New Years Eve 2012

Happy New Year! (Well Almost)

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and are ready to bring on the New Year! Christmas here was nice and warm, it was cloudy but still pretty hot. I had the privilege to talk to my parents and that was the best Christmas present I received, well right after the present of finding an entire family to teach this past week as well. We found a family and the parents are married, which is a miracle, and they have 3 beautiful daughters, 2 of which are old enough to be baptized. It was really a special experience finding this family and we're doing all we can to make sure they progress. We're super excited! It was something super special. Well I hope you all have a great and safe time bringing in the New Year!

HERMANA HARBISON

PS I hate bugs.

Christmas Eve 2012

Seasons Greeting from Ica!

I hope everyone is having a great and safe holiday season! Here in Ica life is going great. It's all a new experience that's for sure. Last week I got my new companion on Tuesday and then we arrived that night. On Wednesday we got to know a few investigators that we have, then the rest of the week we worked. We're looking for people to teach, getting to know the area. Here it is so hot during the day, but in the night it cools down. We have to drink A LOT of water everyday. But no complaints, because it's part of the work. It's pretty interesting opening up an area. There are already Elders here in our ward (we're a total of 4) they work in one part and we work in the other. Our house is SUPER nice. Pretty much a mansion when it comes to missionary standards, spacious bathroom, kitchen, dining room (rareity that's for sure), study area and sleeping area. We love it.

Here's a picture of me and my new companion, Hermana Rivera from Hondorus. She just came out of the MTC here in Peru and is super great!

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Enjoy the time with your family and friends as we think of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love this time of year, it's a little different being a missionary, being in Peru, and all the heat that's here in Ica, but that doesn't take away from what the season is really all about. I truly hope we all take time to remember our Savior this time of year and give thanks for all that He has done for us. I'm truly grateful to serve the Lord as a Missionary, for the expeirences that I have everyday.

Merry Christmas!

Love Always,

HERMANA HARBISON

December 17, 2012

"Hermana Harbison, you're changing zones.  You're going to open an area in Ica and are going to train."

That's the news I recieved Saturday night, but in Spanish. My companion and I are both leaving Pisco and they're going to put Elders there in the ward. Needless to say I'm totally and completely nervous because not only am I opening an area but I'm going to be training my companion while doing so. But I heard that in my area there are going to be Elders there as well so we won't be totally lost there in Ica. Ica is an hour south of Pisco, I've heard it's SO hot there. I'm really nervous but really excited and ready to work all at the same time. I know it's the will of the Lord for me to transfer to a different zone and I'm totally and completely ready to learn new things and to teach the gospel to the people of Ica. And that's the mission, changes left and right and I love it. I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. This week we're going to have a Christmas Conference with our Mission President so that'll be fun. Well that's all the news I've got. I'll let you all know how Ica is next week! Have a great week!

Love Always,

HERMANA HARBISON

December 12, 2012

Family and Friends,

I hope everything is going great up north in America! Nothing too exciting is going on here in Peru. The summer time is starting up and we can feel it. There is no air conditioning here in Pisco, but the nights are pretty cool so we open the one window that we have and let the cool-ish air come in. Everyone here we contact asks us if we believe the world is going to end on the 21st. We tell them that we don't know, only Heavenly Father does and then we share a scripture about how now is the time to prepare. Then they usually let us in and we teach them about the Gospel and repentance, it's working out really nice. Also, yesterday at church almost every row was filled with people, which never happens in our humble little ward, so that was great to see the fruits of our labors. All in all, life's going great here in Peru! Hope you all have a great week!

HERMANA HARBISON

December 3, 2012

Familia y Amigos!

Life as a missionary is going great! This week we had to travel to the big city of Lima because my companion had a doctor´s appt. It was a little shocking up there because life is a lot faster and busier and I kind of forgot what that felt like. That´s all that was super exciting this week. All is well in Pisco, Perú! Here´s a scripture for the week. It´s for those who might be passing through a trial right now it´s found in the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 7:33.

Have a great week!

Love Always,

HERMANA HARBISON

November 26, 2012

Greetings from Down South of the Equator!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! The other day I was describing to my Peruvian Companion about what Black Friday is. She was so amazed and couldn't believe that people wait in such a long line and then swarm into the stores when their doors open. She had seen something like it in a movie, but was still amazed haha. This week was pretty normal, nothing too exciting going on. I started an English class on Thursday which was pretty fun. There weren't many people there, but I taught them the ABCs and the song that goes with it. The youth here like to ask me what the words mean in the American songs that they listen to. The work here in Pisco is slowly but surely coming along. I'm learning new things everyday and it's the best!

I hope everyone has a great week this week! Until next time here's a scripture from the Book of Mormon that I love: Ether 12:4. Look it up. Done.

