Merry Christmas! December 23, 2013

Merry Christmas everyone! 

This week has been pretty good! We've had some miracles!

Mason, one of our investigators, had the time of his life at the Monta Vista(YSA) ward last Sunday and when he came home, he said, "I'm a Mormon!" I always knew that was a great ward. (: 

When we met with him the next day, he said, "Guess what, sisters? I'm getting baptized!" We were so shocked and excited!! He just decided on his own that he was going to get baptized and he only needs our help to plan the service. So mark you calendars, everyone! 1/4/14 is the day! We're so excited!

Yvonne, one of our other investigators, has asked us to read to Book of Mormon with her every day. She said that she only understands it when the missionaries are there. So we've been reading with her and one night, she said, "You know, now is the time. What am I waiting for?" It was awesome. We haven't been able to get ahold of her recently, though. But we'll keep trying.

So things are going well. There have been some Christmas miracles and I'm really starting to feel the Christmas spirit! On Sunday, we went to two wards and got to see two incredible Christmas programs. I'm so blessed to be in this mission at this time! I also feel very blessed to have received so much love from all of you! Thank you all for being awesome! 

I want everyone to listen to David Archuleta's Christmas cd. It's soo good!

On Saturday, I got to go back to Saratoga to see Alisha's baptism. It was a really sweet experience and another way that I felt the Christmas spirit this week. It was good to be back there and see all of my people and to see Alisha so happy! I am so blessed!

This week, we went to visit a less-active member and she wasn't home. It turned out that her daughter, who is also less-active, was there. She let us in and she told us that she had just been listening to the radio while cleaning the house. All of the sudden, the radio had turned off by itself, and that's when she saw us coming up the driveway. She basically spilled to us about everything she was going through and we taught her a Christmas message and sang 'Love at Home' with her. As we left, she had tears in her eyes as she said, "Thank you." It made us feel so good! It's awesome how the Lord will put you in situations where you're needed. Even when they're really unexpected. 

I love you all and hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!

Much Love,

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

Down by the Bay... December 16, 2013

Hello everyone! You may have noticed that my new address is in Santa Clara again! Surprise! Here's the scoop. I'm serving in the Los Altos stake now, and I'm living in Santa Clara. We're covering three wards in the western half of the stake, so we don't live in our area. We cover Los Altos, Woodland Park, and Heritage Oaks...So that's all of Los Altos, Mountain View, and part of Sunnyvale. It's pretty weird to be back in this area, but I'm loving it!

Parts of our area sit right on the bay! So yes, I'm living the dream. Also, Google is here. No big deal or anything.

I love all the people I've met so far and the area is wonderful! My new companion is Sister Young and she's awesome! She's really tall, so we're quite the sight together; not to mention we both have really Mormon last names! (:

The work is going well here and I'm excited to see how I can improve this area! I'm doing well and loving the Christmas season here! We've been sharing a message about Mary with the people we visit; about how Mary had so much faith to accept her seemingly impossible assignment and then she praised the Lord! I think we can all follow her example of faith and humility. 

I really appreciate all of the packages and love I've been getting from you guys! The 12 days of Christmas is really boosting my spirits! 

Have you ever heard of the Creche exhibit in Palo Alto? I got to go to it twice because our area is so close! It is a beautiful display of nativity scenes from all over the world. look it up!

There is a lot of service to do here in Los Altos. The other day, we got to work on a full-on farm and we got to muck out an animal stall. Meaning that we got to shovel poop for 2 hours. Good thing I was wearing gumboots because I would not have gone in there otherwise! Gross! I didn't expect to turn country in California! 

Anyways, I absolutely love it here and I'm so excited for this new area! 

Love you all!

 

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

 

 

 

 

New address:

3480 Granada Ave. #286

Santa Clara CA 95051

Don't cry for me, Saratoga... December 9, 2013

Hello everyone! Surprise!

I'm getting transferred again. Far away this time. I'm a little bit nervous to leave my safe-haven of Saratoga, but kind of excited to see what my next area has in store for me. I'll find out tomorrow where I'm going and I'll let y'all know!
I really am going to miss it here. I love this stake and this zone and I know that my next area is going to be a lot different. Wherever I go will be where I'm needed!
This week was good. We've been spreading a lot of Christmas cheer and having a lot of fun! We're getting a lot of opportunities to use music and it's been really cool. I'm going to miss Sister Bassett terribly, but it's okay because we'll see each other again.
Our investigators are doing well. We went on exchanges the other day and I was with Sister Black. We went to go drop in on Shelby and found a miracle! The first time we met with Shelby, we committed her to give the gospel 100% for the next week. When I visited her with Sister Black, she wasn't able to meet with us, but we had a couple of minutes at the door and she told us that she had kept the commitment and that she had seen miracles this week! We're really excited about her. She's totally getting baptized!
Thanks for the packages! I really appreciate them a lot! Everything has been going well and I am loving every minute of my mission.
This transfer has been a good one and I've learned a lot. I've learned not to judge a book by its cover; yes, there are a lot of rich people in my area, but they are some of the most humble people I've ever met. I've learned that being a missionary isn't only from 10 to 9; it's all the time. People are always paying attention to the little things we do and the things we say. I've learned that the harder you work and the better you plan, the more miracles you will see. I've also learned that a mission is one, big awkward moment. But it's a happy moment!
I'm a third of the way through my mission and I'm realizing how short this experience will be. It will be a small moment, but one that will effect me my whole life. I love it!
Well I hope that you are all having a wonderful day and a wonderful Christmas season!
Love you all!
Sister Julie Catherine Harris   

JOY to the world... December 3, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Holidays everyone!

The wine is out, and Christmas is coming to Saratoga! Seriously though, it smells like wine here.

Thanksgiving was great! We had three dinners scheduled, but we only ended up having two. The first dinner was at the Lange's in the Los Gatos ward and it was sooo good! They have a huge, gorgeous house up in the mountains and she is an amazing cook! We ate far too much and then had to go to our second dinner. Our second was at a family's house in Campbell whose name I can't spell or pronounce. It was a little bit different than the dinner in Los Gatos, but still pretty good. Needless to say, we were stuffed. We rolled to District Meeting after both of our dinners and everyone there was just vegging out. haha! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Street contacting on black Friday was interesting but fun! We got 100 contacts in one night!

It's getting a little bit cold here, but it feels good! Last night we went contacting and we used the Joy to the World cards. NOBODY said no. It was amazing. Afterwards, we realized that our nametags were inside of our coats. We decided that that's why everyone was nice to us! It's funny what a difference the name tag makes.

Yesterday, we went to Monterey with all the sisters in the zone for p-day! It was so much fun! We got to take two of president's cars down and we got to see Pebble Beach golf course! We went on the 17-mile drive down the coast and it was beautiful! The water was so blue and the sand was perfect! We had a really fun time on the beach and we all grew closer together as sisters. Sister Bassett is the best STL ever (:. We saw so many beautiful places and it was just a really good way to spend p-day!

This week was great! It was a hard week for all the missionaries in the zone because everyone went out of town. So we got creative and did a lot of street contacting. We did a lot of good work and have been meeting a lot of great people! 

