November Update

We send our greetings to our friends and family. Has it really been so many months since you last heard from us? We have no excuses except that time seems to be a all time speed records. We see the months flying by and feel that we must double our efforts before our release. We waited 40 years for this Mission together and we have not wanted it to end. Please, do not feel bad when we say that we do not want to leave these wonderful people of the Bismarck North Dakota Stake. Whenever people bring up the subject of our departure we have to choke back the tears. We have so much enjoyed our experience here.

Let us try to note some of the highlights of the past three months.

The Bismarck Stake’s Young Single Adult Conference: Here in the Dakota’s there are only four stakes; Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Fargo and Bismarck. Under the direction of Elder Hansen, of the Seventy, it was felt that there should be two Young Single Adult Conferences held each year. Rapid City was assigned to work with the Gillette Stake and so that left Sioux Falls, Fargo and Bismarck stakes to plan and work together. The Spring YSA Conference is hosted by either the Fargo or Sioux Falls Stake. The Fall YSA Conference is always held in Bismarck. Whenever one talks of the Dakotas they are usually talking about long distances. So it is with our Young Single Adult Conferences. To plan a conference and to have people attend requires sacrifice and commitment on behalf of all who attend. We had 53 young single adults and 17 leaders, including 4 sets of CES Missionaries, come from the four stakes mentioned, some traveling as many as 6 ½ hours to reach their destination. Three young single adult women come all the way from Canada, an 8 hour drive. The committee was excited to see so many attend.

With the Temple in Bismarck North Dakota the conference’s theme was “Which Way Does Your Tent Face?” This was taken from Mosiah2:6: “And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which King Benjamin should speak unto them.” Our emphasis was to bring the Young Single Adults to Bismarck to have a temple experience. A Saturday morning devotional started our temple experience with President and Sister Reese, of the Bismarck North Dakota Temple. With the spirit of the talks and the music everyone seemed prepared for the main activity of the conference. Approximately half attended the temple while the others learned how to “Index”. Words are inadequate to describe the experience of the temple but it is enough to say that all were greatly blessed for their part of these two activities.

After an afternoon of workshops we visited a historical park and held our Dinner/Dance in the old historic Lewis Hotel. We were able to enjoy wonderful food, entertainment by some of our Native American families, and a fun “Thrift Store” dance. Can you imagine the ‘get ups’ that a bunch of young single adults can find in the local thrift stores? The evening just got more fun by the hour. It was sad when the dance was over but what memories we all took home with us.

Sunday is a time when the young single adults can partake of the sacrament and share their testimonies. After listening to President Greenhalgh, President of the Bismarck North Dakota Stake, we heard inspiring testimonies from those who had traveled so far. We all felt a love for one another and regretted seeing each person leave. We had been so blessed in this conference.

What was our part in all of this? With our positions as Senior Missionaries, and living in Bismarck, we took on those assignments that needed local connections, and the FOOD! Yea, our favorite subject. There is always some worry when food is on the line but we did have fun planning the food, and picking the favorite foods of the young single adults. We had a lot of help from our wonderful friends, the Shaws, transplants from Denver. Our attitudes were that we may never get another chance to do this again so don’t hold back. To welcome the YSA as they arrived we had Italian Meat Balls, Papa Murphy’s Pizza, Vegetable Trays and other goodies, For a brunch on Saturday morning we had a wonderful French Toast, made with Texas Toast, with berries and whip cream on top, sausage patties, and fruit. What a hit!! So many came back for seconds and thirds. For dinner we enjoyed a wonderful cooked brisket with scalloped potatoes, Vera’s baked beans, fresh corn on the cob with IBC Root Beer, Black Cherry & Cream Sodas for drinks. Top that off with ice cream and brownies and you can see we had a wonderful dinner. Well, enough of this; let us move forward.

Seminary and Institute: A new year of Seminary and Institute began without too many obstacles. Our summer months were filed with many adventures but our purpose in being here is Church Education and so it was good to be back doing the things we associate with, Early Morning Seminary, with the high school students, and Institute, with our Young Single Adults. We have been pleased to feel the affections from the teachers and the students. No wonder we have loved this mission so much.

