I have an hour and a half for email on P-days on Mondays, so this is the best way for us all to contact each other. Especially because mail takes a couple weeks to get here. I´m probably going to change to one big email, and tiny ones addressing individuals. Just letting you all know.
Hope to hear from all of you,
con amor
Parry
Monday, November 28, 2011
First Week in Chile
So here I am. It's much different than I expected - the people, the country, the work. But I´m really starting to like it. The flight was long and I barely slept. The first week was hard. I´ve gotten a lot of blistering on my feet from all the walking, but luckily it's starting to callous over. I´m getting better with the language daily, but because the Chilenoes have such a different accent, it's very difficult to understand. The meals are really different - small breakfast, huge lunch and a small "once" or eleven late in the evening. The food is really challenging for me, because even though it tastes great, it is very difficult to eat so much. And they have salad with every meal and there´s always tomatoes, which I hate. They also like to give bananas for dessert, which is hard. The people are great. Our ward is our area and it's the strongest in the stake or zone. The Stake President and Patriarch are both from here. The saddest thing is how many inactives there are. There are about 120 actives and 750 inactives in the ward. So there is significant work trying to bring them back. I love the people, though. They´re friendly, they know of God, frequently funny, and know how to feel the Spirit. They definitely live in poverty, though. The main city is nicer, but the homes are usually quite small, dirty, and poor. I love the people. I feel the Spirit when we teach. And while it's already so hard, I know this is where I need to be.
Con Amor
Parry
Con Amor
Parry
Monday, November 21, 2011
Today's the Day!
Today is the day that Elder James Parry Harrison flies to Chile to begin the heart of his mission. We are anxiously awaiting a phone call from him at the Salt Lake International Airport.
In the meantime, here is the last official e-mail he sent to his family last Thursday:
In the meantime, here is the last official e-mail he sent to his family last Thursday:
"Well here I am. Off to the great big world... Today I got my shots and haircut, so I'm pretty much ready to go. I'm scared that I'm not ready to speak the language, but we'll see... :) This week, we had a wonderful devotional on Tuesday by Tad R. Callister of the presidency of the 70. It was very powerful and interesting. He talked about the Great Apostasy and Well here I am. Off to the great big world... Today I got my shots and haircut, so I'm pretty much ready to go. I'm scared that I'm not ready to speak the language, but we'll see... :) This week, we had a wonderful devotional on Tuesday by Tad R. Callister of the presidency of the 70. It was very powerful and interesting. He talked about the Great Apostasy and the the 10 evidences of it: 1. The Apostles were all Killed 2. Scritures testify 3. The Bible ends 4. Miracles gone 5. Teachings of Christ's church perverted 6. Ordinances changed 7. Simple manner of prayer changed(Satan breaking the communication with God) 8. Scriptures removed from common folk 9. None of the churches bore the name of Christ 10. The priesthood was lost. He used tons of quotes from world recognized authorities and from the leaders of the churches and movements themselves. It's cool too because he's the uncle of my favorite high school history teacher - Ms. Callister. I have to say one of the things I've love the absolute most here in the MTC is the musical numbers at the devotionals and firesides. They are so powerful and the people are amazingly talented. This week I read through the sunday school version of the church history from 1850 to 2000. It was a ton of reading, something like 18 chapters, but it was so interesting to learn about how the church was forming and settling into its traditions. And, how the Church delt with the challenges. It's on lds.org. Just search "chapter thirty" and it pops up. Also, we watched a talk given by Elder Holland, on Sunday night, that he gave in 2006. It was really powerful.
A great poem he told,
"Come to the edge he said, no I said, I'll fall
Come to the edge he said, no I'll fall
Come to the edge he said, I came, he pushed me, and I flew"
God helps us, and we can only do somethings when pushed to the edge of our strength and testimony
Well, I'm ready to go out.... I know this is the Lord's work. That he's personally directing the church. That Joseph Smith restored this Church and all the power through revelation and the power of God. I bear testimony that prayers are answered, and that God micromanages this work(we hear that in almost every talk:) I love you all, and am so greatful for the support, news, love, and testimony I've gotten from you. I'll see you on the bottom side of the world....