Love Always,

HERMANA HARBISON

November 19, 2012

Family and Friends,

Hope you had a great week! I believe it's going to be Thanksgiving up there this week, hope everyone has a great holiday! Here are somethings I'm grateful for as a missionary:
-Peruvian Food that tastes great
-The nice and cozy apartment that we have
-Hot water to take a shower in
-The health I have to go out and work
-My Companion Hermana Riveros

-The support I get out here from my Family and Friends
-Every single one of our investigators and the opportunity we have to teach them
-Agency
-The opportunity to serve Heavenly Father
-The new things I learn every day
-A lot more other things, but I only have a half an hour to write...

I'm truly grateful for this opportunity to serve as a missionary. I'm grateful I had this time to reflect on the great things I've been blessed with. I'm sad I won't be spending the holiday with my family, BUT I know that they're safe and I'll be working hard helping the people of Peru. I truly wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a big thanks to everyone for your support!

Happy Thanksgiving!

HERMANA HARBISON

November 12, 2012

Greetings from Pisco Peru!

Everything is going great here! The ward I´m in is small and humble. Yesterday we had to give the talks in Sacrament Meeting. It was nerve wracking because I found out the night before and had an hour to prepare it all... But I think I got my message across. Here in Esperanza, Pisco there´s only dirt roads for most of the town and the 3 main roads are paved. Our area is pretty big because there´s a part that´s a 20 minute moto taxi ride there and an hour walk back. There´s a few people out there that we´re teaching so we have to make the trek about twice a week. I have yet to take a picture of the moto taxis here, but try googling it they´re pretty awesome. It´s a 3 wheeled vehicle that fits 3 people in the back and the drive is front and center. That´s the way we get around town here, there aren´t any cars except on the main road. I love it! Really there´s nothing else too exciting here, we´ve got a lot of work to do and we´re doing it. Hope you all have a great week!

Love Always,

Heremana Harbison

November 5, 2012

Greetings from Pisco Peru!

This week was the week of transfers and I've been transferred to Pisco! It's 4 hours south of Lima. It's a lot hotter and there's a lot more dirt here. Google it and I'm sure you'll find things about an earthquake that happened here 5 years ago and you'll see it's a lot of desert but pretty close to the ocean. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone in the ward I was in. But looking at those I helped teach and saying goodbye to them, I just knew and felt that I did all I could to help them. My companion is Hermana Riveros, my first companion in the mission. I'm excited to be reunited with her, after a short 6 weeks, because I know we're going to do some hard work here in this area. This was her first area in her mission, then she went to Surco, then she came back here and a month later I followed her. The bus ride down here was interesting. I got to see more of Peru and I got to see the ocean which was really pretty. I'm excited to be here, it'll be something different from the city that's for sure. But different is good, so I'm not worried at all.

Time flies by really fast here in the mission which really stinks, but I still learn so many things everyday. I hope everyone has a great week and if you need anything let me know!

Love Always,

HERMANA HARBISON

October 22, 2012

Hola Familia y Amigos,

I hope your week treated you well. Below is a picture of our Family Home Evening that we had with Hermana Milagros (the mom), Valentina, and Antonio this past Monday. (The two kids were baptized last month, Hna Milagros wants to be baptized but isn´t married with the person she´s living with which means she isn´t complying with the Law of Chastity...Which means she can´t get baptized yet)

Part of the lesson was to list the blessings that we´ve received from Heavenly Father and then we shared one from our list. Well Hna Milagros started and said that a blessing was having the gospel in her life. She then started to cry explaining her gratitude and the change she´s seen in her kids and in her life. I almost started to cry but I was just so happy I couldn´t. It was a confirmation to me that I´m doing my job. I just sat there and smiled and then shared that a blessing in my life was the opportunity I have to be a missionary. This family changed my life. I´m blessed to have gotten to know them and share the gospel with them. I´m sure I´ve said this before, but I´ll say it again. I don´t know why I didn´t want to serve a mission before hand. I´m truly grateful for this opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people here in Perú.

Have a great week!

Love Always,

HERMANA HARBISON

October 15, 2012

Buenas Dias!


This week was as great week because we got to go to the temple! Here´s a picture of me and my companions outside the temple

Hermana Bermudez, Myself, and Hermana Giudice

Here´s a picture of the temple here in Lima.

As announced in General Conference, they´re going to build another temple in Arequipa which is in the southern part of the country. They´re also building one in Trujillo up in the north. It´s pretty great that there are going to be three temples here in Perú!

The work here in the field is going great. Yesterday I gave a talk in Church all in Spanish. Pretty sure my stomach turned upside down, because I was pretty nervous to convey my message in Spanish. However, I think it went smoothly and they understood... Hope everything is great where ever you may be, have a great week!