We are studying the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History this year. After having studied the Book of Mormon last year it is a thrill to see how everything fits together. What a testimony builder it has been studying the revelations of Christ given in our day. We are amazed and humbled at the wonders of our Father in Heaven and His beloved Son. We are touched often by the Spirit which reveals truth. How grateful we are for all that we are receiving. We question if we will be able to maintain the intensity of experience when we leave this mission.

Fort Yates Branch: We have had two sisters from the Fort Yates Branch come to us with names of their families who need their temple work completed. We never intended to get involved in Family History work while serving on this mission but how could we ever refuse their request. These sisters are 70 miles from the Bismarck Family History Center and neither has transportation or the skills to complete the work on their own. Thanks to the Centers from the Highlands Ranch Ward who taught us the New Family Search and the use of PAF. With a little help from some of the local genealogist we have succeeded in submitting some of these names. Here are some of the names we have submitted; Brave Eagle, Joseph See the Elk, Dorothy Big Eagle, and Jack Wears Horns. There are many others but those are some of the interesting ones. It has been a thrill for us to now follow through with their temple work and we have been rewarded with a wonderful spirit as we have completed their work. What a wonderful experience we have had by serving in the Fort Yates Branch on the weekends.

We had a baptism yesterday in the Fort Yates Branch. Sister Bernadine Broken Leg accepted the gospel and was baptized yesterday and confirmed a member today. She also stood and bore her testimony in Fast and Testimony meeting. We have often said that the Native American branches may lack in many things but never in the outpouring of the Spirit. What a wonderful testimony meeting we had. There were many tears of joy shed today.

The Holidays: We were amazed to see people putting up Christmas lights today. It was a beautiful weekend and Christmas seems far away but the people never know when the nice weather will end and the storms blow in. We have already had one blizzard which pilled snow up on the fence and tree lines and one never knows when the next one will come.

Art and Marie Williams: One of our highlights this Fall has been getting to visit with Art and Marie Williams. They moved to Fargo North Dakota a few months back and drive twice a month, 3 hours each way, to work in the Bismarck Temple. Our visits have been sweet as Art and Marie have told of home and the Highlands Ranch Stake. We will miss seeing them when we return to Colorado. They are doing well in their new ward and stake and the people of Fargo love them.

Out Car: Is anyone interested to know that our little Honda turned over 192,000 miles last week? Well it did. We bought the car back in 2001 and it has served us so faithfully. By the time we arrive home, in January, we should be close to having 200,000 miles on it.

There have been many of you who have commented on all that we have done on our mission. We do not feel that same way. We are busy, that is a fact, but we also know of what is not being done and we continue to work at being more effective. We report the successful parts of our mission but we have had our disappointments and struggles as well. We are well aware of our weaknesses. Nevertheless, we know of Whom bestows our blessings and we are grateful to our Heavenly Father for this wonderful experience. Our hope and prayer is that many of you will have the same type of experience when you are able to serve a mission for the church.

We must close for now. The clock says 10:00 PM which was 11:00 PM last night and our steam is running out. We love you and look forward to seeing all of you once again.

Love, Elder and Sister Harris

The New School Year

This is the busy season for us. We are driving the hiways and by-ways of ND looking for students to join the on-line seminary class. There are about 30 living in small towns within our stake, and we are trying to contact and then visit them in a two week period. It's slo-o-o-w going. We have put on 1000 miles since Sunday, and we will be on the road Saturday and Sunday to round out the week. We also have some new seminary classes and teachers just being formed. We're meeting some great people. This push will soon be over and all the seminary classes will be off and running. A wonderful woman was called to teach the on-line seminary class, so she will take over that responsibility as soon as she finishes the training.

We're also working on the YSA Conference to be held in Bismarck Sep 10-12, inspecting missionary apartments and cars, and a handful of other projects. North Dakota is in the middle of the harvest time - we see combines in the fields with the wheat, the sun flowers bending over as the seeds get heavy, fields of flax, canola and soybeans. It's a beautiful time of year, and it will be our last look at the ND growing season, so we are trying to fill our minds and memories with the beauty all around us. Life is good.

