen new missionaries arrived in our zone last Wednesday, and me and my companions have been helping them out and stuff. Honestly, our job is to kind of be like a big brother to them and help them with all the problems they may be having. It's actually super cool! All of these guys seem to really like us and come to us if they need anything. It's really cool to see how much they trust us. A few times we've had an elder who's struggling a lot come to us and told us about the worries that were on his mind. We're helping him out and it's wonderful to see him getting better.

ANYWAYS one of the coolest things ever happened yesterday. David A. Bednar of the 12 apostles came and gave an amazing talk at the MTC!  My district was the only one that knew beforehand so we went extra early and got amazing seats, we were literally 20 feet away from him when he talked! It was a crazy cool and spiritual experience

2 weeks left until I'm actually teaching in the field. Wow, that's such a weird thought. 

See you next week!

-Elder Harris

Halfway Done with the MTC!

Hey Guys!

So it's been 3 weeks, so that means I'm already half done with the MTC! Wow these last few weeks have blown by crazy fast. We're giving lessons all the time, sometimes up to four lessons a day. Recently I've realized just how bad my Spanish really is, and how funny it must be for the Spanish speaking people we teach! Here are a few things i later realized I've said in lessons:

Tried to say:

God loves you, and I can testify it's true

What I said:

I love you, and God will testify it's true

Tried to say:

Jesus Christ died for our sins

What I said:

Jesus Christ died for our fish

And a whole bunch of crazy messed up grammar. But hey, at least I'm realizing my mistakes a lot more!

Also I've gained almost 10 pounds in these last 3 weeks! Most people would hate that, but I'm actually really happy about it! And I'm pretty sure most of it is in muscle mass, because I lift weights every day. Yay!!!

Oh I almost forgot! My 2 companions and I (I got another one last week, his name is Elder Fernandez) got appointed Zone Leaders for Zone 28! It's a pretty huge responsibility, and makes our already busy schedule even more packed. Basically, we 3 are the head missionaries over about 50 different missionaries, all of which are learning Spanish. Basically, every night before bed, we go to everyone's room, give them a bro hug, and then ask them how they're doing and if they are having any concerns or issues. We also organize the weekly Sacrament Meeting and choose who will teach spiritual lessons on Sunday. We also attend a bunch of other meetings with district leaders (we have 5 districts in our zone) and make sure things are going smoothly and people are focused on the work. And we also give introductory tours to the new missionaries in our zone every week. So yeah. It's a pretty big job. But I'm really liking it so far!

I think I'm going to miss the MTC when i'm out in the field teaching. I can see why some people hate the MTC, but I honestly like it. There's tons of cool people here and It's going to be sad leaving them. Oh well! 

-Elder Harris

2 Weeks Down!

Hey everyone!

So I got some bad news earlier this week. My Grandma passed away, and she's one the best people I know. She has an amazing life story and is probably the kindest individual I've ever met. She's an amazing singer (no exaggeration, amazing) and choir director. Now she's leading a choir of angels in heaven.

Other then that my week has been really great! 

So everyone in my district is super cool! I have never gotten so close to a group of people so fast! Everyone is great in their own way. We always have a ton of fun whenever there is downtime! The MTC is super busy, but everyday we get exercise time, and we play basketball and lift weights and stuff, which is always a blast.

We've gotten to the point where we speak a ton of broken Spanish with very Gringo accents, And I'm beginning to understand Spanish a lot better, but only if i'm focusing really hard. It's honestly amazing how much I can understand now. I'm still not very good at speaking though.

Overall I'm liking the MTC, It's a ton of hard work and long days but there's always a point in every day where I'm having a ton of fun. Plus the spiritual atmosphere is a huge plus

See you guys next week!

Elder Harris

1 Week Down, 103 to Go!

Hey everyone! Wow this has easily been one of the busiest weeks ever! 

So I arrived at the MTC one week ago and met my missionary district, which is basically 15 or so other missionaries that are learning Spanish and arrived on the same day. Our district goes to classes together, eat together, work out together, and pretty much everything else together. We've all gotten to know each other pretty well over the last week, and I've made some great friends with some of them!

My companion, or roommate I should say, is Elder Dunkly. He's a really tall guy from Utah who's really good at basketball. He's WAY better at Spanish than me, since he took 4 years of it in high school and just graduated, so it's still really fresh in his mind. He loves classic rock but sadly doesn't even know what punk music is! So I've been trying to educate him a little bit! He also has a really strong testimony of the gospel which is awesome!

The coolest guy I know here is definitely Elder Garcez. He's from Brazil and speaks fluent Portuguese and Spanish, and really broken English. He's one of the funniest guys ever, and it's made even more hilarious with all the weird way he says everything. He's been a big help in learning Spanish. He's already served six months in Brazil, and baptized 20 people already! He's seriously super cool. Oh and he also one of my roommates, and always says the funniest things possible when everyone's trying to go to sleep.

There's also a few other guys who I've become really great friends with. Seriously some of the funniest guys ever.

I've learn TONS of Spanish in just one week. I've learned more Spanish this week than I did in 2 years of high school Spanish class. I'm still really bad at it though, and I'm having a bit of a hard time keeping up with a lot of the people in my district, but I'm still way better than I was a week ago.

Our teacher is Hermano (Brother) Moore, and I've never heard him speak English. He only talks in Spanish and uses hand motions to get the meaning across. And you always have to try to respond to him in Spanish, so it's really forcing me to learn fast!

I've already taught 4 lessons all in Spanish. It's really rough and broken mind you, but I can get a point across most of the time, even if it takes a while.

Overall I have to say I'm liking Mission life so far! I'm learning tons, and I'm feeling the spirit way more than back home.

I love you all! let me know how you guys are doing! PEACE!

-JON (Elder Harris)