It'a a Trio! July 14, 2014

Sister Harris, Sister Swapp, and Sister Gregerson

Hellooo everyone!

This week has been absolutely INSANE. I'm not kidding.

Transfers brought a new surprise. I am now in a trio with Sister Swapp and Sister Gregerson and we have taken on another ward. Surprise! So it used to be us and the 4th ward sisters living together and now it's just the three of us and we also cover the 4th ward. So that's been crazy and really fun!

This week I was the busiest I've ever been on my mission! I guess that happens when you combine two busy wards together. We got 35 lessons!!

We have seen tons of miracles and have met tons of awesome people! I never would have guessed how fun being in a trio is. It's the bomb!

It's kind of fun because Sister Swapp and I knew each other already because we were roommates. So we were excited to be companions. Then we got Sister Gregerson who is so funny and fits in nicely in Livermore. So everything is great. We're happy and loving every moment of the crazy, busy days here.

It's interesting how we can literally feel the work hastening here. I've felt it before in other areas, but it's stronger here.

Last transfer was the hardest of my mission by far. I know that's because there are tons of miracles to be had this transfer. The Lord needed to humble me to prepare me for the success and miracles we have already seen. I love it when He does that. (:

I don't even know what else to say. Everything is so good and I feel like Ammon praising the Lord. (read Alma 26)

I'll have more to say next week but I love you all and I love the gospel and the peace it brings!

Bye now

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

July 7, 2014 Fireworks and Farewells...

Hello! Transfers are this week and I'm staying. However, my companion is not. So I will receive a new companion this week!

Things are going well. Everything is crazy! This week we got to meet the new mission president and his wife and it was an absolute treat! They are amazing and I felt an instant connection with them. So I'm excited for the wonderful things they will do for the mission.

Last night, we got to sing at the outgoing fireside (the fireside for all of the home-bound missionaries. They all speak and so do a couple of their recent converts.). It was a sweet experience to sing with all of my sisters! (:

I'll send a video!

The fireside was great and the Spirit was so strong! Sister Livingston and Sister Tuala are both going home, so it was fun to see them speak and wish them luck.

And then I realize that I'm not far behind. I love the mission, but the only thing is that it goes by too fast.

Everything in Livermore is good. We've been talking with people, serving, teaching, and sweating. This week was HOT.

The 4th of July was stressful but so fun! In the morning, there was a stake breakfast and during the week we had literally invited EVERYONE to it. One investigator showed up. But that's okay! It was Irene and she had a great time. After the breakfast, we went to Quail Garden (an elderly facility that we serve at every Friday – see pic) and had a BBQ with the seniors!! It was so much fun! Us and the elders played Family Feud and all of the residents there just loved it. Everything is more fun when you're serving others. In the evening, we got permission to see the fireworks if we had a less-active or non-member with us. We were so excited so we set out looking for someone to invite us. haha.

We saw Jack(one of our investigators) and his entire family outside, ready to watch the fireworks and they invited us to join! It was so much fun. As I watched them, I realized how blessed I am to live in this country. I realized how even more blessed I am to be serving my mission in this country. It truly is great and I'm even more convinced that I am serving in the best mission in the world.

It gets weird when holidays start to repeat themselves on the mission. But that's okay. I'm just taking it all in and loving every moment of it.

Great things are about to happen in Livermore. I just know it.

I can honestly say that this last transfer was the longest and most difficult transfer of my mission. However, I'm still alive. My companion and I were talking the other day about how we feel 'carried' every day. The physical amount of work we do in the mission field is more than any person can do alone. I'm so surprised I've not suffered heat stroke, died of an asthma attack, spontaneously passed out on my bike, or gotten hit by a car. I have been carried since day 1.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have the physical stamina of a sloth. Walking up a flight of stairs wears me out. But somehow, I am being carried by the Lord. I learned this transfer that Ether 12:27 is true. He will make weak things become strong. I myself am a weak thing and I have done things that I never thought I could do because the Lord is there. He knows me. He knows my capabilities and He takes me to my limit, then adds a little more. Isn't He the best?

I hope you all had a great Independence Day! I love you!

Sister Julie Catherine Harris  

July 1, 2014 New Mission President!