Love Always,
HERMANA HARBISON

October 8, 2012

Family and Friends,

Well how great was conference? I was lucky, there´s another North American Hermana in our Zone, so together we were able to go watch it in the English room. I was able to understand all the great words from the General Authorities. Hope you all enjoyed conference as much as I did. The words of the Prophet and Apostles are really inspired and can tell you just what you need to hear and how to apply it to your life. Well conference was really the highlight of the week. I´m learning lots of new things with my 2 companions each day. Love that about the mission, you learn so much in so many different aspects. Today the sun is out, for the first time in a while. Spring is really on its way, woohoo! Everything is going great here in Perú, I hope it´s going great for you where ever you may be!

Have a great week!

Love Always,

HERMANA HARBISON

October 1, 2012

Just writing to say that all is well here in the field. We're on a path to find new investigators right now. Right now I'm in a trio. One of my companions has been in the field for 10 months, Hermana Giudice and Hermana Bermudez is straight out of the CCM. Hermana Giudice is from Argentina and is really great. Hermana Bermudez is eager to learn and preach the gospel and she's from Trujillo Peru. They are both great and I'm learning a lot of new things with them. The fact that I have new companions is really all the exciting news I have. Our ward is great, love all the members. We're really working with them so we can have some references. Support your local missionaries, give them references. Period. Hope all is well where ever you may be. Write me if you need anything.

Until next time, have a great week!

Love Always,

HERMANA HARBISON

September 24, 2012

My dear family and friends,


I hope everyone had a great week and you all are enjoying the fall weather that´s coming your way.  All is well here in the mission field of Perú Lima Sur.  This week was the week of cambios (transfers).  This morning, my companion headed off to Pisco, in the southern part of our mission, and I recieved a new companion, Hermana Guidice.  Hermana Guidice is from Argentina, she started her mission the same time as my last companion, so she has about 10 months in the field.  We´re also going to get another companion from the CCM tomorrow, so we´re going to be a trio here in our ward.  We´re ready to work hard and find people to teach them the gospel.  Next week I´ll try and send pictures of the three of us.  
This week we had another baptism and it was awesome.

Here is my companion Hermana Riveros, Valentina (8), Antonio (13), Pepito (baptizer), Milagros (Antonio and Valentina´s Mom) and Myself.  It would take the whole hour to tell you the whole story of this family, but just know that I love them so much.  Hermana Milagros can´t be baptized just yet, but she´s strong in attending Church, knows that life´s better in the Gospel, and is ready to help her children grow in the Gospel.  Love them so much, pierod.  Funny story, when it was Hermanita Valentina´s turn to be baptized, she was a little scared to go under the water.  When she went under her little legs popped right up out of the water and we had to do it again.  It was sooo funny, but we did it again and she was baptized with success.

Everything is going good here in the field.  I´m excited to learn new things with my new companions this cambio.  Until next time, have a great week!

HERMANA HARBISON

September 3, 2012

Greetings from the mission field! Hope your week was great! This past week we had a bunch of meetings which was great because we learned a lot, but it also meant we didn´t get to teach as much as we would like to as missionaries. Last Friday Elder D. Todd Christofferson came to Perú and gave a talk, in Spanish (because he served his mission in Argentina), to all the missionaries in Lima and the CCM here. It was great to hear the words of an Apostle! Such a privilege! We also had 2 baptisms on Saturday. (I tried to put pictures up, but they won´t download here on this computer... Lame.) Two guys, Anthony who´s 21 years old and Jorge who´s 35. They´re great, super grateful that we taught them and helped them make this convenant with Heavenly Father. Now we´re going to keep working with them and the ward to make sure they stay active and are befriended. Other than that, nothing new here in Surco. Hope you all have a great week and hopefully next week I get a computer that lets me download pictures.

Love Always,
HERMANA HARBISON

August 27, 2012

Greetings From Perú!
Let me just tell you all I´ve been reflecting lately and I think I´ve asked myself at least once a week why I didn´t want to serve a mission before. I really encourage all that can and have any desire to, to serve a mission. I learn new things everyday, about myself, about others, about the Gospel, about Perú, about my companion, the list goes on and on. I love the joy I feel each time we teach a lesson and can see that the person is understanding, applying and wanting to come closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know a mission is not for everyone, but it truly is the best thing I could be doing for these 18 months of my life.

Life here in the field is going great, no complaints. Hope things are going great where ever you may be. If you need anything let me know! Sorry this is so short...Next week it´ll be longer I promise.

Love Always,

HERMANA HARBISON


PS I wrote one week about sending me mail, if you do don´t put the Perú Lima South Mission on the letter because they think it´s a business and it´ll take longer to get here. That´s the word on the street at least. Thank you all for your love and support.

August 21, 2012

Hola World!