The Christmas season is approaching, and my cute area is even cuter with Christmas lights! We have some amazing things in the works for this Christmas season, including a sing-along with some elderly and shut-in people in our wards. It's going to be a really good way to spread Christmas cheer! I'm excited for Christmas and to see what Christmas miracles will happen!

Speaking of miracles, the mission has 32 baptisms THIS WEEK and next week, there will be 22. It's amazing how much the work is hastening here! There are so many prepared people everywhere and we're doing our best to find them!

I love my mission and I love all of the people in my area! I know that miracles are going to happen and I know that the Lord is mindful of EVERYONE in the Saratoga stake and in the world!

I love you all!

Sister Julie Catherine Harris


Yay for Monterrey! Sister Bassett and Sister Harris soakin' up the sun...



Giving Thanks! November 25, 2013

Happy Monday everyone!

This week has been FABULOUS! We worked so hard and have seen so many miracles!

We started doing exchanges this week, since Sister Bassett is an STL. So it's been stressful for me, because I'm always the one who has to take care of the area while she's gone. It's been awesome though, because I've gotten to work with some great sisters! On Tuesday, I got to be with Sister Ferrin again! It was so much fun to be together again and working in basically our old area. It was comforting to spend time with my mom(trainer)! on Thursday, I got to be with Sister Powell and she is just amazing! We kind of went crazy that day and had 5 lessons and 45 contacts! It was also a very crazy day! I accidentally held a child for a few seconds, seeing as he jumped into my arms and it was that or the floor. /:

We also got yelled at by an apostate Italian man at a part-members home. The wife was very nice, though and let us share a message. Then we met a man named Black Ice and he proposed to Sister Powell! Haha it was a very outrageous day. I love doing exchanges, though, because it's really been helping me learn how to be a leader and take charge in my area. I've gotten so much better at teaching and contacting because of it!

This week, we also got THREE new investigators!! In case you're wondering, that's a lot here. One of them in named Emily and she's 14. Her mom is an active member and has been helping her a lot. We inherited her from the elders, who have taught her all the lessons already. She wants to get baptized, but her father is very much against it. Bummer! But we're working with her and hopefully she won't wait until she's 18! Then there's Alisha and she's absolutely solid. The elders have already taught her as well. She has set a baptismal date for the 21st of December and she's so excited! It's amazing to see people that are so prepared! She has a 6 year old son who's been enjoying primary and yesterday we taught them about temples. The exciting news is that she's going to Utah for Thanksgiving, and her friends are taking her to temple square on Saturday!! So she's super pumped for the temple and for becoming a Mormon! Yesterday, we also taught Shelby, a referral from the Campbell elders. She's been meeting with elders since March, but we talked with her last night about the Book of Mormon and parts of the first lesson and she is starting to get it! We challenged her to give it 100% this week to know if Joseph Smith is a prophet and we invited her to be baptized! She has a date for January 14th and she's going to do her best to be prepared by then! Yeeee!

But that's not all. We have been in contact with a woman named Sally for a few weeks and she is awesome! The elders met her when she just started coming to church one day. They have never been able to make an appointment with her, but she comes to church every week. We got her number and also tried setting up appointments, but they all fell through. So we've been sitting by her at church and the ward has been fellowshipping her a lot. The other day, she called us and we were on the phone for half an hour! She told us about her whole situation and how she's living out of her car and has no money for gas. She's been working with the bishop and he's been helping, but she really just needed someone to talk to(us). In the middle of the conversation, Sister Bassett says, "Sally, would you like to be baptized?" And she said yes!! She came to stake conference with us yesterday and is so solid! So hopefully, we'll actually start teaching her soon.

Exciting things are happening here and the Lord is truly hastening His work! This week was great and I'm so excited for our three dinners on Thanksgiving!! The members are wonderful and our investigators are even better! The Lord has blessed us so much this week and I know that miracles will continue to happen.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Love,

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

Little Miracles... November 18, 2013

Hello!

This week was great! A lot happened and the work is going well!
We were able to see a lot of little miracles this week! It is such a tender mercy; we felt weird most of the week because we missed church last Sunday. But Heavenly Father helped us to feel better by putting little miracles in our way all this last week! Yesterday was sooo busy! Actually, all Sundays are busy around here. We have to attend at least 2 ward councils and take the sacrament, but there are always other meetings! We had two stake meetings and a bunch of correlation stuff, so we were exhausted! Busy Sundays just make P-days that much nicer. One miracle that happened yesterday: we were fasting and all of the meetings and running around was making us very tired and sick. No one had signed up for dinner, so we were planning on just going home and making a sandwich or something. It was honestly kind of a depressing situation and we were a bit down. After our last meeting, we got a text from our wonderful Relief Society president saying that she had signed up for dinner and to come by after our meeting! We were so grateful! The story doesn't end there, though. So we broke our fast and went into her beautiful house and we see a home-made, luxury, steak and potatoes dinner on the table! AND she had invited an investigator! It was really a miracle and it went really well. The investigator's name is Alisha and she told us she would rather take the lessons from us than the elders! Sorry, elders! It was amazing.
On Saturday, we got to do a lot of service for a single mom in our ward. We raked leaves, pulled out dead plants, and got her yard all in order. At first, she was a bit embarrassed for us to see her yard like that, but she ended up being really grateful for us and our service. We cleared everything out and it looked so much better! She told us afterward that her kids loved having us over and her 17 year old daughter wants to do splits with us! It was a really good experience!
We had Zone Conference on Thursday and it was really long, but really good! The main theme was that we have high expectations put upon us and that we need to live up to those the best we can. He said that we have high expectations on us because of who we are-children of God. It was a really good meeting. Long though.
On Wednesday night, we got a text from our ward mission leader's wife saying that her daughter had just given out a Book of Mormon and that she has a friend at mutual right now that wants to learn more. So naturally, we dropped everything and rushed to the church! Makenzie was there with her friend, Rebecca and she seemed really interested. I guess she had been to a lot of activities before and had been given a Personal Progress book. She has already finished 5 value experiences! So we got to answer a few questions for her and help her with her personal progress. It was really awesome! Another miracle!
On Tuesday, our ward had a Relief Society Gratitude Dinner and it was really great! Our Relief Society president is so great and invited a lot of people, so it was packed with less-actives and non-members. We got to meet a lot of awesome people and build relationships with a lot of ward members. We met an investigator there who the elders are teaching named Kimberly. To the surprise of the elders, she was going around, inviting everyone to her baptism on December 7!! We were all so excited when she told us about it! Amazing things are happening in my wards!
So yes, this week was awesome. We saw a miracle or two every single day! In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'll just say that I'm so grateful to be serving a mission at this place, at this time! I just love all of the people here so much and I love all of you!
Sister Julie Catherine Harris

Blessings... 11-12-13

Happy Veterans Day everyone!

That's why I didn't email yesterday...

