Week 41

Hi Everyone!

Well just like that and we are on the last week of the transfer! It has really flown by!! This week started out kind of tough. We had 3 straight days of contacting because every lesson we had scheduled fell through. Even with Vaquero! We were really struggling to keep motivated but we were able to stick to it and when Wednesday rolled around we started to have some lessons and actually made a few really good contacts. Then Thursday we went out to Vaquero's house again to see what the heck was going on with him (remember he is progressing but didn't come to church last Sunday and was nowhere to be found when we went to our scheduled lesson with him.) So he opened the door and he was SUUUPER sick!! He has Chikungunya. I have no idea how to spell that but it’s a disease very common in the DR from mosquitoes but it’s not that common here. You start out with flu like symptoms and a really high fever for a few days, then you are just drained and when you are almost healed your body breaks out into a rash and all your joints ache. The pain in your joints comes and goes for the next 2-3 years!  So the poor guy had that but he told us that he wants us to come by tomorrow. So we went to his house and we had a little lesson with him and after he started telling us how grateful he was for us. He said that he knows this is right and he isn't going to let any of these challenges (like getting stabbed with a rusty nail, or getting Chikungunya) stop him from doing what he knows is right. He said he had been reading a lot lately because he doesn't have much else to do and he knows that this is the true church. We then shared our testimonies with him and the spirit was so strong and it was much needed after the beginning of the week we had. Who would have known an answer to a prayer would have come from a special investigator. He came to church this week too even with his sickness!  Don't worry its not contagious but he really is a great guy! I wish you could meet him/communicate with him

It’s interesting that the First Presidency is emphasizing Sabbath day observance because that is needed out here BIG TIME. The small branches just don't quite know what they are doing and sometimes they are off the mark a little. In my branch in the DR I had to explain to the Branch President and the rest of the leaders that the sacrament is an ordinance and that the words needed to be said correctly, not "close enough" Then I had to go and explain to them what an ordinance was. It’s kinda weird how we take the strong leadership (like you, dad) for granted back home. This week my branch president and his wife had questions about the plan of salvation because they weren't sure if we were resurrected and also weren't sure about some things about the spirit world. We explained it to them and then I gave them a big list a scriptures that talk about the different resurrections and stuff and told her to read Alma 40 and it’s just kinda crazy to me how different the church is here! But this branch is awesome and it is working very hard! Hope the 25th ward is doing well too!

Also Papiamento is coming along, but it’s a weird language!!

Love,

Elder Harsh

Week 40

Hi Everyone,

Wow the weeks are starting to go by so quickly!

This week we contacted this lady who warmly welcomed us in and sat down and we started getting to know her and turns out she has been searching and searching trying to find "God's true church" but hasn't found it yet. When we heard that we got really excited ya know, because we have "God's true church" But we caught her right as she was about to leave and she has 4 kids all really involved in sports and a job so she is super busy but told us to come back next Sunday. It sounds like a story straight out of the Ensign so we will have to see if we can help her gain a testimony!

We have an investigator that wants to be baptized but he didn't come to church for some unknown reason yesterday so we will have to have a ‘come to Jesus meeting’ with him (literally) and see what the heck is going on.

When we are teaching we usually teach in Spanish and sometimes English but when we are out we usually start off the conversation in Papiamentu.

This island is actually super chill. Like up until last week I didn't think this island had police. The government has a program set up where you have a loan guaranteed when you graduate high school to go to Holland to study in a university, so this island is lacking in people in the 18-30 age range.  But wait till I get transfered to Aruba, then come visit me, because Aruba is a smaller island but has like 10 times as many people. It’s like the party island. Aruba is the party island, Curasao is the crime island, and Bonaire is the Retirement island.

 Earlier today we went and explored some of the beaches. There aren't any sandy beaches on the island they are all rocky and full of coral but it was way fun to go explore and we found a few small caves that we explored! It was way fun. Also we found a HUGE iguana this morning. I got a picture of it from far away, but when I tried to get closer it ran off. But this sucker was like  2 feet long WITHOUT the tail! Biggest one I have ever seen! Also we saw a donkey fight this morning. It was gnarly. 

I am having such a fun time out here and hope all is good back home with you guys too!

Elder Harsh

Week 39

Elder Harsh didn't have much of a letter, because we had just talked to him yesterday.  He looked great and sounded great and is enjoying the Island of Bonaire.  This is about a guy they had contacted a few weeks ago, that is interested in the Gospel and is on track for baptism.