Elder and Sister Harris

Quick Update

We are "on the road again" early this morning, trying to find and sign up students for the on-line seminary class. We had three miracles yesterday - resolutions to things we have been worrying about in weeks past. A seminary teacher in Watford City has been called (he will have a class of 4 YM who were part of our on-line class last year), a Stake on-line teacher has been called who is perfect, and something for our YSA Conference was completed too. A great day for us! Yesterday the temps were almost 100 - today it's rain and 75s for a few days. Fall is coming, whether we like it or not. We'll write more when we have more time.

Elder and Sister Harris

July Update

Today is July 2^nd and we are still recovering from our time with our Stake’s youth conference and pioneer trek. Before our memory starts to dim we want to put this into our mission history, and include it as one of the highlights of our experience here as missionaries in North Dakota.

There may be some of you who may wonder what we were doing, going on a trek? The answer is that we bargained to go, promising that we would pay our own way and provide our own transportation. We have made it our policy to be at every youth activity held by the Bismarck Stake and it just made sense to go with the same youth whom we see in seminary. Besides this, the course we will be studying this coming seminary year is Church History and the Doctrine and Covenants. Going on the Pioneer Trek with the youth would be a perfect setting to begin the Seminary year. When we volunteered to help with the cooking, and because we knew something about Dutch Ovens, the invitation was extended and we jumped at the chance and said “yes!”

The Stake Young Women President and her husband (the main doctor), were in charge of the food. Everything had been so well organized that it was easy to take assignments and help prepare some of the food beforehand. We helped to purchase and prepare Beef Stew, as well as variations of cobblers and cakes. The Shaws, who recently moved from Denver, brought up six of our Dutch Ovens, sleeping bags and tent. Seeing our old black Dutch ovens was like seeing old friends again. With other borrowed dutch ovens wewere ready to go ‘Treking.’

Once again we were reminded of the hardship experienced by the early Saints, even if it was only a few days. We had encouraged a young woman from the Ft. Yates Branch to come and attend the youth conference. She is not a member, though her mother is, and she made a decision be with a friend from the Bismarck ward. With Ashley Weasel on the trek we were very sensitive to what was being said. We reminded ourselves that the Native Americans do not look upon the settlement of North America in the same way that we do. But the story of the gathering of the church to Utah is one of families, and one of sacrifice. It is the story of a persecuted people who would have been satisfied to remain in their homelands had that been possible. This was the beginning of a story that would cover two decades, 1846– 1868, of the trek of these faithful souls. They came to their precious Zion walking beside covered wagons, and pulling handcarts; sailed from Europe, traveled by river boats, and railway. Approximately 70,000 people migrated to “Zion”, 3,000 of those came by handcart. As they traveled they built communities and way-stations to benefit those who would follow. They married, bore children and many times buried their loved ones who perished because of the rigors of the crossing. This they did because of their testimonies of Jesus Christ and their belief in the restoration of the Gospel through a modern-day prophet. This is the important story of the early pioneers.

Our youth broke camp every day by striking the tents and loading everything in the handcarts, even if they were returning to the same camp site. At the end of each day, they re-pitched their tents and established their camp. Our stake leaders felt that this would give them a greater, realistic experience of a pioneer’s day. We never heard anyone complaining.
Women did the ‘Women’s pull”, pulling the loaded handcarts to the top of the hill without the strength of their men and young men. The men stood by, hats in hand, tears running down their faces, as they watched the sisters’ struggle through the gruesome ordeal. When one of the young women collapsed, the young men gathered and knelt in prayer, pleading to the Lord to give their sisters the strength to complete the task. All of this was very touching to those who witnessed the scene.

This is not the first time we have witnessed the “Women’s pull” and we have worried for those who, on a hot day and unconditioned for the task, are called upon to spend their strength in this fashion. But we also see the results of moving the youth to a level of emotion and understanding as they come to the realization that pioneer women went beyond their strength to pull handcarts, drive teams of horses and oxen and perform the labors of men.