Anyways, How is everyone doing? This missionary is doing mighty fine! This week was really good. Remember how we were struggling with our numbers last week because our area is brand new? This week, we hit the standards of excellence (20 lessons and 140 contacts in a week) and then some! We are working hard and the Lord is blessing us!

I love my area more and more every day and Sister Bassett and I are still best friends. Like really, we're probably too good of friends ( :

We had an adventure this Sunday! So basically, Sister Bassett and I had been feeling sick since this transfer began and Sunday was the climax of it. We woke up and didn't even feel well enough to get ready for the day. So we prayed about it and decided that we needed sleep. We missed not one, not two, but three wards. We missed all of church. We felt terrible that we missed church, but we felt better because we had gotten a lot of rest. The whole rest of the day, we worked really hard. We dropped in on less-actives for 5 hours! And we did a lot of contacting. And all this time we were fasting. It's amazing how the Lord lifts us at our weakest moments.  So that was an adventure. We promised each other that we would never miss church again! haha!

The work is going well here. We are finding a lot of success and everyone is so excited to have sisters!

We've been doing a lot with music recently; Sister Bassett is an expert song-writer, so right now, we're working on putting the lessons to songs. It's going to be so cool when we can figure it out! We'll have to send a video or something! People here absolutely love the ukulele! It really is a great missionary tool!

Well, anyways, things are going really well and I'm loving every moment of my mission.

Oh, and by the way, TODAY is my 5 month mark! It's just flying by!

Love you all!

Pressing Forward,

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

New address:
350 BUDD AVE P3 
CAMPBELL CA 95008


Me and Sister Livingston at the Oakland temple



Meet Sister Bassett, my new companion!

Greetings from Los Sarabell !!! November 4, 2013

Sisters at the beach

Good morning! It's beautiful here in the Saratoga California stake!

So here's the verdict, because I know you were all dying to find out where I got transferred.

I'm helping to start up a brand new area in the Saratoga stake and I'm covering three wards! Campbell, Saratoga and Los Gatos (Hence the name, Los Sarabell. That's what the elders called us, and it stuck!). Sister Bassett and I are doing some great work here and I love the area so much! Even though I'm in generally the same geographic area, it's a lot different! Family wards are so much different than YSA wards, but I'm learning. This area is ridiculously wealthy, so it's a little bit more difficult, considering the lack of humble people.  But it's fun! Sister Bassett is so awesome! She's a Sister Training Leader, so we do a lot of exchanges and she gets to do a lot of fun stuff! We have the same sense of humor, so we have a lot of fun! It's great being in the same stake as the Monta Vista ward, because I get to see the members all the time! Basically the whole stake knows me now.

So that's the update with my new area and companion! One awesome experience I had this week was when we went out to do some drop-ins (since we're starting a brand new area, it's been hard for us to find work the last few days, so we've been begging for names and visiting anyone we can get).  We went to visit this elderly woman named Sister Sandberg.  She is a convert of a lot of years, and she hasn't been to church in forever.  So we went by to visit and we sang "I am a Child of God" for our message. During the song, she started singing along, and then toward the end, she had to stop singing because she was crying. When we got done singing, she said, "How did you know? That was one of my favorites." I feel so blessed when I'm able to bring the spirit into someone's life through music on my mission.  I'm also blessed to have yet another musical companion!

I can't even express how much love I have for this area and the people in it, even though I don't know all of them yet. The beauty of this area only adds to the love I already feel for the people! I'll send pictures this week for sure.

I'm so excited to see what this next transfer brings and to feel even more love for this area if that's even possible!

I love you all! I hope you had a wonderful Halloween!

Much Love,

Sister Julie Catherine Harris 

Marcella's baptism

Bitter and Sweet... October 28, 2013

Hello family! Well, it's happening. I'm getting transferred! It's really exciting, but really really sad at the same time! I'm really going to miss the Monta Vista ward, but I know that the Lord has bigger things in store for me this transfer. I was told that I'm staying in the zone, so that means that I'm white-washing or going Spanish. yay. 

My District Leader joked with me yesterday about going Spanish. It wasn't a funny joke. If the Lord needs me there, I will go; but it would be so challenging!

We went to Santa Cruz today with the zone for the last time this transfer and it was so much fun! Lilli brought us and hung out with us at the beach. I sure am going to miss her! It was one of the best p-days of my whole mission so far and I am so blessed that I get to stay in the zone!

Things have been going so well this week. I knew I was going to get transferred because Sister Livingston got a training call on Thursday. We were told that half of the sisters coming in this transfer don't speak any English, so it looks as if Sister Livingston and I will both be up for a challenge this transfer! I really am excited for this next transfer because there are so many changes and good things happening in the Saratoga stake in Zion. The one thing I'm most scared about is being in a family ward. /: ahh!

I've been praying a lot lately that I would be made strong and able to handle the changes coming up. The Lord has been doing a fantastic job at helping me through all of this. Sister Palmer is getting transferred and it's possible that I could finish training her greenie. Scary! No matter what happens, I'm going to be stretched. I'm excited!

That's exciting about baby Joseph! He is going to be an awesome little guy! I have been feeling so blessed this last week. It's weird coming from a pessimist, but it's true! I feel so blessed and loved by my Heavenly Father! With all these challenges coming up, I feel like the Lord is letting me know that He trusts me and that I'm enough. 

I love you all so much and I love the beautiful state of California! God bless all of us! I'll give you more details next week.

Much love,

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

The Hills Are Alive!!! October 22, 2013

Hey so autumn here is gorgeous! I've always hated autumn, but here it's so pretty! I hear that winter's even better! (:

Anyways, I'm doing well. This week has been good! We contacted 252 people on the streets this week! Mostly at DeAnza college, but still! The work is going pretty well; it's slowing down a bit, but still going.  

I got to play the violin at church yesterday! It was so good to just be able to play and let all of my emotions out! The stake president was there and he only knows me now for my violin playing. Oh well.

I absolutely love the ward. Since it's fall, there are a ton of new people coming in all the time and they're all so awesome! The ward members have started helping us so much and we have a lot of love and trust for them! Also, every time we go to church, I can just feel the love in the congregation. If there was ever a good singles ward out there, it's this one. Everyone is so strong and lovely and they understand the atonement of Christ. 

Everybody wish me luck. I have a dentist appointment this afternoon for that toothache I've been having for months. Pray for me! Y'all know how much I stress out about the dentist! 

Anyways, I've been doing well. Lilli got her patriarchal blessing yesterday and we got to meet with her afterwards! The experience changed her life and has caused her to have a greater desire to go to the temple!! I love her so much! Marcella is doing well and is also in the process of getting a temple recommend and a patriarchal blessing. Meadow is in the process of reactivation and is turning a new leaf in her life! As far as the investigators go, it's a bit slow, but I absolutely ADORE our less-actives. I get to meet some of the best people on earth and help them feel the spirit again. I love how Heavenly Father gives us opportunities and places certain people in our paths.  Sometimes I feel like I'm not here for them; they're here for me. 

So much love for the babies here in California. 

I may or may not be getting sick, but it's okay because the Lord is watching over me. And He's put me in this beautiful place! This week, we've been teaching a lot about tender mercies and it's been cool to be able to see those tender mercies more in my every day life. This week has been really great and I've learned a lot about God's mercy and love for me. 

