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
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
July Update
Today is July 2nd 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 22nd and we started this update on July 2nd. (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
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Dakota Update
On May 15th, 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
Monday, April 12, 2010
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
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
January - February 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
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
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
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Merry Christmas from North Dakota
WARMEST WISHES to our dear Family and Friends,
Today is December 15, 2009, and this is a picture we took at 7:30 AM, in Ray, North Dakota. We had just completed Early Morning Seminary in Ray, which is a small town in the northwest part of the state. Yes, we know, the temperature shows a -22 degrees and it was dark at that time of the morning, but in all good conscience we were warm inside, having had a wonderful morning with some of our faithful students. We will add, that the class had 100% attendance, as we seem to have many times in our “Kitchen Table Seminary” classes. How could we not love such devoted people? We do love them and we are grateful to be among them. (You will need to download the attachments)
Cold Temperatures: We know that we are not the only ones who are experiencing the frigid temperatures. We are very interested in the weather where our friends and family live, and we know that this winter is much different than the one experienced in 2008-2009. We have not had the snow that North Dakota experienced last year, actually we had a beautiful and mild Fall, but we do not expect that to be the case for long. We are prepared for the worst if it should come. Our car has new Michelin Winter Tires and in the trunk is our survival box which includes hand and feet warmers, candles, blankets, thermal boots and some tasty emergency food. We hope that we never have to use it but it feels good to be prepared. We want to say how thankful we are for our Honda Civic. It now has 151,000 miles and is running well. We did install a “Heater Plug” that helps keep the oil in the car warm during the cold nights and we find that most hotels and apartment complexes have outside electrical outlets to plug into. What a difference it makes in starting a frozen car at 5:30 AM.
Our work over the past month has been very busy. Some weeks we long for a free day just to get a few letters written or appointments made. Yet, even with our busy schedule we find a level of satisfaction in the work we do. Recently we have witnessed and participated in three baptisms, in three different wards or branches. We have been involved with the teaching of these people and have come to love each new convert. Let us share their stories, in as few words as possible.
Curtis: Curtis is about 50 years of age and has searched throughout his life to find the true church. He struggled with some of the policies of his previous church when they ordained an active gay minister in his congregation. He is divorced but provides foster care for two young teenage men. One night a member of the Bismarck ward took the Elders to dinner at a local restaurant. One of the foster sons was working there, and Elder Williams began talking to him and asked if they could come to his home to teach him more. The young man said yes, and when the missionaries knocked on the door, they met Curtis, and he became the investigator. I was invited to help teach a lesson and we got involved in his instruction. Curtis has a habit of writing questions on 3X5 cards and each time the missionaries came to teach he would pull out his cards. He was surprised to have all of his questions answered. He visited the Family History Center, met the Temple President, came to church and became involved. It was a wonderful day when Curtis was baptized. His foster son, who started this whole process by accepting an invitation, is now taking the lessons and we hope to see his baptism soon.
Andrew: Andrew is an Airman at Minot Air Force Base. He met an LDS woman on the internet who invited him to watch General Conference over the internet. He watched the first session and was so touched that he watched the rest. By the time the weekend was over he had watched all four sessions and ended his experience by calling one of the local bishops and saying, “I am in love with your church, how do I join?” We met Andrew shortly after when he came to Institute in Minot. We were surprised to see that he could navigate his way through the Book of Mormon and that many verses were marked. As you know, institute can be a little deep, but Andrew seemed to stay with the class. On November 28th, he was baptized a member of the church. We took him, his girlfriend, who was visiting from Texas, and his missionaries to dinner following the meeting. We were thrilled to be a part of his conversion and humbled by the Spirit that converted him.
Crystal: Crystal is the newest member of the Ft. Yates Branch, on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. She was one of the first investigators we met, back in March, when we started to attend and support the Ft. Yates Branch. She has had many struggles but she has continued to work towards membership. She loved the message of the Restored Church months ago but has struggled with alcoholism, the major challenge of the reservation. We have gone weekly to her home and helped her and her children get to church. (The providing of rides seems to be one of our major functions in the branch.) One of the major factors in her conversions was when she was invited to come to Stake Conference. She walked around the Bismarck Temple and enjoyed the conference messages. Maybe it was the bigger picture that helped her make the decision for membership, but once again, she experienced the feelings of the Spirit and wanted to be a part of what she saw and heard. We feel that she is firmly in the Church and can now help to bring her family in as well.