Another moving experience was the crossing of the Sweet Water. This year the runoff from the snowpack in the Wind River Mountains has been excessive and the rivers are high. We could not take the handcarts through because of the depth of the water but everyone waded across to experience what others did. A few were carried on the backs of the young men but most walked into the swift current, water up to their waists, and trudged through.

Weather- excellent! In previous weeks they have had snow, rain, and fierce winds, but our 4 days in Wyoming were warm sunny days with breeze enough. Our biggest problem was mosquitoes in the early evening. We were lucky!

All 3 members of the Stake Presidency were there, and most of the adults were the stake and ward YM/YW leaders. We knew almost all the kids, and got a chance to meet some who will be new 9th grade seminary students this year.

We did not walk the entire distance of the trek but we were able to walk part of it. Our main purpose was food preparation. Each morning breakfast was to be ready by 6:30 AM which meant getting up with the “chickens.” We did use the Dutch Ovens to cook cobblers one night, upside-down cakes another night, and pork roast with vegetables. Each meal was a big hit and we were blessed to have everything turn out right.

We enjoyed meeting the missionaries serving at Martin’s Cove and Sixth Crossing. We seemed to get preferential treatment because we were wearing the name badge. One missionary couple came from Overland Park, Kansas, and we enjoyed catching up on news and information on many of our old friends.

We were using one of our smaller tents, which had plenty of room for sleeping and supplies, but not enough height to be able to stand up. It made dressing, undressing, getting into and out of bed more challenging. We joked about needing to lasso our toes to pull our feet close enough to put on our socks and shoes. By the end of the week we were wishing for younger years and more agile bodies.

We have just been treated to have a visit by Wayne and Lucynda Champlin. They were taking a vacation and wanted to come and visit us here in Bismarck. We remember Wayne being baptized a couple of weeks before we left to come on this mission. He and Lucynda were sealed in the Denver Temple about a month ago and they wanted to go with us to the Bismarck temple. We had a glorious evening together and we were blessed to have the temple presidency, and others, go out of their way to make things perfect. We are so thankful to these wonderful people for making our friends feel so welcomed and loved.

We are very busy getting ready for the 2010-2011 seminary year. Currently we are in the middle of another On-line Program training course. We are learning so much and we are seeing the great advancement over the course that we worked with over this past year. There is a learning curve to everything and so much has been learned from the past two years. Last year we held conference calls weekly with our online class, which worked fine. But this coming year we will have access to “Meeting Place” which will allow the students and teacher to use the computer to teach the class. We are looking forward to this new adventure.

Last week Branch Conference was held at Fort Yates. We had spent part of Saturday, with our two elders, cleaning the church and the grounds. It was beautiful. We don’t know if anyone could see a difference but we do know that no one was distracted by the sense of filthiness. The missionaries made a big effort to get the word out to many of our inactive members and we had a record number in attendance. Oh how we all wish that we could have those members in attendance every week. We had a wonderful Pot-Luck following the meetings and everyone went home, some traveling 5 ½ hours, full of good food and filled with the spirit.

Well, today is July 22^nd and we started this update on July 2^nd. (So much for writing down our experiences early before we forget things.) The summer months are a challenge without the structure of schedules that we have during the school year but it has been full of wonderful activities. We have been working two evenings in the temple and continue to have wonderful experiences in our service. We also watch after the flower gardens by the temple and keep out the weeds around the stake center. There are plenty of things to do.

We love and appreciate you all.

Love,

Elder and Sister Harris

Steve and Kris

Dakota Update

On May 15^th, after attending the Bismarck North Dakota seminary graduation, we said, “We must record this wonderful event and the feelings we have on this precious moment.” Along with that statement we also promised to write an update of our mission. Now, a month later we find ourselves regretting our lack of resolve, but are determined to report on the many blessings we have witnessed over the past three months.