Jesus loves you.

The caravan moves forward!

Much Love,

Thanks to Kelly /Christianson for the picture!

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

Prayer and Faith - like PB&J! October 15, 2013

Good day everyone! As you may have noticed, I hit my 4 month mark this past week! It's crazy! 

This week was good, we struggled a little bit with our numbers, but it was a good week nonetheless.  So much has happened!  Daniel is progressing and he loved conference! Direct quote from him about conference, "It was informative, and focused mainly on principles of faith." Yes, Daniel.  We love him so much!  He told us he had already seen all of the anti-mormon material and that he trusts us as a more reliable source.  He's so awesome!

Lilli is doing really well and I am loving her more and more every day! She is working on getting a patriarchal blessing and a temple recommend.  Her divorce is finalized and she's officially a young single adult! Woohoo!

We got to go to the temple visitor's center this week with an almost-investigator named Jim.  He's roommates with one of our favorite ward members, Mace.  He loved the visitor's center and was surprised that there was a place that nice in Oakland. haha!

The ward is doing really well and I love them all so much! As sister Livingston would say, "They're all so adorable!" It is true, brothers and sisters.  The Monta Vista YSA ward really is where it's at. I love everything about it! 

Marcella is doing really well.  The ward is fellowshipping her so well and she is fitting in great! Her boyfriend, Michael, just left on his mission, so the ward is supporting her really well!

So that's basically it for the people we're teaching.  As for me, I'm doing better.  I was struggling a bit the first couple of weeks of the transfer, but things have been put in perspective for me and I'm doing really well.  I've gained a testimony of prayer and faith.  They really go together like pb&j.  You can't have one without the other.  Pray to Heavenly Father and then go out and act with faith.  He ALWAYS delivers.  

I've gotten better at teaching, too! The more you work at something and have sincere desire to be good at it, the Lord will bless you.  So this whole mission thing is going well.  I'm loving it.  It sounds cliche, but it really is the best time of my life! I love the gospel and I love the Lord! I love His work and I'm so blessed that He trusts me with this portion of the vineyard.  

Oh and a shout-out to the Harris Chronicles! Hello everyone! I love you all!

God Speed!

Your favorite Sister in Zion,

Sister Julie Catherine Harris 

 

 

   

 

"I do it for the babies" October 7, 2013

Hello everyone!! How about conference this weekend!! So good.

I loved being able to watch all of conference this week with members of our ward.  We really got fed so well this weekend.  This week was very eventful!

We got 3 new investigators! Daniel, Greg, and Andrea.  I'm so excited for each of them and I see their incredible potential! We have been working so hard this week and have been going to bed exhausted every night!

Last night, we had two dinners and they were both huge! The first was a massive meat-and-potatoes meal topped off with apple pie, and the second was authentic Mexican tamales-like 5 of them!! So I almost exploded last night.  Yep, still not hungry.

So, funny story from this last week.  On Saturday night, we got out of our dinner appointment and decided to go contacting in Campbell for about an hour before we went home.  So we walked around and had only talked to about 5 people when I saw someone I recognized.  Let's back up.  I'm not sure if I told y'all this story, but a couple of months ago, Sister Ferrin and I were contacting in Campbell and we met a crazy woman named Carolyn.  She blew smoke in our faces and told us about a music and gospel camp she was starting for children.  Naturally, since we were wearing name tags, she enlisted our help.  Totally off her rocker, though.  So Saturday night.  We were walking, and I saw Carolyn from the back.  I tried to discreetly whisper to Sister Livingston to not contact her, but she didn't hear me and went for it.  When Carolyn turned around, she immediately recognized me and said, putting her arm around me, "Heeeyyy baby!" I was terrified. Like really.  I wasn't comforted in the least when she led us to a table located in a dark corner of an abandoned car dealership.  It was scary. We sat down and she proceeded to tell us about the progress she'd made on the camp.  Then she started blowing smoke in our faces again.  She was talking really fast about the camp and then all of the sudden she was like, "Can we say a prayer? Let's say a prayer." And then she just started praying.  We tried to teach her a short message from the Book of Mormon and she just wanted to keep talking about her camp.  She said it was a lot of work to put it all together, but then she said, "I do it for the babies, you know?" She's crazy. So we were trying to run away, and she started crying when we couldn't give her a ride. It was actually a hilarious experience.  On the bright side, she's totally going to church on Sunday. (: And we're safe, so the Lord was protecting us! 

Sorry for that long story, I just thought some might get a kick out of my utter terror. 

This week we had a mini-missionary! Her name was Sister Soto and she was adorable! She helped us a lot with our Spanish contacts! It was really fun to have her with us for the weekend!

Conference was amazing! It's incredible how the Lord answers prayers through the Prophet and Apostles.  I went into conference with some questions and all of them were answered!! It's really a faith-building experience when you get an answer that you're not expecting.  I love my Heavenly Father and I know that He will always do what's best for us even if we think differently.  I just love General Conference so much and I love hearing from our inspired leaders!! So yes, long story short, it was a great week! The work is picking up and things are going well.  I love you all!

God Speed!

Much Love, 

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

Sister Livingston, me, and Cassidy

Me and my new companion, Sister Livengston

HOW GREAT THOU ART!!! September 30, 2013

Mom!! I saw you on tv!! And then I cried the rest of the broadcast because I knew that both of us were singing at the same time!! It sounds pathetic, but it happened.

So anyways, this week was the best week of my mission so far! I have seen so many miracles around me and within me!! Marcella got baptized on Saturday and she asked me to play her violin at the baptism!! It was so wonderful to be able to play again.  It didn't sound as good as it used to, but it touched some hearts.  We played How Great Thou Art and Sister Palmer's investigator started sobbing during the musical number.  Afterwards, she asked Sister Palmer what the song was and she told her that it changed her life.  The baptismal service was so beautiful!! 

Marcella is so happy! We got to stand right next to the font as she got baptized, and we were both crying!! I'm so proud of her!! We went with her back into the changing room and she was speechless for a whole minute because she was so happy.  We were all just crying and laughing and hugging each other! It was a really sweet experience.

Everyone was so good to her at church yesterday, too. She was afraid that she wouldn't have any friends in the ward, but yesterday, the whole ward just fellowshipped her and became friends. There is so much love in the Monta Vista ward!!

On Friday, we went to De Anza College to go contacting and luckily, Sister Livingston had sidewalk chalk.  So we decided to draw the Plan of Salvation in the middle of campus!! It was really successful! Everyone who walked by stopped and asked questions.  We met a Burmese man named Tun and we talked with him for awhile before we had to leave.  We got his email address and set up a time to meet with him.  He met us at the church on Saturday and we gave him a church tour while teaching him about the Restoration.  He saw the name of the church and he asked what it meant.  I explained to him what "Latter-day Saints" meant and he understood.  He asked about the church logo a few other times too, and once he said, in broken English, "This is right. The name of your church." So we went on, and he kept asking really good questions about things he saw around the building.  We went in the primary room where the font is, and we asked him to pray with us.  We knelt down, taught him how to pray, and then he did it.  In his prayer, he asked God to show him the way and where he needed to be. After he prayed, we asked him how he felt.  He thought for a moment, and then said "peace. I feel peace." With an adorable smile on his face. Later he said, "God answered my prayer. This is it." We were so happy! He is so prepared to hear the gospel!! He came to church on Sunday and loved it.  