Greetings!

This week was awesome!! We have finally gotten out of the rut of low numbers and mean people. Things are looking up! Also, on Saturday, President and Sister Watkins left and President and Sister Mella cam in! We haven't met them yet, but they seem awesome. We'll get to meet them on Thursday, though so I'm really excited about that!

Yesterday was a wonderful p-day! Yes, we went to the beach again. It doesn't normally happen this often, but we've been really stressed and blessed this week, so it was great! We went to Monterey yesterday and it was magical. We got to escape the heat for awhile and spend some time on the beach and eating pizza. It was worth the long drive!

The week was awesome. We had a super awesome lesson with Irene! We met with her on Friday night and she really opened up! She normally doesn't talk much and we were wondering just how interested she really was. But she opened up and she actually prayed at the end of the lesson!! She really has a desire and she's progressing! She went to the Spanish branch on Sunday and went to all three hours!! So that was definitely a miracle. This week has been full of them!

We have met a lot of really cool, interesting people this week too. We've been walking a lot because we're able to talk to more people that way. So yes, we come home sore and sweaty every day, but it's because we love the Lord and His work.

I'm happier now and feel like the Lord has blessed me abundantly. So it's all good. (:

Te Amo!

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

June 23, 2014 Waiting for Miracles...

 

June 23, 2014  Waiting for miracles…

Hello!
This week has been crazy!

We have been working so hard every single day. I have gone to bed so tired every night and woken up even more tired every morning! The work is hastening! Satan has a pretty firm grasp on Livermore, but that's why I'm here. (: Get thee hence!

Things are...better. We have met a lot of new people and have a lot of potential work lined up, so things are happening. By the way, we are going to Monterey next week, so I won't email until Tuesday.

on Thursday, we had our last interviews with President! It was bittersweet. We literally spent all day in San Jose because President was a bit behind schedule, but that was okay because our interviews were great! And afterwards, President gave us some money and told us to go to Pizza My Heart in downtown San Jose! That was a treat because Livermore doesn't have a pizza My Heart and it's our favorite! Plus it was nice to be in the city again even for a few minutes. It was nice.

Other than that, I don't know what else to say about this week. Miracles are going to happen, I can feel it. Little ones are happening every day!

Te Amo,

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

 

June 17, 2014 Miracles and Mysteries…

Hello everyone!
This week has been insane! A lot of plans fell through, but there were also a lot of surprises! 

All week, Sister Boyd and I have been working soo hard to find people to teach, help our investigators progress, meet new people, do service, and other things. It's really tough when you are working as hard as you can and can't see any kind of progress or success from it. It didn't help that one of our roommates, Sister Swapp was sick this week, so we were doing splits with Sister Livingston and taking turns 'Swapp-sitting'. So we didn't have a lot of lessons or contacts and it was coming up on the end of the week. Sunday rolled around and we needed 6 more lessons to reach our goals. 

Well, miracles happen! Not only did we get 6 lessons, but we got two new investigators!! It's amazing how the Lord blesses us when we are serving Him and serving others. One is Ernie and he is a really interesting fellow. He has no idea what he believes, but he is willing to take the lessons and just 'listen and learn'. But we're hoping he'll learn and progress and get baptized! The other is Jack and he's the son of a current investigator of ours. He has studied Theology a lot and just wants to study the Bible with us. So we'll see what we can do to help these people come closer to Christ.

Monday was amazing! It was a much needed trip to Santa Cruz!! We ate at Pizza My Heart, a pizza joint that is only near the coast (meaning not in Livermore). We all missed it so we just had to eat lunch there. We spent time on the beach and to our surprise, there were tons of other missionaries there too! It was a nice surprise that Sister Bassett was there because she's serving in Santa Cruz now! So we had a lot of fun just hanging out, catching up, and playing in the waves. After the beach, we went to the Mystery Spot. It's a place in the Santa Cruz mountains where the gravitational pull is different, so crazy things happen there! I'll try to send pictures! It was really trippy and awesome. 