Seminary graduation was a momentous event for us. It marked the culmination of the past 8 ½ months. During those months we had visited each seminary class multiple times, had listened to lessons of the Book of Mormon given by different teachers, and had felt the Spirit bear testimony of the truthfulness of the doctrines we were learning. Of the 58 Early Morning Seminary students who started the course in late August, 47 (81%) had completed the year with 80% or higher attendance. 1,107 classes had been held throughout the stake by 7 different teachers. Of the few (6) who had started the Home Study program, four had completed the course and three graduated. Ten of these students, both Home Study and Early Morning, had memorized all 25 Scripture Mastery scriptures, 14 of the students had read consecutively for 250 days, and over 30 had completed the reading of the Book of Mormon. The list of accomplishments, both teachers and students, goes on and on. In the graduation we honored 10 students who graduated but we also had the opportunity to acknowledge all who had excelled. We measure success in many different ways and we were so pleased to see approximately 80 people in attendance at the graduation. (May we remind you that the Bismarck Stake covers ½ of the State of North Dakota and some of those people had driven 4 hours to be there.) The entire Stake Presidency we seated on the stand and of our 10 teachers, 9 were present. We were so very pleased with all who came and showed their support. A dinner was held immediately afterwards, prepared by our High Council Advisor and his wife. Not only did we breathe a sigh of relief when all was concluded but we felt an overwhelming spirit of gratitude. We have been blessed beyond description over these past 9 months. We thank our Heavenly Father for the privilege to serve on this mission and for the choice blessing of knowing the wonderful members of the Bismarck Stake.

Spring in North Dakota came late in May and seemed to have lasted all of one week. One day the trees seemed to burst forth in blossoms and the next week the blossoms were gone and the green leaves were in their places. The planting of the vast acreage of land in North Dakota still is in the process. We are blessed to have had much rain, but the fields have been too wet to work. Still, as one looks over the landscape all that can be seen is GREEN. If you could see this land you might think that it was a million acre golf course. It is spectacular. Because of its vastness, it is impossible to capture with the lens of a camera, but nevertheless, we will post a few pictures that you can open and view. We are again overcome with gratitude to be in such a beautiful country.

We have enjoyed the Canadian Geese which have been nesting in the Dakotas, along with pelicans and multiple species of ducks and other water fowl. We saw the pelicans last year but did not know what they were. These birds are bright white and can be seen at a distance, and their flight is also identified by their formations. But our greatest joys have been the geese and their new goslings. In Minot there is a large, beautiful park, called Oak Park. There have been a number of Canadian Geese who have occupied the park, even as the snows began to melt. Now these geese, collectively, have scores of babies that they are watching after. The goslings are growing so fast and this past week we saw that the larger goslings are starting to get feathers. We will post another picture of these birds. On Sunday we saw a wild turkey with 6 or 7 chicks running across the road. We slowed to a stop so that mother and chicks were safe. We can now say that we have seen one more unique sighting. We consider these experiences as ‘Tender Mercies’ from the heavens above.

This past weekend we had a visit from Gary and Barbara Sollee. They wanted to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary and choose to come to North Dakota to celebrate it with us. We cannot describe the perfect weekend that we had because words are not adequate. But we can say that we saw and did many wonderful things together. On that list was a night at the Bismarck Temple, an afternoon at the Cannonball Pow Wow (a town on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation), and Sunday meetings at Fort Yates. The Sollee’s met our Temple Presidency, who were so gracious to them and who went out of their way to make them feel welcome. At the Pow Wow in Cannonball we saw and met a number of members of the Ft. Yates Branch. The Grand Entry was exciting as we listened to the drums and chants from the various singers. The dancers, of all ages, were dressed in beautiful outfits and we once again witnessed the pride of the Native People. It was exciting! On Sunday the Sollee’s met a number of members and some who are investigating the church. We saw how easily Gary and Barbara fit into the conversations and activities. We acknowledge that they are prepared to go on a mission and will do a wonderful job when, in a few years, they will be able to serve. We were very happy that when we ate with the members, following the meetings, the main course was Buffalo. We love buffalo meat and we were hoping that our Branch President would bring some. Oh how we love these native people and we were so happy to have the Sollee’s meet and talk with them. We were so thankful to have a few days with our former bishop and his wonderful wife. And even though we were sad to say goodbye we know that it will just be a few months before we will see them again.