Thanks for your support!!!

Hey I really have no idea what to say because we just talked yesterday!

But turns out Vacero tripped and fell at a construction site and got stabbed in the thigh with a rusty nail, and so he couldn't make it to church. He couldn't even walk when we went to visit him that night- poor guy!  But he is still the same ol’ Vacero and we are going to bring him dinner tonight! But yeah that’s about the only update I have, but it was awesome talking to you yesterday!!

Love,

Elder Harsh

Week 38

Hi Everyone,

Well it’s a good thing you said something about skyping next week or I would have completely forgot!! Time sure is flying by!  Let’s skype at 7:00 MY TIME. I can’t remember if you guys are 2 or 3 hours behind so I think 7 is a safe bet. As for my week, It was great! Papiamentu is still a work in progress though, but most of our investigators are Latinos that moved here so their preference is Spanish!

 This week after working really hard we managed to get 3 investigators to church, which is unheard of here in the islands!! One of them was a contact Elder Atkinson made at the end of last transfer who absolutely loved it! He said he felt like he was part of a big family! He is planning on being baptized at the end of the month so we will have to keep working with him! One of the others that came was this lady we have been working really hard on, but she said she didn't want to come to church because she doesn't want to commit to anything until she is sure about it. After a long lesson about recognizing the spirit I finally read her the words of Jesus when he said "come and see" and SHE DID! Woo.

We also got a senior couple this week! They are from sandy Utah and the husband speaks Dutch! (When the mission changes these islands will be Dutch mission, so I might have to learn that too....) But they are way cool! Also unlike the DR where you have stray cats, dogs, chickens, and naked children everywhere, this island just has a bunch of stray Donkeys,  goats, and iguanas. To answer your question, yes, I did catch a giant iguana this week :) I CAUGHT IT WITH MY BARE HANDS! I got a gnarly slice up my arm from its dumb tail but it was so worth it!!

Also we met some American tourists at church and they invited us over for a BBQ and it was the best dang food I have had in 8 months!!!

It’s not so bad being around all the beaches because it’s mostly a place for scuba divers and there aren't any good swimming beaches on the Island. The only problem is there is a lot of kiteboarding which is something I have ALWAYS wanted to try.  So sometimes we will be out riding around and see a bunch of those kites up in the air.

This week president is coming to visit and wants to meet with our investigators so that will be very good because he is a spiritual powerhouse!  Also we have no idea if I will stay in the islands or not. Usually the missionaries that go to the islands just come out here for about 9 months and head back to the DR, but with the whole mission change going on we have no idea! I will try and sneak some information out of President while he is here with us this week.

 That’s about all I can remember from this week but I can't wait to talk to you guys Sunday!!!!

Love,

Elder Harsh

Lookin' good!

Week 37

Hi Everyone

Well to start things off, the Island is awesome!!! Its super hot and humid still buttttttt, this island is a huge desert! It’s got palm trees growing right next to big tall cactuses! It’s really weird.  Super dusty and dry, but still really humid.  I don’t know how that works either. It’s more put together than the DR, but it’s still pretty poor! It’s about 40% paved roads and 70% Dirt. Showers are still cold and there's no ac, But we have power always and YOU CAN DRINK THE WATER! It’s nice :)

My companion is a way chill guy named Elder Atkinson from Guyana. He has only been here 6 weeks more than me so we are both struggling trying to learn Papimiento, but a lot of the people here speak at least 2 languages, if not 3 or all 4 (English Spanish Dutch and Papimiento) So we usually start in Papimiento and end up going to Spanish or on rare occasions we get to teach in English! But it’s usually in Spanish which is good because I definitely don't want to lose my Spanish! The only rough part about this island is the people don't want to listen to you at all. It’s definitely a big change from the DR, so we have a lot more time out on our bikes in the hot sun. There is just one small branch on the entire island but the members are great! They feed us a lot too, which is good because if they didn't we probably couldn't make it to the end of the month money wise. Holland owns this island and I guess they hate Latinos so they make everything on the island cost a ton of money to try and get the Latinos to leave. So a lot of people have two or three jobs which means they are never home which makes it hard to teach them. Also they have a strong Dutch culture so nobody really wants to listen. But it’s a lot of fun!

 I looked out my window yesterday and saw this huge cruise ship sticking up over the houses! This place is awesome!

Love

Elder Harsh

This picture was taken by a vacationer on the island that went to church there and met Elder Harsh- Took a picture and sent it to me!  I was very happy to get this picture!