So things are going well here in California.  I am soo outrageously happy.  It's outrageous. 

I love all these people and I'm growing a lot closer to the ward members.  I love all of the precious people in this area!! 

I'm so excited for General Conference this week! On Wednesday we get to go to the temple!!! And it's Sister Livingston's birthday!  

I'll send pictures of the baptism when I can! 

Read 1 Thesalonians 5:16

Love all of you!

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

Life is like a box of chocolates... September 23, 2013

Hello everyone!!

How are y'all doing? This week has been absolutely crazy.  Like crazy.  

It's all been good, though.  I got a new companion! Her name is Sister Livingston! She's great! We've been having a lot of fun, and yes, I am still in the Monta Vista ward.  It's going well.

I'm so excited for this week because guess what's happening? Marcella's getting baptized on Saturday!!! I'm so excited.  She may or may not let me play her violin for her baptismal service.  So that would be exciting.  So that's a good tidbit.  

Also, we're having a sisters retreat with Sister Watkins this Thursday!! That'll be a good break.  

I realized this week just how much we need to be guided by the spirit as missionaries.  At times when you don't have the spirit with you, it's just 'whatever' and it's simply not fulfilling.  But having the spirit with you and remaining worthy of his companionship makes all the difference! We were contacting the other night and we gave this woman named Deborah a mormon.org card and walked away.  We ran into her later and both felt prompted to ask her if she wants to learn more.  So we talked to her and she seemed really promising.  Then we both felt prompted to give her a Book of Mormon.  It was awesome because we both just felt so guided by the spirit and we got close to 100 contacts that night!! It was great.

There have been a lot of changes this past week.  I got a new companion on Tuesday, and then Sister Palmer got her trainee on Thursday, so there have been a lot of trips to the mission office! It's been good though, there are a lot of fun people in the apartment!! It's VERY different, but still good. 

We're doing a lot of good work in the ward, and things are starting to look up.  I have developed a deep love for the singles in this ward, and if it wasn't weird, I would move back here after my mission and be in the ward.  But that would indeed be weird.  

I have had a few opportunities to contact people in German this past week!! Those three years in Junior High definitely came in handy!! I love all the Germans we meet (even though they all speak fluent English).  It's fun to be able to speak a tiny bit of their language.  

Anyways, I love all of you and hope you are doing well.

I'll write more next week when there's more to write about, but in the meantime, Adios!

Love, Sister Julie Catherine Harris

Kirche Jesus Christi

Der Heilege

Der Letzen Tage

Jammin' at the park - September 16, 2013

 

Hey!

Sorry I'm emailing so late! We spent the morning and afternoon in Santa Cruz, living the dream! It was a lot of fun! There are some places I need to take you guys when we come back to visit! 

So here's the update: Sister Ferrin is getting transferred and I get a new companion tomorrow! The transfer text came during our nightly prayer, and we heard the other sisters read it from the other room.  But I kept on praying, and then we started bawling when it was over.  I'm gonna miss her. And also, I don't know how I'm going to hold down the fort in Monta Vista without her.  But it's alright, I've got the Lord on my side! 

So how's everything at home? Maddie is engaged???? What the? Tell her congrats for me! Weird! 

This week has been good but crazy.  We've been using the Ukulele for contacting and it's been a surprising success! We went to a park and pulled out the ukulele while we just sat on the grass.  Neither of us knew how it would work, but we both felt prompted to go contacting with the ukulele in Sunnyvale of all places.  So we went to the park, sat down, and started playing.  And then, these high school boys with a guitar shouted to us and asked if we wanted to jam! We said yes and went over to talk with them.  We played them a song and they started talking to us and asking questions.  It turned into a mini version on the restoration and we gave away 2 Book of Mormons!! It was a success! Everyone loves the uke here! So thanks for sending it! 

We've had a lot of good experiences this past week! It was really slow because our whole ward was in Lake Tahoe and the people who weren't in Tahoe flaked out.  So We were working really hard to focus on our purpose and be productive.  It was a challenge to fill our days when everyone we planned on fell through, but it worked out.  I feel like we did a lot of good anyway.  It's amazing how the Lord guides us and teaches us in His own time and His own way.  We were guided by Him so much this week! It's been wonderful! 

One of our Zone Leaders, elder Lambdin, is going home this week and we're really going to miss him! He was a wonderful elder and he'll do great things after his mission.

Tonight, we are teaching the FHE lesson for the ward, and we're pretty much calling everyone to repentance.  It's about missionary work and we're trying to get them motivated to do it! So pray for us and wish us luck! This has been the last full day with sister Ferrin, so it's a little bittersweet.  And we'll find out tomorrow where she's headed.  

Things are happening in this mission and I'm so excited to see the Lord's plan for the California San Jose mission!! 

I love all of you so much and I'm grateful for you! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers and keep them coming! 

God Speed! Hurrah for Israel!

Love, Sister Julie Catherine Harris

 

P.S. To answer your questions about my last letter...

1. So everyone in California is ALWAYS late. Like all the time.  And since I was always taught to be punctual, it bugs me sometimes. haha.

2. People are SUPER flaky here. You give them an appointment or something to remember, and they'll forget if you don't remind them 5 minutes beforehand. It's a little crazy.

3. Homeless people ask us for money all the time. It's kinda sad.

4. It's definitely not a good idea to walk around after 8 anywhere in our area. People are already drunk and they look at you differently.  We've DEFINITELY been protected by divine power.

5. Everyone here, despite their flakiness and lack of punctuality, is so cool! I just love them! And I don't think I can even tell you about all of the cool experiences I've had with the wonderful people here!

6. Sacrament meeting in any YSA ward is an adventure.  Ours almost never lasts an hour.  We usually end up not having sunday school because people just keep talking.  It's a little bit outrageous. And most of the time they get really off-topic too. haha

7. Since we're in a YSA ward, dinner appointments aren't always sitting down to enjoy a nice meal.  We've had pizza delivered to our apartment, we've had to walk with a member to get pizza, we've had dinner/lunch in a classroom in the church, we've had first discussions for dinner messages, and all sorts of stuff.  We seriously never know what's going to happen at dinner appointments.  It's fun though!

So I haven't sent pictures because the cord that I received is the wrong one! So I'll try my best to send you pictures! I sent you a few forwarded from Victoria. 

Love you so much!

Love, Sister Harris

 

 

             Sister Ferrin, me, and Victoria

Just some thoughts about California... September 10, 2013

Hello! So the library was closed again yesterday! I hope they don't make a trend of this! Anyway, this week has been great!!