Regarding our work in the Ft. Yates Branch and the support of the McLaughlin Branch, we have seen much success here of late. For the first year that we served here we never knew where the Baptismal Font was located. It is actually located under the floor in the Primary Room, which requires that two or three panels be removed to expose it. Since December we have witnessed 5 baptisms from Ft. Yates and 4 from McLaughlin in that font. We are so thankful for this success and we thank our Heavenly Father that we can be a small part of it. Our elders have worked hard over the time we have served here and now have witnessed a harvest. We continue to pray that this success will continue.

With a lull in our schedule we have taken on the responsibility to help keep the stake center and the beautiful temple grounds free of weeds. “A flower out of place is a weed.” We usually work in the early morning hours, 6:30 am to about 8:30 am, when the air is calm and the sounds are subdued. This service gives us a chance to get the gardening desires out of our system and we so enjoy the results of our labor. Being that the Bismarck Temple is a small temple, there are no employees connected to it. That means that there are no janitors, gardeners and mechanics. All the cleaning inside and out is performed by temple patrons and the temple presidency. So, if we see a weed in the flower beds, we pull it out. This year’s gardening started on Memorial Day when we, the members, under the supervision of the temple presidency, planted the many beautiful flowers that surround the temple. We were assigned, along with the presidency, to take care of a large circular flower bed in back of the temple. (We actually don’t know where the back of the temple is but we assume that it is opposite the front.) Five of us removed the encroaching weeds, prepared the soil and then planted numerous flats of flowers. The following days our stiff and aching muscle reminded us how many times we had bent over, but our joy was full as we look at the garden’s beauty. We do wish, however, that the weather would warm up so that we can see these flowers grow. Like most of the country, we have had a cold spring and even though summer starts in less than a week, we have not seen the warm weather. We hope it comes soon.

Many of you have asked our children when we are returning from our mission. We are serving a 23 month mission and that will put us back in Highlands Ranch the first of January, 2001. We are not anxious to shorten it in any way.

Love to all of you. Yes, even though we love our mission we do miss you and look for the time we can be with you again.

Elder and Sister Harris

Spring is Coming

We've had a different week here in ND. We changed our travel schedule because of a Zone Conference in the middle of the week and a youth activity in Williston today.

We taught seminary in Bismarck Tuesday and Wednesday after the teacher left for the week and the substitute got sick. Wednesday was the Zone meeting, then the 2 hr drive to Minot and Institute there that night. Thursday morning we attended seminary in Minot, then drove to Williston (all these are 2 hrs apart). Friday morning it was seminary in Williston, then we drove 3 hours to a small town to see a HS play that one of our on-line students was in. He was very happy that we went to see him. On the 3 hr trip back to Williston, we drove through a town where we have other on-line students, and decided to see if one was practicing baseball. We're kind of hanging on to him by the fingernails. He doesn't do the on-line lessons very often (he's very involved in sports and doesn't have much parental encouragement), but he joins us for the calls once a week. We found the baseball field, and the team was having their first game. We decided to stay for some of the game, and Dad went back to the car to get a blanket. On the way he passed cars watching the game from a higher field, and Lucas's parents were in the car watching. They invited us into the car with them (must warmer - thanks!) and we had a good chance to talk to them, plus watch the team play. We felt it was a miracle to connect with all of them. The Lord blesses us EVERY day.

Today was the youth activity, and about 40 of the youth from the stake gathered in the furthest corner of the stake. They hold these activities in the different areas, so the travel distance is eventually equal for all. We love being with these kids, because we know them so well now. It was very successful, and the kids seemed to have a great time. One of their games was dividing into 6 teams, putting volunteers in 6 chairs, and giving the kids peanut butter and colored goldfish so they could decorate the faces of the volunteer. (yes, peanut butter on the face, with goldfish stuck to it in places) So creative of the kids - and of course, such a mess for those getting their faces "done." We had Hulk (all green), The Joker (from Batman movies), Hitler (two brown goldfish for his mustache, and some eyebrows), and Elvis (sideburns, glasses, and wild hair--the volunteer was bald on top). Steve and I had to judge the best. Maybe we'll put on a picture so you can see what we mean.