Con Amor
Parry"
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
ELDER HARRISON FLIES TO CHILE ON NOVEMBER 21
I'm leaving the 21st and will be calling home from the airport around 12 noon. My Delta flight leaves at 1:50 and we stop to refuel in Atlanta at 7:20. We then get to Santiago at 8:20 in the morning. I might get to call to say I'm alright, but I'm not sure. I am on the same flight as Elder West, even though he's going to the neighboring mission.
MTC Musings
This past week Elder Harrison wrote:
This week, the most interesting and powerful thing that has happened was to hear Hermana Lucero's, one of my teachers, conversion story. She lived in Chiuaua (I don't know how to spell it :) Mexico. She was extremely poor, even for Mexico. She was 14. She and her siblings were in a parade and were all dressed in white. Later, they found out the missionaries saw them dressed in white and felt like they were ready to be baptized. She was walking with her friends and they shouted "hey handsomes" at the missionaries because they looked like such gringos. She felt horrible when she got home and they were there. Her family automatically accepted it but she was very resistant because she believed in the Virgin Mary. When she was 4 she was lost in the city for 10 hours. And a nice lady luckily found her and posted pictures and she was found. Her mom told her that she prayed to the Virgin and that's why she found her. The missionary shared a story of how a mom was giving food to her neighbor for her son, who was begging there but was too proud to go home. This is how God still answers prayers, even though they're sometimes directed to the wrong person. She went on to tell how she had to quit school and work for 3 years, but really wanted to go to the church highschool in Mexico City. She finally earned enough money for the first semmester but didn't have any more. She trusted it would all work out and went anyways. She ended up getting a scholarship for good grades. When she applied for a visa to come here, she didn't have very much money and they don't like to give visas to those without many prospects. But when she said that she was coming to the U.S. so she could make a difference in her and her family's life, the officer just gave it to her. She was a great example to me of how we could change people's life so dramatically. It was touching and made me excited to get out there to help.
I finished "Jesus the Christ" today! It was an amazing and really strengthened my testimony and knowledge of the Savior. I'm excited to get my travel plans tomorrow :) Thanks for all the support and love.
Con amor
Parry
This week, the most interesting and powerful thing that has happened was to hear Hermana Lucero's, one of my teachers, conversion story. She lived in Chiuaua (I don't know how to spell it :) Mexico. She was extremely poor, even for Mexico. She was 14. She and her siblings were in a parade and were all dressed in white. Later, they found out the missionaries saw them dressed in white and felt like they were ready to be baptized. She was walking with her friends and they shouted "hey handsomes" at the missionaries because they looked like such gringos. She felt horrible when she got home and they were there. Her family automatically accepted it but she was very resistant because she believed in the Virgin Mary. When she was 4 she was lost in the city for 10 hours. And a nice lady luckily found her and posted pictures and she was found. Her mom told her that she prayed to the Virgin and that's why she found her. The missionary shared a story of how a mom was giving food to her neighbor for her son, who was begging there but was too proud to go home. This is how God still answers prayers, even though they're sometimes directed to the wrong person. She went on to tell how she had to quit school and work for 3 years, but really wanted to go to the church highschool in Mexico City. She finally earned enough money for the first semmester but didn't have any more. She trusted it would all work out and went anyways. She ended up getting a scholarship for good grades. When she applied for a visa to come here, she didn't have very much money and they don't like to give visas to those without many prospects. But when she said that she was coming to the U.S. so she could make a difference in her and her family's life, the officer just gave it to her. She was a great example to me of how we could change people's life so dramatically. It was touching and made me excited to get out there to help.
I finished "Jesus the Christ" today! It was an amazing and really strengthened my testimony and knowledge of the Savior. I'm excited to get my travel plans tomorrow :) Thanks for all the support and love.