Sister Ferrin and I worked really hard this week and we got our numbers way up! We taught 19 lessons and had 140 contacts!! So the work is going well.  We are trying to keep up the good work! Transfers are coming up soon though, so we don't know what's going to happen!

Wow.  Has it really been 12 weeks already?? At then end of this week, I will be done training! Weird! I am loving all of the people we are teaching and I'm so excited for them! Lilli, one of our less-actives, is getting a temple recommend soon! And a patriarchal blessing!! We're so excited for her!! It's amazing to see how the Lord is hastening His work and how we can be a part of it! 

We had our Sister Training Leader with us on Saturday.  It was so much fun! It was nice to have a Hermana with us, because we don't know Spanish! It came in handy a couple of times! 

Things have been going well and the weather is cooling down a lot, so now I can handle it! Some things I learned this week:

1. There's Mormon standard time, and then there's California standard time.  

2. People here don't remember a thing. ever. 

3. There's always something going on somewhere.

4. Everything people do involves alcohol.

5. People always ask us for money. 

6. Don't walk around after 8.

Among other things.  This week has been very educational and very interesting! We've met some cool people and had some fun experiences.  Some perks to being in a YSA ward:

1. Do you like pizza?

2. Free food. all the time. 

3. Sacrament meeting is always an adventure.

4. You never know what's going to happen at dinner appointments.

And sooo much more.  Haha. Can I just tell all of you how much I love it here? I probably sound like a broken record because I say that every week, but it's true! This is an incredible area and it's absolutely where the Lord needs me! I know there are people who are prepared and I'm so excited to go out into the drunken streets of Campbell or the chinatown-feel of Cupertino to find them!  I love California.  I love my mission. I love the Lord.

Love you all!

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

Culturally Aware in California‏ - September 3, 2013

 

Hi everyone!

 

All of the libraries were closed yesterday so we couldn't write! But here I am today at the library!

I have some very exciting news for y'all: First of all, we have two progressing investigators.  They are great! Second, one has a baptismal date! Her name is Marcella and she's SOLID.  Cool story about this one:

So the Los Gatos elders have been so good about giving us referrals.  They're honestly our favorites.  So they referred us to this girl named Marcella and they were really excited about her. So we went over, planning on teaching the first lesson (The Restoration).  During the opening prayer, however, I just had the strongest prompting that we needed to teach Plan of Salvation instead.  I looked at Sister Ferrin after the prayer and I half-whispered, "We are going to teach Plan of Salvation, okay?" She looked at me funny and then I just went for it.  It ended up being a really good lesson and the spirit was so strong! The member that was with us was really good, but his dad was even better.  He invited her to be baptized and she said yes! We asked her if she thought all of this was true and she said yes without a doubt.  Last night we taught her the restoration and she said that she would pray about the 28th of September for her baptism.  We're so excited for her! The Lord truly is hastening His work!

So that's the exciting story of the week.  In other news, we made an amazing cultural breakthrough! We were contacting in a park one day and we felt prompted to go talk to this Indian lady who was just walking around.  We went up and talked to her and gave her a Book of Mormon in Hindi! She looked genuinely grateful when we told her she could keep it and she thanked us as she walked away.  Man, I just love all the diversity here.  

This week, we had dinner with the Chinese elders and half of their branch.  It was a really cool experience to meet all of the faithful Chinese saints and to see the love they had for the gospel.  Although it was sad that we got their hopes up.  When they saw us there, they all asked if we were the new Chinese-speaking sisters in the branch.  We loved spending time with them, although the food was a bit interesting.  It was a pot-luck, so we didn't feel like we had to try everything, luckily.  But we decided we should at least try one new thing, so we dished up some curry-ish stuff called fish balls.  It was honestly the first time I actually gagged on my mission.  But the company was so good, that we didn't mind all that much.  

We've been doing splits this week with members of our Relief Society and it's been a really good experience! Even though most of the time, the less-actives we visit don't answer their doors, we still get to know members of the ward better.  It's been a great week!!

Last funny story: so the other night, we had a couple of hours of free time, so we decided to get caught up on our street contacting.  We went to downtown Campbell and decided we would talk to everyone.  We had gotten only about 15 contacts when we ran into this woman named Carolyn.  We gave her a card and she seemed interested, but we should've kept walking when she told us to hold on for a second while she bummed a cigarette.  After she took care of that, she sat us down at this bench and started telling us this plan she had to start a music camp for "the babies".  She wanted a religious atmosphere and she wanted our help.  We patiently listened, while she blew smoke in our faces and called us babies.  She asked for suggestions of what to call her camp and we threw out a few.  When we would say something she liked, she would respond with, "Ooh that's good, baby, write that down!" Haha! She was talking to us for 45 minutes.  We literally had to go home after talking with her because it was late and we were scared we would run into her again.  

Gotta love good times on the mission.  I'm loving it and there will be pictures on the way soon!

I love all of you, and I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Love you,

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

p.s. read Mormon 9!

Santa and Elvis in Santa Clara, and a pass-along ticking bomb in Saratoga! August 26, 2013

Hey everyone!

I am doing so well. The work here is picking up ever so slightly, but we're grateful for whatever we can get.  Victoria is leaving this week for Minnesota, so that's bittersweet.  It'll be so good for her!  We've been making a little bit of progress with Richie.  We planned this amazing lesson and we were planning on extending a baptismal date, but then he cancelled last minute. ): So we're planning on teaching him some time this week and we'll let y'all know how it goes.  The teaching is going pretty well.  Sister Ferrin and I have been getting a little bit better each day at teaching by the spirit.  Can you believe I'm almost done with my training? So crazy.

So things are going well in the Monta Vista ward.  I'm getting to know a lot of the people in the ward now, so that's good! We did splits last night with these two sisters in our ward and it went so well.  I'm so glad we were on splits, because we visited a less-active and she remembered the member I was with, so they exchanged numbers and she'll be at church this week! We're doing a lot of good work with the less-actives here.  Meadow was at church again yesterday and she actually made some friends this week! So we're happy she's getting to know people.  This seriously is the best YSA ward on the earth.  The longer I'm here, the more I realize how awesome it would be to be in the Tongan program.  President now has sisters in the program so it's only a matter of time before I am in it! Haha just kidding.  There are also sisters in the Chinese program so we'll just see.  Honestly I would be just fine sticking with English, but you never know!  

Things have been going well here! The other night, we had dinner with the Hermanas and we met this elderly lady named Santa.  We walked into her apartment, and Elvis' face was everywhere.  After we ate an amazing meal, she told us about her favorite Elvis album and showed us a shirt she made with him on it.  It was awesome.  We're pretty much best friends now.  Yep.  We just keep having cool experiences every day, but most of them wouldn't be the same over email.  

I love California! 

Love you all, 

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

 

Oh and another funny story.  Kind of sad, but funny.  So we were contacting in downtown Los Gatos and we ran into this lady and her boyfriend sitting on a bench.  We went up and invited them to check out our website, handing her a card, and she said, "Oh, no thanks.  I'm a strong athiest." We tried not to laugh. Then her boyfriend, in all seriousness said, "yeah, me too." It was a little awkward because then we were just like "oh, okay. welp." haha and then in Saratoga yesterday, we would try to hand people cards and they would take it, look at it, gasp, and then give it back quickly and say, "OH no thanks. no. yeah. I'm fine." And they would like run away. That happened probably five times.  It's a pass-along card, not a ticking bomb.  So just a couple of funny stories I forgot to include in the letter.  Love ya!