We're home late tonight (drive from Williston to Home about 4 hours) - starting to work on the primary lesson and other assignments for Sunday. Next weekend we're taking 15 YSA from both Bismarck and Minot and other places in the stake to Sioux Falls SD for a YSA adult conference. We're trying to finalize who's riding in the 15 person van and who's driving themselves or others.

Most of the snow is melted, but not much green grass showing yet. Maybe another week. Highs in the 50s, early morning lows still below freezing. Turtle neck or not?, trench coat, short wool coat, or long coat?.... the daily decisions.

That's the news from North Dakota - life in the Vast lane.

Elder and Sister Harris

January - February 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

January 2010

It is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder. After being away from all of you for one year we can say for sure that this statement is true. You all mean so much to us and we fear that we took your love and relationships for granted. Can you believe that it has been one year since we entered the Missionary Training Center? January 26th was our Mission Anniversary. The time has gone by so fast and we cannot even begin to count the myriads of experiences we have enjoyed. We are one year older but we feel to have better health than when we left a year ago. In this past year we have not missed a day of labor due to illness and we can only attribute this to the blessings of a loving Heavenly Father. We have been blessed beyond our fondest dreams.

We can’t say too much about the weather in North Dakota since the entire country has experienced much of what we have seen. It is not that we wanted to share these unique weather phenomenons with our beloved friends and family but most of you have seen and felt the weather extremes, as we. On Christmas Eve it began to snow sideways and for two wonderful indoor days we watched the weather raging outside. We saw drifts of snow that were over 6 feet high and cars buried to their roofs. Then came the Arctic front that dropped the mercury to a -33 (We are not talking wind-chill here – actual temps.) and a week of 20 below zero. We are surprised that people in North Dakota continue with their normal schedules. School buses still run, garbage trucks are picking up garbage, and everything continues. We attended seminary in Dickinson the first week of January and it was -27 degrees. That day they had 100% attendance. When the outside temperature reached a -5 it actually felt warm. What an experience.

We installed a heater plug in our Honda Civic and it has made a huge difference starting the car. We just wish that the heater plug would heat the inside of the car as well. In late January we had a meltdown but this the snow came back and the wind started to blow. WHITE OUT!! Have we told you how much we enjoy it here in North Dakota? No complaints from us because we are so very happy. We working together and we both have warm clothes to wear.

We were one of two temples in the church that was open on New Year’s Day. Between the temple workers, the temple president, and the temple matron, we were able to hold an endowment session. If we do not have enough people to hold a session then we do sealings. Working in a small temple is different than the Denver temple. If you have 7 brothers and 5 sisters you can hold a session; and that is what we did on January 1st. The snow was falling and the wind was blowing and we were all warm in the confines of the beautiful temple. That was Friday and then we also worked on Saturday, with a few more people who were able to attend. With all of the bad weather, much of it coming on the weekends, the temple still opens and only once, since we have been here, was the temple was closed. Remember, that if the roads are closed then all workers and patrons have to come from the Bismarck ward. We, Kris and I, have never missed attending the temple due to the weather.

On Martin Luther King’s Birthday, we had one of those experiences that would only come while serving a mission. Our work on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation usually takes place on the weekend as we participate in Sunday meetings and worship. On this particular Monday we drove to the reservation to attend a funeral and burial of a premature baby who lived a couple of days and then slipped away. The baby's grandmother is a member of the Ft. Yates branch, and the parents have attended our meetings, so we went in support of her and the family. The Elders from Ft. Yates came with us and we drove to a small village in South Dakota, named Kennel. (Times are confusing on the reservation - some parts are Central Time, some parts are Mountain Time, and there is also "reservation time", which means "When we get there.") The funeral was scheduled for noon, but the family didn't get to the church until 3pm, so we had some time talk with the presiding priest. The Catholic Church has a new building, with all of the art and décor in a Native theme. It is very unique and beautiful. A large stump of a Cottonwood Tree made for a beautiful Altar and everything looks to be made in the décor of the Lakota Indians. We met Father Jim, who with 5 other priests, are based in McLaughlin, serving the Catholic churches on the reservation. As we were talking, Father Jim sobered and said that he wanted to thank our church for standing beside the Catholic Church on the issue of marriage. He admitted that our church had taken most of the heat for the Proposition 8 stance, but wanted us to know that it was appreciated. One of our Elders gave him a copy of The Proclamation to the Family so he could see our stated position.

