Freeeeeeeedom 8/8/22

Hugs to everyone!!! Love and miss you all un MONTÓN 💓💗💕

Here's another email with two weeks in one :) two weeks ago, I was out with covid, so not a ton to share - turns out, high fevers and apartments with no AC are not a fun combo!

Hermana Quintana didn't have covid, so

we couldn't be in the same room and I felt so bad. she never got sick though, thank goodness!

So, looooong week. But I got a lot of good study time, explored every square inch of the apartment (I'd heard that missionary apartments always have weird stuff, and I can now confirm that this is true), etc etc.

And as for that big green spanish book? That bad boy is history at this point.

I also taught Hermana Quintana the Thomas the tank eangine song from the other room and now she sings it all the time. Like ALL the time.

One evening, I was in the middle of an intense pity party when we got a call from two members in our ward telling us they had dropped off a package. They work at a castle that also hosts wedding receptions, and they brought us a giant box filled with wedding cake and dinner 🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

I really don't think I'll ever forget this moment. I'm planning on putting them on my will (which at this point in time solely consists of the mini pink piano).

Another highlight was that able to teach a lot of our friends on zoom! I am so inspired by each of them. I'm sure that hearing this stuff for the first time is probably a bit strange and overwhelming. And I hate to say it, but I can't imagine that I would be super open minded... and yet our friends exhibit great trust in the Lord and take HUGE leaps of faith to learn more. Super cool.

I tested negative Sunday night, so we were able to have a normal week this week! We had interviews, and it's always such a treat to get to go to the mission office. President and Hermana Villar are angelic! I love them tons and tons already. Such an example to me of ministering to the one. I kid you not - President Villar asked me separately how each one of my sisters was doing and he knows them all by NAME. So sweet.

It was a week of high highs and low lows, but I've noticed that most of the time, the lows are self inflicted hahaha.

I could share 4 billion stories, but here's one of my favorites: we taught the first lesson to a man this week, and instead of asking us questions about Joseph Smith and the Book of the Mormons, he started grilling us on the chapel set up. How many chairs there are, if the piano is tuned, who makes sure it's locked up at night, etc. We ended up walking with him to the church and giving him a tour, which he really liked. He's really interested in the maintenance and LOVES to serve, so asked us if he could be the one that cleans the church each week 🥺🥺 he also asked if there was anything he could do for the members.

It was so precious. I'm still not sure if he's interested in the actual church services, but we'll see!

Here's a quick miracle!!!!

We spend all day practically begging people to talk to us and don't see a ton of success. We talk to strangers in the streets, hand out cards, send random messages, knock doors, and so on. One Sunday, a couple came in that I didn't recognize, so I introduced myself and they told me they had been searching for a church for a long time. I'm still not sure how they found our church - it's tiny here in Girona and on the most tucked away little street. So yeah, miracle #1.

After church, we had a really special discussion with them. They are beyond incredible - so close to God without even knowing anything about Him. One of the members joined us and shared a powerful testimony of Christ and the Book of Mormon. After, she looked at me, waiting for me to say something and I just sat there and cried for a sec.

But it was ok, because everyone else was crying too so we all just took a moment.

It still blows my mind that they sought out the church in their own free time. It almost doesn't register! manna from heaven.

And because yesterday was fast Sunday and all the youth had just returned from fsy in Segovia, we got to hear their testimonies. What these youth do is tough stuff. Being a member here is hard. There are four youth in the ward (and our area covers multiple CITIES). And yet these youth are so rock solid. The Spirit they brought to the meeting was incredible.

Also, we recieved transfer news yesterday and I'm staying in Girona with Hermana Quintana!!!

So to close, a quick thought:

As we've talked to so many people about God, we've found that the second most common response (first being "I'm Catholic") is: "I don't believe in God, I believe in science". This answer always intrigues me - the idea that the two can't coexist. At least in my experience, the more I learn about science, the more I am reminded of God's very real and powerful omnipotence. Take (my very limited knowledge of) atoms for example: pretty much the smallest unit of matter. Sounds super basic, right? And yet, we still have no scientific reason for their existence. Only theory after theory.

And this concept is simple in comparison to the complexity of human life. Life in general!! Everything and I mean EVERYTHING denotes that there is a God. It is the coolest thing.

Go read Jacob 4: 7-12. It's sums it up real nicely. Here's part of verse 8: "Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him"! Woah. (Also Mosiah 4 is good stuff. And Alma 30:44. And 2 Ne 9:42. and so much more)

And yet, with all of this unknown, there is such a beautiful simplicity in God's plan for us. Because He loves us, He wants us to recieve all of the blessings that He has in store for us. And I could go off on another tangent about divine potential and how cool that is, but for now, how lucky are we to have this knowledge?!? This world would be pretty bleak and confusing without it!

So that's it, feeling grateful for the knowledge we have!

Love you all TONS.

<3/ Hermana Harris