There are others in Ft. Yates with whom we are working and we feel that we will see more of these baptisms in the near future. We love the Elders who work in the Ft. Yates Branch, who orchestrate the rides on Sundays, and do the vast majority of the teaching. We provide the transportation, the love, and the support for our Branch President and the branch members. There are many disappointments that we experience, but whenever we get discouraged we see that if we were not present that an important piece of the formula would be missing. Therefore, we continue to go back and try some more. We are being blessed constantly. It is humbling to know that the Lord can use us in some insignificant ways to bring about his great and eternal purposes.
How blessed we have been to have had so many experiences in the Highlands Ranch Stake as we have worked with the youth, worked as cooks at Scout Camps and Young Women Girl’s Camp and participated in the many Youth Conferences. There may be times in our past when we asked, “Why are we doing all of this?” The answer seems to be clear; we are doing all of these things to gain experience. For example, we are constantly being asked to provide meals for groups of people: Young Single Adult Conferences, Missionaries gatherings, etc. We find ourselves searching our past and we find that we have a lot of ideas. We would say that we are using every experience of our lives as we fulfill this mission. Another example, just this past week we were asked to provide a dinner for 80 missionaries at a Tri-Zone Conference. We immediately thought of a meal we prepared at Girls Camp and few years back. It was a big success. Once the meal was underway we ran over to the Temple where we served as ordinance workers as the missionaries performed 1,216 ordinances that evening. We are so thankful for the training that we received in the Denver Temple in preparation for our mission. The fact is, we are asked to do many things and we draw upon the many experiences of our lives.
We would like to close our message with the account of the first Christmas, Luke 2:11 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
May you have the spirit of this Christmas, which is the feeling of an inner peace, the gladness of Christmas, which is hope, and the heart of Christmas, which is the love of our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Love,
Elder and Sister Harris
Today is December 15, 2009, and this is a picture we took at 7:30 AM, in Ray, North Dakota. We had just completed Early Morning Seminary in Ray, which is a small town in the northwest part of the state. Yes, we know, the temperature shows a -22 degrees and it was dark at that time of the morning, but in all good conscience we were warm inside, having had a wonderful morning with some of our faithful students. We will add, that the class had 100% attendance, as we seem to have many times in our “Kitchen Table Seminary” classes. How could we not love such devoted people? We do love them and we are grateful to be among them. (You will need to download the attachments)
Cold Temperatures: We know that we are not the only ones who are experiencing the frigid temperatures. We are very interested in the weather where our friends and family live, and we know that this winter is much different than the one experienced in 2008-2009. We have not had the snow that North Dakota experienced last year, actually we had a beautiful and mild Fall, but we do not expect that to be the case for long. We are prepared for the worst if it should come. Our car has new Michelin Winter Tires and in the trunk is our survival box which includes hand and feet warmers, candles, blankets, thermal boots and some tasty emergency food. We hope that we never have to use it but it feels good to be prepared. We want to say how thankful we are for our Honda Civic. It now has 151,000 miles and is running well. We did install a “Heater Plug” that helps keep the oil in the car warm during the cold nights and we find that most hotels and apartment complexes have outside electrical outlets to plug into. What a difference it makes in starting a frozen car at 5:30 AM.
Our work over the past month has been very busy. Some weeks we long for a free day just to get a few letters written or appointments made. Yet, even with our busy schedule we find a level of satisfaction in the work we do. Recently we have witnessed and participated in three baptisms, in three different wards or branches. We have been involved with the teaching of these people and have come to love each new convert. Let us share their stories, in as few words as possible.