When the family arrived from Ft. Yates, they decided not to have the service in warmth of the church, but rather have a graveside service out in the cemetery. It was very cold, but we walked out through the drifted snow and stood next to the frozen grave while Father Jim did a brief service. Afterwards the little casket was placed in a wooden box and the lid nailed shut. They then took two ropes and lowered the little casket into the grave. The pall bearers started to shovel in the dirt. We learned that on the reservation the Tribe opens the grave, but the family has to fill it in. The dirt was next to the grave, and the mortuary people brought out shovels for the family to use. It was soooo cold, and one of the pall bearers had on a short sleeved shirt and soon had to leave for shelter. We asked the father of the baby if he would like some help, and then we helped to fill in the grave. It was a very tender experience for us all.

One point of interest; most of the cemeteries in North Dakota do not bury people during these cold months. They store the deceased in an outside building until spring comes and the ground defrosts. They then open the graves and the burials take place. We do not know what to think of this practice, but can see why it’s necessary.

With the Christmas/New Year’s Holiday over we started once again to make visits to our Seminary and Institute classes. We love these teachers and students like they are family and we are learning much as we study the Book of Mormon with them. With all of the raging storms we have seen we have only postponed one day of travel.

(We apologize that this letter has now taken over a month to complete.)

Today, February 16th, we completed a Zone conference. We love our missionaries and we admire how they teach one another. They seem much older than their actual age. Oh, there is power in this generation! Today we really enjoyed talking with President and Sister Layton, our mission president and wife. They have now been on the job since July and they seem to be old hands. 7 ½ months has prepared them well. Imagine traveling to two states, North Dakota, South Dakota, and parts of three others, Wyoming, Minnesota, and Nebraska. They will drive over 55,000 miles in their first year and they will get a replacement car every year they serve. That is how much they travel, completing their assignments. We are continually amazed at what ordinary members contribute to the Church. Their mission is a three year assignment and they will sacrifice much in time and talent, not to mention careers and businesses.

We have mentioned how we are trying to support the youth in this stake by being at their school activities, Plays, concerts, games, etc. We have been blessed with such great rewards for being where the youth are. We know almost every youth who are 14 years old or older. This past Friday and Saturday we attended one of the Stake Youth Activities, held in Minot. This activity reminded us of our Youth Conferences. Because the wards and branches are all spread apart, every few months they have a youth activity in a different corner of the stake. Friday: They had games, a movie, “Forever Strong” and a dance. The kids then stayed overnight with members in Minot and reported back at the church on Saturday morning. Saturday: They had breakfast, speakers, service projects, lunch, and then went sledding. The sledding was the most fun, of course and we watched from the bottom of the hill. It was warm (ND translation: above 0) and no wind, so the youth didn't get frostbite, even if some of them weren't well dressed for sledding. Our part of the activity was to help where needed; serve meals, empty trash cans and assist with the service projects. Other than that, we just enjoyed being with the kids. We have been invited to go with the Stake, this coming June, to Martin’s Cove. We had a long discussion regarding Dutch-oven cooking and good meals to serve on the trek. Those of you who really know us must admit that such a conversation was like getting a shot of adrenalin. We were, and are, excited. (How can we get our 7 Dutch-ovens shipped to Bismarck?) Did we not say, in past newsletters, that everything that we have ever done in the church has given us experience to serve on this mission? This past weekend with the youth was a nice change for us.

We must say goodbye for now. We apologize for the run on news letter. We are happy to have the remainder of 2010 to be here. With our experiences we also want to express to you the growth of our testimonies. Every day there seems to be another experience, another chapter of reading, another lesson which gives support to our testimonies. We do love our Father in Heaven and his beloved Son, Jesus Christ and we are constantly being lead by the Holy Ghost in our work. These things we testify of.

Elder and Sister Harris