Livin' the good life in Santa Clara... August 19, 2013

This week has been awesome! I just love all of the crazy, insane, awesome experiences we've had! 

On Tuesday, we had to drive up to Palo Alto to pay a citation that Sister Ferrin got for not yielding.  The traffic laws are ridiculous up here! So that was an adventure.  And that night I actually tried good quality sushi and for the record- I still don't like it.  On Wednesday, we got lost in Sunnyvale and were almost an hour late to a dinner appointment /:. It was a little bit ridiculous and we felt really bad.  But we had a great dinner appointment anyway!  Thursday was a really long day.  We didn't even have a dinner appointment because we didn't have time for one! We were running around all day.  It was really good though, because we had an awesome lesson with Richie.  He hadn't been keeping his commitments or reading the Book of Mormon, so we read with him in Alma 32 instead of going on to the third lesson.  He really loved it and the members we had there were awesome! We are hoping that he is keeping his commitments now.  I guess we'll find out when we meet with him tomorrow night!  Friday was a crazy day! I had a six hour training in the morning with Sister Sotele, so Sister Ferrin and Sister Palmer went to all of our appointments.  Anyways, right after getting back from that, we went straight to the temple with Victoria! We did baptisms with her and it was a really sweet experience.  Sister Ferrin and I were both crying when Victoria was doing baptisms.  It was awesome! Overall, the temple was an amazing, wonderful, inspiring experience! Victoria was so happy! On Saturday, we met and taught Cody, a new investigator! The Los Gatos elders told us about him and they met with him with us.  It was a really good experience and he said the closing prayer of the lesson! He's amazing.  He then came to church on Sunday and said the opening prayer in sunday school! He's doing really well and we've only taught him once! So we have high hopes for him!

So that was my week. It was a great one.  Other than that, things have been basically the same.  Today for p-day we're washing our car.  Yay!  

Can I just say how much I love being a missionary? It's sad whenever a missionary here goes home.  Everyone refers to it as dying (Elder Phelps died last transfer).  I'm just glad that I am not dying anytime soon! I'm just loving it.  Every minute of it.

Read John 14!

Love you all!

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

Life Is Good... a chinese blessing, a high pit bull, and driving with my eyes closed! August 12, 2013

Hello from your friendly neighborhood missionary!

Things have been going well this last week, even though or numbers were lower than they've ever been.  We're just pressing forward though! Last p-day the Zone Leaders gave us a challenge.  They're having us read the entire Book of Mormon in one transfer, get one new investigator a week, and they told us they know that every ward in the zone can get a baptism THIS TRANSFER.  They are amazing missionaries, so we're trying our best to work hard and live up to the challenge.  We've been visiting a lot of less-actives and honestly, I find rescue work more rewarding than teaching investigators.  Maybe that's because we hardly have any investigators.  Richie is progressing though! We think he's still pretty interested and we're teaching him the THIRD lesson on Thursday! So wish us luck!

Victoria has been struggling a bit.  All her family does is just bring her down, and they were all in town this week.  So she's having a rough time.  Only two weeks until she moves to Minnesota! And we're actually going to the temple with her on Friday to do baptisms! So we're excited for that! We might also be going to the temple on Saturday with Meadow and her atheist boyfriend.  She really wants him to see the temple and know how important the church is to her.  So Saturday will be a critical time for their relationship. 

I got to witness my first priesthood blessing in Chinese! We have a half-investigator with the Chinese elders named Allen.  So we were over at his house the other day.  He didn't want to meet with us, and in the middle of our conversation with him, his grandmother just blurted something out in Chinese.  She said that her blood pressure was really high, rising, and she was really afraid.  We all just kind of paused, because it was really random.  But the Chinese elders offered to give her a priesthood blessing and they did.  It was a really sweet experience, even though I didn't understand a word they were saying.  She was crying after, and the spirit was so strong! We do a lot with the Chinese elders and we really appreciate them. 

Sister Ferrin and I made a goal last night to be exactly obedient, and to manage our time better.  So hold us to that! We've been working hard this week!

Last week on Tuesday, we were waiting for a lesson with Victoria and we went to the nearest park to go contacting.  We saw a huge cloud of green smoke with a bunch of teenagers inside it, sitting on some park benches.  And of course, we both felt prompted to go talk to them.  Like expected, they were all under the influence of who-knows-what, but they actually talked to us.  We met a guy named Effron, who was holding a pit bull puppy (which is part of the reason I went to talk to him.) and a girl named Chrislin.  We talked to them for a long time about the gospel because they'd heard of Mormons before and had a lot of questions.  We ended up giving out SIX pamphlets to just the two of them and a Book of Mormon to Chrislin.  We also invited them to check out mormon.org.  It was awesome! We've been having some pretty good contacts at local parks.  Just planting seeds, I guess!

So yeah, it's been a really good week! Funny story: so on Wednesday, we were driving up to Los Gatos to meet with an investigator, and the moment we entered the Los Gatos city limits, I started having an allergic reaction of some kind.  It was so weird! My eyes started swelling up and watering, and I couldn't see a thing! So I had to attempt to pull-over and Sister Ferrin started driving.  I guess it's kind of a good thing our investigator didn't show, because I was a mess!! I bet you can all imagine. haha.

So anyways, life's been pretty good up here in Nor-Cal.  I love it a lot! Even though we might encounter difficult times, always remember that the church is still true! I love it so much! Everyone who's reading this, read Alma 29!

I love you all! Jesus loves you too!

Love, Sister Harris

"No thanks, I know Jesus." August 5, 2013

Hello! This week has been a really good one! I'm trying to think of what all happened because it was a lot! We got a new investigator this week! His name is Richie and so far he's solid! We taught him the first lesson on Wednesday night and he had so many questions, it was awesome! We asked him to be baptized, and he said he would if he knew the Book of Mormon was true! Golden! We just barely had out second lesson with him yesterday and it went alright. So I'm excited to see what happens with him! Yesterday was actually a really great day at church! We had three of the less actives we've been working with come to church and all three of them loved it!
Victoria actually came to ALL THREE HOURS of church, and actually really enjoyed Sunday school.  We're really proud of her for pressing forward and enduring to the end.  I think she's doing pretty well! We also had Machelle and Meadow there, and I think we'll be seeing them next week at church too!
So Sister Ferrin and I both taught our first Chastity lesson this week.  It went so well! We were really surprised at how well we taught and how well it was received.  Not even awkward!
My first transfer is officially over.  I'm not training, and neither of us are being transferred.  So we get at least another 6 weeks together! Oh and we have a baptismal date! It's actually a funny story, because we haven't even met the guy yet.  The Los Gatos elders went over to his house just to visit, and he set a date with them! So now we're going to start teaching him! So that's exciting!
We haven't heard from Jose, Jacob, or Savannah in the past two weeks, so that's sad.  Jose and Jacob are having problems with health issues in their families, and Savannah is traveling just about every weekend with her boyfriend, who could potentially become an issue.  But we're still praying for them and hoping that they'll still have a desire for salvation.
Everything's going great though! I love all the people we're teaching so much and I really want what's best for them! The frustrating part about that is that what they need is the gospel! And they don't understand that! Sometimes when we're contacting on the street, I'll offer a card to someone and they'll say, "No thanks, I know Jesus." And I'm like, seriously? I always want to stop those people and talk to them, but everyone in California is in such a hurry all the time! It's like they don't have any time to find out about the true restored gospel and how their lives can change through Christ's atonement! But whatever, I guess they think they know better.