It was great to go to Santa Cruz and spend time with some of my favorite people and just have a day to relax. I can honestly say that I am serving in the best mission in the world. (:

I have been at a really interesting and vulnerable place recently. I have been struggling with a lot of things and trying to figure out other things. This whole transfer so far has been a hard one. Possibly the hardest. On top of that, Sister Livingston is going home in three weeks and she has been like a sister to me for the past 9 months of my mission. But I've been finding a lot of comfort from the scriptures recently and it has helped me to realize that things are okay. 

There will always be more to discover, more to do, more to feel. There is joy in serving the Lord and in the grand scheme of things, this is a very short time. So I've been trying to make the best of it and take every opportunity I can to serve others and the Lord because I love Him. When you really break it down, nothing else matters. We do this because we love Him. And He loves us. I have learned on my mission to never take that for granted. We have a work to do here and our purpose is to help everyone to feel that love.

I hope everyone has an amazing week!
Mom and Dad, have fun in Belize! (:
Amo Jesu Cristo;

On fire with missionary work! June 9, 2014

Hello everyone! This week has been significantly better than last week!

We have been working so hard this week and the work is starting to pick up a little bit! I can just smell the miracles and baptisms that are going to happen soon!

We got ahold of Isabel this week and she said she wants to get baptized and go to church every week, but her family is in the way. Her mom is in town from Mexico and her sister has cancer and lives out in Tracy, so she's having a hard time and is really busy. Also, it's a miracle that my companion speaks Spanish because she can communicate really well with her.

Ali is still up the air about baptism. One day she wants to and the next day she doesn't. So we're still trying to encourage her and be there for her.

Things are going well here. Besides biking in 104 degree weather all the time, I'm happy and content. Livermore is probably the hottest place in the world. At least the hottest place I've ever been.

But it's okay! That just means that it's on fire with missionary work! At least it will be! I really do love it here and I'm loving the people in the ward more and more every day. I love them so much that I just want to help them with everything and teach all of their friends! haha!

Sister Boyd and I are doing really well. This week we went on exchanges with the STLs and it was so much fun! Exchanges are always great and I feel like miracles always happen. Our STLs are Spanish speaking missionaries, so we were eating at this restaurant and this man who works there just came up to her and they conversed in Spanish for no longer than 30 seconds and then she wrote down his phone number. Turns out, he just came up and told her that he had been reading the Book of Mormon and he wanted them to come and teach him. It was a miracle! I wish that English people were like that!

Anyways, things are great, we're working hard, and Livermore is hot.

I love you!

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

Missions aren't easy... June 2, 2014

Hello everyone!!

This week may or may not have been one of the most stressful weeks of my mission with nothing to show for it. It happens.

Taking over an area after 6 weeks isn't easy. But I guess you could say that missions in general aren't very easy. The Lord knows that we will go through difficult challenges, but does He make them easier? Not always. Most of the time He just makes us stronger.

That is something that I have noticed this week. This week my faith took a hit. Your whole mission people tell you that hard work and obedience bring miracles and my whole mission that has proved true. But then you have those weeks where you're doing your best and you're on your knees every morning and night and everything falls through and nothing seems to work out. It is times like that when the Lord is shaping and strengthening us to rise to the challenge. So I'm still rising. (: I know that great things are going to happen this transfer.

Enough with the complaining. Other than all of that, things are going well. We're trying our best with our investigators and others and trying to have a lot of faith. I cannot tell you how many referrals we have given to the Hermanas this week. Thanks to my Spanish-speaking companion! She's the best!

So I don't have a lot to tell y'all about this week, but I have been strengthened physically and spiritually. Between riding our bikes for miles every day and fast Sunday, I have been truly blessed. On Sunday I fasted for all of our investigators and also for my companion and myself(that we would be able to have the faith to see miracles). My testimony of fasting has been strengthened because I feel better already. I feel hopeful and ready for a new week. Come at me!

Even though this week was really rough, looking back, I can see the Lord's hand in it. I don't know the area and I don't know anyone here, yet somehow I was able to lead us around the area to people's houses and various places around town. I'm weak and have asthma but I was able to lead my companion up hills and across many miles. The Lord takes care of us. He won't make it easy, but it's not supposed to be easy. This week is going to be amazing; I can feel it. (:

I love all of you!

Sister Julie Catherine Harris

2 Ne. 31:20