Curtis: Curtis is about 50 years of age and has searched throughout his life to find the true church. He struggled with some of the policies of his previous church when they ordained an active gay minister in his congregation. He is divorced but provides foster care for two young teenage men. One night a member of the Bismarck ward took the Elders to dinner at a local restaurant. One of the foster sons was working there, and Elder Williams began talking to him and asked if they could come to his home to teach him more. The young man said yes, and when the missionaries knocked on the door, they met Curtis, and he became the investigator. I was invited to help teach a lesson and we got involved in his instruction. Curtis has a habit of writing questions on 3X5 cards and each time the missionaries came to teach he would pull out his cards. He was surprised to have all of his questions answered. He visited the Family History Center, met the Temple President, came to church and became involved. It was a wonderful day when Curtis was baptized. His foster son, who started this whole process by accepting an invitation, is now taking the lessons and we hope to see his baptism soon.
Andrew: Andrew is an Airman at Minot Air Force Base. He met an LDS woman on the internet who invited him to watch General Conference over the internet. He watched the first session and was so touched that he watched the rest. By the time the weekend was over he had watched all four sessions and ended his experience by calling one of the local bishops and saying, “I am in love with your church, how do I join?” We met Andrew shortly after when he came to Institute in Minot. We were surprised to see that he could navigate his way through the Book of Mormon and that many verses were marked. As you know, institute can be a little deep, but Andrew seemed to stay with the class. On November 28th, he was baptized a member of the church. We took him, his girlfriend, who was visiting from Texas, and his missionaries to dinner following the meeting. We were thrilled to be a part of his conversion and humbled by the Spirit that converted him.
Crystal: Crystal is the newest member of the Ft. Yates Branch, on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. She was one of the first investigators we met, back in March, when we started to attend and support the Ft. Yates Branch. She has had many struggles but she has continued to work towards membership. She loved the message of the Restored Church months ago but has struggled with alcoholism, the major challenge of the reservation. We have gone weekly to her home and helped her and her children get to church. (The providing of rides seems to be one of our major functions in the branch.) One of the major factors in her conversions was when she was invited to come to Stake Conference. She walked around the Bismarck Temple and enjoyed the conference messages. Maybe it was the bigger picture that helped her make the decision for membership, but once again, she experienced the feelings of the Spirit and wanted to be a part of what she saw and heard. We feel that she is firmly in the Church and can now help to bring her family in as well.
There are others in Ft. Yates with whom we are working and we feel that we will see more of these baptisms in the near future. We love the Elders who work in the Ft. Yates Branch, who orchestrate the rides on Sundays, and do the vast majority of the teaching. We provide the transportation, the love, and the support for our Branch President and the branch members. There are many disappointments that we experience, but whenever we get discouraged we see that if we were not present that an important piece of the formula would be missing. Therefore, we continue to go back and try some more. We are being blessed constantly. It is humbling to know that the Lord can use us in some insignificant ways to bring about his great and eternal purposes.
How blessed we have been to have had so many experiences in the Highlands Ranch Stake as we have worked with the youth, worked as cooks at Scout Camps and Young Women Girl’s Camp and participated in the many Youth Conferences. There may be times in our past when we asked, “Why are we doing all of this?” The answer seems to be clear; we are doing all of these things to gain experience. For example, we are constantly being asked to provide meals for groups of people: Young Single Adult Conferences, Missionaries gatherings, etc. We find ourselves searching our past and we find that we have a lot of ideas. We would say that we are using every experience of our lives as we fulfill this mission. Another example, just this past week we were asked to provide a dinner for 80 missionaries at a Tri-Zone Conference. We immediately thought of a meal we prepared at Girls Camp and few years back. It was a big success. Once the meal was underway we ran over to the Temple where we served as ordinance workers as the missionaries performed 1,216 ordinances that evening. We are so thankful for the training that we received in the Denver Temple in preparation for our mission. The fact is, we are asked to do many things and we draw upon the many experiences of our lives.