Week 36

Elder Harsh is in for some big changes!  Here is his letter explaining his change and at the bottom I'll include a link to a map showing where he will be.

Thanks again for all of your support!

Holy cow mommy this was definitely the craziest week of my entire mission!!! I have no idea where to start! But i'm going to save the BIG news for last. Ok first off, we had a really good lesson with a guy that we contacted the other week. We found him walking by and he says he always invites people like us in so we set a date and came by this week. He thought we were Jehova's witnesses but after we cleared that up we started with a lesson on the Apostasy/Restoration. He had a lot of really good questions and after we kinda explained everything to him he stopped and sat there in silence for a long time. Then he said that we had just answered tons of questions he had been researching for the past 10 years! He asked more questions and with every answer he was getting more and more excited! It was a very fun lesson. Also we had two baptisms planned for this past Saturday, Jorge and Keyla. I got sick and was feeling really achy and couldn't breath very well, but I figured all we had to do was go to the stake center, fill up the font, and then chill while we wait for the water to fill. As we were about to leave to head to the stake center, The zone leaders called informing us that there isn't any water in the church! Dominican Problems. So we went from having a perfectly planned baptism to having a full afternoon trying to contact everybody and tell them we have to do it in a different building further away. After calling and visiting everyone (while I was really sick), we finally got everything planned out and ready. We had just sat down to rest when Keyla called us crying. Apparently she had started her period early and for reasons that weren't explained to me, that meant that she couldn't be baptized. She said she had fear of the white clothes. Whatever. Anyways after calming her down we explained to her that it wasn't a problem and we could reschedule it for next week. the only bummer is I am not going to be there! So after that crazy day and the baptism I was feeling super sick so we finally get home and I had just gotten into bed when President Corbitt called me. He called me about transfers to inform me that I am .......GOING TO THE ISLANDS!!!!!! I AM GOING TO BONAIRE!!! THEN ARUBA AND THEN THE OTHER ONE!!! ALSO I AM GOING TO BE A DISTRICT LEADER!! ALSO I AM GOING TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE CALLED PAPIMIENTO!!! Also Bonaire is a very small island and so its just me and my companion on the entire island! also PLOT TWIST, in July, the three islands are going to switch and be a part of a different mission so its possible I might change missions! Right now we don't know but its possible!! I fly out early tomorrow morning! 

Yeah, that's about it.

Love,

Elder Harsh

                          Elder Harsh will be straight down from the DR, right above Venezuela!

1. Papiamento is a Creole language containing elements of Spanish,Portuguese, Dutch, English and French, as well as Arawak and African languages. It is spoken by about 330,000 people on the islands of the Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba). Papiamentu was made an official language on March 7, 2007.
2. Elder Harsh arrived safe!  He's on the island of Bonaire
3. 

Week 35

Hello Everyone,

Well this is my last week in Punta! Transfers will be next Tuesday and I am ready for a change! I´m ready to see what else the DR has to offer, but I am going to miss a lot of the people here and especially my boy Elder Cook. We are both bummed this is our last week together!

As for my week, I honestly don´t remember much...oh but that one family that came to conference came to church again and they are progressing really nicely! Last Friday he asked us if we could come by his house EVERY DAY!  EVERY DAY!  So after picking our jaws up off of the floor we took out our agendas and wrote his name down every day for the rest of the week! We are super tight with him and he loves the gospel. Me too! But besides that it was a pretty normal week.

 It rained a lot. One day we were walking and it was drizzling, but in the distance we heard a really loud booming sound of tons of rain hitting tin roofs. We look over and see a wall of water heading our way! We weren´t near any houses so we had to book it down this road and we barely made it to a porch in time for the rain to hit and I have never seen so much rain in my life! It is a normal thing for people to get stranded on other people´s porches during rain, so the lady comes out and gives us chairs and we figured we had a captive audience for a lesson. Buuuut when we tried to talk to her she wasn´t understanding us well and then it turns out she was partially deaf and with the rain pounding on the roof she couldn´t hear anything. Typical. haha

Also we had this one contact who was really interested and participated really well during the lesson and we were feeling really good about him until the very end when we realized he only invited us in to try and get me to marry his daughter. Dominicans will do ANYTHING to get to the US. Anyways sorry there isn´t more substance to this letter but this past week was kinda a blur.

Love,

Elder Harsh

                                                                Rain Storm in the DR

                                                             Cool view from a porch