Oh and another thing, since I'm on a tangent.  Everyone who's reading this can really step up on their missionary work.  Every member a missionary, right? It's always really nice for us missionaries when members do their part and invite others to come unto Christ.  Just throwing that out there because I know it's something everyone can improve on.

Anyways, how are y'all doing? I really love hearing from anyone and everyone.  Seriously, like anyone.  I hope all is well! Love you!

Press Forward!

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

Santa Cruz and other news! July 31, 2013

Hello!
Sorry I'm not emailing until now.  It's been a really busy week! It's been awesome though! On p-day we got to got to Santa Cruz! We were only there for a few hours, but it was fun! I got to play my ukulele on the beach!

Life here has been good and the work has been picking up a little bit! We're working with a lot of less-actives rather than investigators, but I love it! I feel like it's really rewarding to bring someone back into the fold! So we've been having some really good experiences.  Can you believe this is the last week of the transfer? Crazy! Tomorrow we find out if Sister Ferrin or I have to train! Gah!

Hmmm let's see.  What happened this week? Well we had a really awesome lesson with an investigator named Allen.  He's technically not our investigator, but since he's YSA age, we get to joint teach him.  So we teach him with the Chinese elders, and we went in there to help them teach and they threw a curveball on us.  They said, "Allen, the sisters have an awesome lesson planned for you about the plan of salvation." We just kind of looked at each other because we definitely didn't plan on teaching the plan of salvation.  But it actually went really well.  The spirit was so strong and we did a lot of good teaching (not without help from the Chinese elders of course!).  So that was an awesome experience. I love being a missionary!

In case you were wondering, Mom I did get my packages! Thank you! I started reading Jesus the Christ and I love it! the other books are awesome, too so thanks! So the reason I was on an iPhone on a bus on Monday was because we went to Santa Cruz with Victoria and she felt really bad that we were there with her instead of doing our regular p-day stuff.  And luckily a zone leader was there, so when Victoria insisted that we use her phone for emailing, he said it was okay.  Victoria is such a sweetheart and she's doing a lot better.  We're seeing her almost every day now.  She's definitely one of our favorites. [:

But I love all of the people we're teaching.  Like so much.  Did you get my letter and the letter from sister Bodner? Debbie Bodner is one of our favorite widows to visit.  She lives in Las Gaddis and she is so sweet! She wanted to write letters to our families, so she did.  And I sent it to you!
Oh! Sister Ferrin and I are attempting to learn Spanish! We started reading The Book of Mormon in Spanish and English together! And I didn't realize I had a Texas accent until I tried speaking spanish. Haha. I'm terrible at it.  But we've made a couple of contacts in Spanish, and even handed out a Book of Mormon.  I'm pretty good at saying words like, Hermanas, Jesu Christo, among other things. 

It's funny though because there are more Chinese people than Spanish people here. I helped a Chinese guy take a survey- he spoke no English.  So I guess I'm getting pretty cultured while I'm here! Nehou!

But anyways, I have to go.

I love all of you! Stay strong and press forward!

Much love,
Sister Julie Catherine Harris
121 Saratoga Ave. #4202
Santa Clara CA 95050

Feel the Love... July 22, 2013

Yes, I'm getting some wonderful tan lines already.  Oh man, so much to tell you guys this week! We have met A LOT of interesting people! It seems like the only people who actually approach us are drunk people.  EVERYONE is drunk here. We also talked to a couple of kids that tried to challenge our beliefs.  We talked to a Jewish agnostic teenager while doing service the other day, and we totally taught him a lesson while we were gardening! We kind of graciously proved him wrong on a lot of points and when we left he said, "You guys are my first cult friends." In a loving way, or course. Haha.  The other one was a kid that was standing and preaching in the food court of the local college.  When he was done, we went up and talked to him.  We talked for about an hour and we talked about a lot of interesting things and at the end he told us to reconsider our choices.  He said that we're leading people astray and that we should do some soul-searching for the truth.  It shook us up just a little bit, but we pressed forward.

This week has been really interesting.  The one progressing investigator we had, got demoted to just a regular investigator, leaving us at zero progressing.  So the work is going a little bit slow, but we're doing our best.  This week I had crab and eggplant for the first time.  I didn't enjoy either of them, and neither of them agreed with me.  So I guess you could say I've had semi-weird food already on the mission. 

My companion has started making me do things (worst trainer ever [: just kidding).  So I'm now making phone calls, talking to people on the street and starting lessons.  It's a bit scary because sometimes she doesn't even help me.  Haha she totally knows what she's doing.  We're coming up on the last week of the transfer already! Crazy, right?? So Sister Ferrin and I may possibly be split up.  And that would mean that I would have to train! I just....ah. We'll see, though. 

Two of our investigators are going through a rough time with their families, so therefore have not talked to us in weeks.  Jose and Jacob are really having a hard time right now, and we haven't taught them in a couple weeks.  We're not sure how to help if they never get back to us.  Savannah is doing well I think, but we haven't actually gotten past the first lesson with her.  I guess working in a YSA ward is hard because everyone is busy all the time.  It's a lot of fun though.

Victoria is doing a LOT better.  She was in a really bad place the other day, but now she's in Minnesota and she absolutely loves it.  She's definitely turned over a new leaf out there.  She's coming back on Wednesday and she said she has a lot to tell us.  I'm really excited for her! The prayers and fasting for her have definitely paid off.  I can't even express my love for these people out here.  It's crazy!

I gave out a Spanish Book of Mormon yesterday! So I guess that was cool.  Haha.  I've been studying a lot in the Book of Mormon and it seems that whatever I study in the morning is always applied at some point throughout the day.  It's so cool how the spirit works.  Today I read about Abinadi and I got to thinking that he's the missionary everyone wishes they could be.  He was so bold and cried repentance up until the day he died.  He's always been my favorite, but I love him even more now.  I've really gained an appreciation for the Book of Mormon and I love it so much.

I can't believe how close I've gotten to these people.  Especially Victoria and Lilli.  I don't know if I've told you about Lilli yet, but I love her so much.  I really have developed a love for the people we're teaching and I'm really glad I am serving in the best YSA ward ever. 

I love you all so much!  Keep the pictures coming!

Love,

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

p.s. I totally saw Barry Bonds the other day.

Love you guys!