Con amor
Parry
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Latest from the MTC
Here is Elder James Parry's latest e-mail from the Provo MTC, in its entirety:
This week has been good. The Zone Leader's district, the ones who got in just before us, left on Sunday and Monday, so now we're the "oldest" ones here. It makes it seem even more like we've been here forever, and that we'll be leaving soon. We'll be getting our for sure departure date and travel plans around the 10th, and should be leaving around the 21st. I'm starting to feel nervous and un-prepared. Before I thought I was doing great, but now it seems like the field is coming up way too fast :/ So, I'm just going to have to work harder. I'm almost done with Jesus the Christ! I'm on page 550, and it has been amazing. I have learned so many things I didn't know about the Savior and His ministry. It's strengenthed my testimony so much. :) This week, for the devotional, we thought and hoped that we'd get President Monson because he was down giving a talk at BYU earlier in the day, but we got a 70 instead :/ Elder Craig Zwick. It was ok though, because he gave a great talk about prayer. He talked about his mission and how, when he was in Argentina under Elder Scott as mission president, he had to open up Bolivia for service. And he had to build a chapel in a tiny rural town on the border. They had to go 20 miles through the mountains with burros to bring supplies from a neighboring town. One day while going along, there was a terrible thunderstorm and the river below the path turned into a raging mud torrent. One of the burros lost its footing and fell off the 200 ft. cliff in the river and was gone. He and his companion were so scared, but they knelt down and prayed, and the Lord protected them and gave him the most overwhelming sense of comfort and peace. We also had an amazing lesson on prayer from "The Trio" this sunday. They played the song "A Child's Prayer", and it was so touching. Oh, and also on Sunday we sang "We Are the Armies of Helaman", which was amazingly powerful.
I know that prayer works. I have prayed more here than I think I have in total since I was baptized. And it is amazing. I know that God listens, and that prayer can strengthen you, guide you, comfort you, and help you in innumerable other ways. I know this mission will change my life -- it already has started to. Thank you so much for the support and love you've given me and are giving me out here. I love the letters: the news, funny stories, and testimonies. I miss you, but wouldn't want to miss this for the world. Stay strong, and remember God Loves YOU.
Con Amor
Parry
This week has been good. The Zone Leader's district, the ones who got in just before us, left on Sunday and Monday, so now we're the "oldest" ones here. It makes it seem even more like we've been here forever, and that we'll be leaving soon. We'll be getting our for sure departure date and travel plans around the 10th, and should be leaving around the 21st. I'm starting to feel nervous and un-prepared. Before I thought I was doing great, but now it seems like the field is coming up way too fast :/ So, I'm just going to have to work harder. I'm almost done with Jesus the Christ! I'm on page 550, and it has been amazing. I have learned so many things I didn't know about the Savior and His ministry. It's strengenthed my testimony so much. :) This week, for the devotional, we thought and hoped that we'd get President Monson because he was down giving a talk at BYU earlier in the day, but we got a 70 instead :/ Elder Craig Zwick. It was ok though, because he gave a great talk about prayer. He talked about his mission and how, when he was in Argentina under Elder Scott as mission president, he had to open up Bolivia for service. And he had to build a chapel in a tiny rural town on the border. They had to go 20 miles through the mountains with burros to bring supplies from a neighboring town. One day while going along, there was a terrible thunderstorm and the river below the path turned into a raging mud torrent. One of the burros lost its footing and fell off the 200 ft. cliff in the river and was gone. He and his companion were so scared, but they knelt down and prayed, and the Lord protected them and gave him the most overwhelming sense of comfort and peace. We also had an amazing lesson on prayer from "The Trio" this sunday. They played the song "A Child's Prayer", and it was so touching. Oh, and also on Sunday we sang "We Are the Armies of Helaman", which was amazingly powerful.
I know that prayer works. I have prayed more here than I think I have in total since I was baptized. And it is amazing. I know that God listens, and that prayer can strengthen you, guide you, comfort you, and help you in innumerable other ways. I know this mission will change my life -- it already has started to. Thank you so much for the support and love you've given me and are giving me out here. I love the letters: the news, funny stories, and testimonies. I miss you, but wouldn't want to miss this for the world. Stay strong, and remember God Loves YOU.
Con Amor
Parry
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