See's Chocolate and Parking

Chapter 25

Hello from Concord!!!

Trying to choose which things to write about each week is like having a giant box of See's candy in front of me but only being able to eat 1 or 2 and having to decide which one to eat.

So to keep myself from going crazy here are the first 10 things that come to my mind when I think of the week...

1) Concord Mayor. Our investigator James won't come to church because the Mayor goes to his current church... I think the mayor needs a visit from the missionaries. 

2) Journal Writing. I have never been good at keeping a journal, but lately it has been my new favorite things.

3) Fasting. It works miracles.

4) Doors. "knock knock". The Missionaries are here!!!! 

5) Gluten Free Brownies. Who would have known they are so good? Thank you Sister Anderson, for your special dietary needs. I must be hungry because we haven't even had brownies this week....

6) Michelle. Hi Michelle! I know you are reading this! 

7) Forgiveness. It is real. 

8) Parking. Or rather the lack of. 

9) The Atonement. Learning more about it every day. 

10) "Me llamo Gato". Sister Andersons favorite thing to say in Spanish. 

Until next time....

Love, Sister Harris

Friday Happiness no.4

Sister Harris and her service skills

Ice Cream trucks that come on Saturday's instead of Sunday's.

Crazy excited people yell off the lanai, "icecream man UP HERE!!!!"

Daddy building a bookshelf. He even picked out the pink paint:)

TA-DA!

 Field trips to Hilo on the bus. I am so glad at the last minute I decided to ride instead of drive. Imagine, these two sweeties have been in carseats or boosters their whole lives. The bus was bouncing them all over the place and Winter thought we might crash! LOOOONNNGGG DAYYYY! Making memories is what it's called.

Walker and Rachel coming HOME!!! if only for a short while:) BOO:(

And my never-ending pile of ironing:)

General Women's Meeting

My favorite part is at 1:17!

Turkey & Gravy

Chapter 24

I have to admit that today I was a bit apprehensive to show up on someone's door with a turkey dinner in hand. Let me explain.

Have you ever met someone that you were so impressed with but have no idea who they are? Only that they can do something that is amazing and you wish you could do it too.  I have and I finally got the nerve to stop her one day and tell her how amazing I think she is!

Living on the Big Island there is no shortage of world class athletes that come here to train and complete. We are lucky to have the IRONMAN World Triathlon Championship in our backyard every year. 

I LOVE THIS DAY!!!!

 The world literally converges on our tiny bit of paradise. I cannot even put into words the amount of dedication these individuals along with their teams endure and sacrifice just to make it to Kona to compete.

BUT 

There is one lady that I would say rivals these IRONMAN and I have wanted to share the gospel with her. 

If you have ever visited Kona or live here you know that nothing is easy when it comes to working out. It doesn't matter if you are biking or running you are either going up a hill or down a hill! You have to endure the extreme heat of the lava fields and you are at the mercy of the sun and wind.

The wind has always intimidated me and that's why I haven't got myself to get on a bike and Queen K Highway scares me to death! Are you kidding me, that's IRONMAN territory!

That's what is so amazing about this lady! Everyday for months I would see her biking. Sometimes, I would be in Kona and she would be there on her bike. Sometimes, I would be passing the airport and there she would be on her bike. Later in the day I would see her in Waikoloa and think, how does she have the endurance? How can she possibly put forth the energy to ride uphill for 25 miles than back home. I might mention that she is a Grandmother.

One day I saw her coming up the hill on her bike and I pulled my car over and got out. I wanted to tell her how inspirational she was to me. I wanted her to know that I had noticed her hard work. She was so kind and her name so beautiful. I wished her luck and she was on her way.

Wednesday's have become my help the missionaries day. I look forward to Wed because I know that Heavenly Father is going to help me have courage. I so badly wanted to find my friend so I could bear my testimony to her and give her a pass a long card.

Guess what! There she was on her bike again and she was stopping at the market. I was on my way to the post office and I said a prayer to Heavenly Father to please let her be there when I got back . I ran into the market and she was so sweet and kind to me. I asked her if she would be willing to let me and a couple of missionaries from our church share a message with her. It gives me courage to ask this because if my kids can do it so can I. She gave me her number and I met the Elder's over at her home that day. She and her husband were beyond gracious and kind. A invitation was extended to learn more and they accepted a Book of Mormon. 

Our super Elder's have been in contact and found out that she had tripped and broke her kneecap. She had just got out of surgery the day they called. 

I am so thankful for the Relief Society and the sister's that have been there for me whenever I have been in need. I felt such a strong desire to show my friend the LOVE that has been shown to me my whole life. I wanted to let her know that she is LOVED! I wanted her to feel a bit of the love that is extended through the Relief Society.

While I was talking to her in the market I noticed she had alot of turkey gravy packets in her cart. Why, I would notice that I have no idea other than I thought they must love turkey:)

Today was a fun day making a turkey lunch to deliver. 

Maybe just maybe I was suppose to notice those gravy packets. 

I hope one day she will let me ride with her into Kona. I might just feel like a IRONMAN next to her on that big scary highway!

And we enjoyed turkey for lunch too:)

WAIT

Chapter 23

 

Sunday night we had the Elder's over for spaghetti dinner. I keep forgetting to take a picture. That is exactly what they want some photo happy mother with a blog documenting them smiling with their mouths full of food. It's probably a good thing I keep forgetting:) 

Alema has been home a little over a week and it has been so great! I cannot even express how thankful we are that he was given the opportunity to learn and grow than come home and learn and grow so more. His testimony and love of the Savior has grown tremendously along with the love of his family. There is such a calmness about him it is hard to explain.

Something interesting happened on Sunday. We received a phone call from someone needing a ride to church. Alema was able to pick him up and it turns out that he is from North Carolina exactly where Alema served. This wonderful brother is inactive but wanting to come back to church. AWESOME! Alema knows exactly who to contact! And you bet he will be hearing from the fine Elders soon. 

Alema is our newest ward missionary and sure enough these Elder's DO NOT know what the word idle is. After dinner off they went to visit families but not before I said, WAIT, I have to get a picture!

Gardening

Chapter 22

Gardening

This past week my companion and I had the opportunity to do service for a lady named Alice who used to meet with missionaries before I arrived in this area. She thought we were kidding when we said would love to come and help her do yard work. I guess that she thought the idea of getting to wear pants for a day and working out in the sun might not have sounded appealing, but trust me, we weren't kidding. It seems like a simple thing, but helping Alice was definitely one of the highlights of my week! She had surgery on her hand a few weeks ago and hasn't been able to do much with it since. We helped her prepare her garden to be planted by turning over all the dirt and laying down new soil. It was fun working in the sun and seeing the progress that was made. We were able to talk with Alice about the church, but mostly about her life and the things that are important to her. She is a great lady!!

Often times people see us missionaries and think we just want to preach. They are often taken by surprise when instead of trying to push our religion on them we simply want to know what matters to them and help out. The Savior knows how to help each and every one of us because he knows each and every one of us. His hand is always reached out to us, we just need to accept it, and sometimes that is hard. As a missionary I try to help others accept his hand by showing them His love. I still have a long way to go, but I will keep trying because I know that I am in the right place. One thing I always try to remember is this "People aren't going to care how much you know, until they know how much you care." 

Well, that’s enough of my rambling. I Love you all and hope everyone has a good week!

Love, Sister Harris