We would like to close our message with the account of the first Christmas, Luke 2:11 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
May you have the spirit of this Christmas, which is the feeling of an inner peace, the gladness of Christmas, which is hope, and the heart of Christmas, which is the love of our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Love,
Elder and Sister Harris
Monday, November 16, 2009
Dear Friends and Family,
August 30: Why is it that the week that school starts there seems to be a change in the season? Even though the weather has never been hot this summer, still there seemed to be a change this past week as school throughout North Dakota commenced. We were staying in Williston, ND, on Thursday evening, so we could attend an early morning seminary class on Friday, and as we left the hotel at 5:45 AM we walked out into a cold front that felt like winter was in the air. Nooooo, we don't want the cold weather to come yet. We were hoping for a couple of warm months yet in our future. I believe that everyone in Idaho, Wyoming Colorado have experienced the same change. I guess we never really want the long awaited summer to leave us but it is inevitable unless one lives on the equator.
One of the signs of summer in the Dakotas are the Pow Wows that are held throughout the reservations. Each town or city on the reservation holds a Pow Wow in the months of June, July and August. The Grand Daddy of them was held September 11th, 12th and 13th, on the campus of the Affiliated Tribes School Campus in Bismarck. The Branch President of the Ft. Yates Branch, who works in food services at the school, provided the food for 3,500 participants. He was supported with 45 family and church members, who gave up their weekend. Some of you will ask what a "Pow Wow" is? A Pow Wow is where the Native Americans participate in cultural dancing and rituals. The People prepare costumes throughout the year so that they can compete in the dancing. We do not claim to understand how everything works but we do know that it is very important to these Native People. We attended the Fort Yates Pow Wow and we were touched by the feelings of community. As we sat and observed the opening of the Pow Wow we saw the many dancers, young and old, male and female, parading in their best and dancing to the chants of the singers and drums. Each community has their own group of singers and drummers, who sit in a circle and chant to the rhythm of a huge drum that they beat simultaneously. Each group of singers is known for the songs they sing and they are as important to the Pow Wow as the dancers. As we waited for the competition to start, the announcer welcomed everyone to Pow Wow and then said, "I want to welcome the Mormons who have come a long way to be at Pow Wow." We did not know what to do so we waved our hands like the politicians and other dignitaries had done prior to us. We did not know if the man was being sarcastic or not but we noticed that no other religion was recognized. We knew that there were many LDS members in the crowd, even if they had not been to church for years. People know us, even if they do not know our names.
September 21, 2009: With the starting of school we also welcome the beginning of Seminary. This is our reason for being in North Dakota and we have been anxious for classes to begin. We do not have to describe Early Morning Seminary since most of you lived through the 4 years seminary when you were young. But we would like to tell you about "On-line Seminary". There has been a pilot program which has been going for two years, this year being the third. This program is to help involved students who cannot attend an Early Morning Seminary due to distance or in rare cases, health problems. With the advent of the internet and a computer in every home, it didn't take long for Church Education to put together an on-line program. The program covers English speaking stakes from Hawaii, throughout North America, England, and even in the United Arab Emirates. A stake teacher runs the class from their computer, and the students go on-line 4 days a week (any time convenient for them) and complete a lesson each day. The lessons are colorful, interesting, use imbedded videos and forums where all students can answer the questions and work together on an idea. Their individual responses can be seen by their teacher, who can reply back to them specifically. Then once a week the teacher gets the class together, either in person, on a Skype audio program, or by what they call here "Phone Bridge." We completed our second conference call class this past Monday morning. We absolutely love our class and can hardly wait for another class this coming week.
We have 8 students in our class. Most are on the western side of our stake (West half of North Dakota.) We drove around once to meet them, explain the program, and get necessary signatures from parents. This past Friday and Saturday we drove around to see them in person, encourage, and see how they like the program. One young woman was working in a cafe after school. We stopped and ordered milk shakes and then enjoyed a short visit. Two of our young men were playing football Friday night and we went to their game. (I think we drove 350 miles Friday—it was worth the drive!) Today on the way home we stopped at a few homes and saw the families and students. We felt so very welcomed in their homes. This is a great option for kids who live too far away from a daily seminary. We hope it will be successful in our stake (Bismarck North Dakota Stake). It keeps us busy each morning reading their responses and writing them back.
We still have lots of interaction with our young Elders in all these locations. Last week we were able to help our Bismarck Elders teach a lesson in our home. We have district meeting every week we are here, and feed them afterwards. We still check the missionary’s apartments and cars and then take them to breakfast or lunch. They are great young men and we admire their understanding of the gospel and priesthood government. They seem so much better prepared than we were at that age. We see in many of them the leadership that will be required for the future. We also want to plug seminary at this time since we see a remarkable difference in those missionaries who graduated from seminary from those who did not. If there was ever a reason to attend seminary this is one of the big reasons.
We are also involved with a man, a few years younger than us, who keeps asking for baptism. He is hard to miss since he comes to church with a big black Stetson, blue jeans and cowboy boots. He looks great and is one of the better dressed in the branch! He is now taking the lessons, which he walks a couple of miles to attend. Reggie is very faithful with church attendance and seems to keep the word of wisdom. Each week he asks to be baptized. We are planning his baptism for the fourth week in October and he would like to have Pot Luck afterwards.
He tells us that he has been in three different movies or TV shows. He also tells us that he was one of the Native Americans in "Dances with Wolves". (It is hard to believe that "Dances with Wolves" came out almost 20 years ago.) . We are working on the Bismarck Stake Young Single Adult Conference, set for October. YSAs will come from several stakes for a 3 day conference here. They will come from Rapid City, SD, Sioux Falls, SD, Fargo, ND and Canada. The main focus of this conference will be the Bismarck North Dakota Temple. There will be plenty of fun and dances but with the Temple being 10 years old we will enjoy attending or working on the temple grounds.
Priesthood Service: In the past month we have had numerous requests to visit the hospitals in Bismarck to provide a blessing or contact to a member from out-of-town. These blessings have also included the blessing of the sacrament, blessings of strength, or comfort, or healing. These requests have come to be, in turn, a great blessing to our Elders and to us. All of these requests, so far, have been to visit members, or their loved ones, who comes from the Reservations in North and South Dakota. One man had been beaten by a gang of young men and left for dead. Another was a woman giving cesarean birth to her child. One brother was dying and wanted a blessing of comfort for his last days. Elder Harris has given blessings to people throughout his life but he tells me that there is a difference in the blessings given to these Native People. What seems different to him is the strength of the spirit that comes on behalf of these Lamanite people. Some of these people are inactive members, living hard lives, contrary to the commandments of the Lord and estranged from the Church. Nevertheless, great blessing are pronounced upon their heads. We have seen the priesthood manifested in power and authority.
The brother who had been beaten and left for dead had been unconscious for two weeks but awoke within the hour that the blessing was given him. Over a period of three weeks we watched his recovery, both physically and spiritually. We asked our missionaries to visit him and they were able to teach him the gospel, of which he seemed to have forgotten. From the day he awoke he took the Book of Mormon that we left and started to read. There was never a time when we visited, always unannounced, that we did not interrupt his study of the Book of Mormon. He received the sacrament for the first time in years. He was excited and happy. This past Sunday we were asked to visit a young man (30 years of age) who is dying. He is not a member of the church but his uncle, a faithful member, asked that we visit and, if possible, give him a blessing. When we entered the room we saw his mother and sister sitting with him. He sat in his bed, watching a football game. We could see that he had lost both of his feet from the effects of his illness. We visited briefly and then asked if there was anything that we could do for them. The mother said that they would appreciate a prayer. Elder Harris said, “We know we are not of your faith but can I give you a blessing?” The man said yes. Elder Harris asked him if he believed in Jesus Christ. The answer was yes. Elder Harris then placed his hands on the head of the man and pronounced a blessing of comfort, pouring out words of love from Heaven above. We then left the room. We were both so nervous; nevertheless once again a great blessing had come forth. Just today we learned that after we left the room the man turned to his mother and said, “Did you feel that? I have never felt such a feeling in my life.” The blessing was nothing that came from us but from power and authority unseen.
We never hear what happens when they return home to the reservations but we know, and bear testimony of, that the Lord’s blessings were poured out upon them when they acted in the slightest bit of faith. We have seen this over and over.
Now, if you have reached the end of this update then we congratulate you. We know that it is far too much for busy people to have to read. We leave you with our testimonies of this great latter-day work that is taking place throughout this world. We are happy, physically well and healthy and excited for each day of work that we are given. May our Father in Heaven bless each one of you.
Elder and Sister Harris
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