Hope your past week treated you well, because mine did.  We spent a lot of our time this week teaching our ward. On Wednesday we taught the Young Women about sharing the gospel with their friends and how they should bring friends to church and what not and the blessings that come from that. Then on Sunday we taught Relief Society about missionary work and how it´s important to share the gospel.  Hopefully we get some new investigators but we´ll see, they know that we need their help and missionary work isn´t just for us missionaries. Yesterday for dessert after lunch we had a chocolate cake that was to die for. The member taught herself how to bake and what not and is a master! People, I´m telling you I have never tasted anything so delicious in my life and all the food here in Perú is delicious. That´s all with that. We had a lot of people attend Church yesterday, which is the best!   I finally understand almost everything that people are saying in Spanish, the gift of tounges is thoroughly being developed little by little out here. Hope things are going well in your lives! Thank you all for the support! If you need anything let me know!

Love Always,

HERMANA HARBISON

August 13, 2012

Hola, me llamo Hermana Harbison and I love to recieve letters :):)


Here's my address:

Felicia Harbison
Peru Lima South Mission
Av. Jorge Basadre, 592, Oficina 604-A
Edificio Torre Azul, San Isidro
Lima 27 PERU
Or you could try dearelder.com and select the Peru Lima South Mission. That's just an FYI for you all,  thanks.

Nestor and Elizabeth were baptized by the Bishop (the one kneeling) on July 14th, 2012. The daughter next to me isn't a member and the daughter next to my companion is. This family is the best, I could really see the change that the Gospel brings to people's lives.


This week was pretty normal. A lot of our appoinments fell through BUT Sunday was the best. We didn't have many attend church like we wanted but here's what happened. I was sitting in Sunday School and looked out the window and our investigator, Antoni, was standing out side.  I was shocked and told him to come in and join us. At the end of class he told us he wanted us to talk with him. (Here's a little background, he had the lessons a long time ago and had a baptism date that fell through. A week ago he called us and said that he wanted to talk to us about the Church. We had an appt. and asked if he believed Joseph Smith was a prophet and if the Book of Mormon was true. He said he had doubts, so we told him to read the Book of Mormon with the things found in Moroni 10:4 and he'd get an answer.) Well, when we sat down to talk, he recites the things from verse four of Moroni ten and asks what's next to be baptized? Hna. Riveros and I were totally shocked and said well we just have to review eveything and you need to continue to read and pray and attend church. He explained things to us that we should be explaining to him, like he doesn't need to have a perfect knowledge of everything but to have faith and believe and then how he was baptized when he was 5 and doesn't remember anything about it because it wasn't his choice and it wasn't with the correct authority. We then set the date for September 1st. We were totally surprised, but I can tell he's ready after we review things with him. Needless to say it was a great surprise. I know that the Lord prepares people differently, because he was taught by missionaries earlier and wasn't ready to be baptized then and he came looking for us to truly become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.

That was the highlight of the week. Hope your week is going great!
Love,
HERMANA HARBISON

August 6, 2012

This week was a good week here in the field. As a missionary Sundays are the day that tells all when it comes to if your investigator is progressing or not. Because if they attend church they are fulfilling your commitments and really want to learn more. Here´s a description of the feelings I have as a missionary on Sundays


You walk out of ward counsel and are just hoping to see your investigators sitting somewhere in the chapel. Unfortunetly no one is there. You greet all the members you can and sit there in the pew and stare at the door looking at everyone who comes in, hoping to see the familiar faces of your investigators. The meeting starts and you barely sing the hymn because you have faith that the Lord has touched someone´s heart and they´ll come to church. Sit and stare, sit and stare. Then you see a confused look on someone´s face who´s walking in and there they are, there´s your investigator. Seeing them come in is like running down the stairs Christmas morning and seeing a huge present with your name on it. You are so excited and can´t to see what´s inside. The same with your investigator, you are so excited and can´t wait for them to feel the sweet spirit that is only felt at Church. Then you look at your companion and you both have a huge grin on each of your faces and you run to their rescue helping them find a seat and get all comfortable. Then you go on with the meeting with this joy that can´t be described and gratitude to Heavenly Father that you have investigators that are progressing.

If that didn´t hit the cheesy factor of life as a missionary, I don´t know what will... There you have it, as a missionary you find the joy in the littlest things. The two minute talk you had with the person in the bus, the lesson you had and committed someone to be baptized, the health and support you have to teach and help others.

Nothing really new here. It´s pretty cold here and it stinks because there´s humidity and so the cold just goes straight into your bones. I found out that my favorite dish here is Aji de Gallina, which translates to Chili of the Rooster. It´s this chili sauce with chicken, instead of rooster, and it´s soooo good!

Hope everything is going good where ever you may be. I´m here in Perú, but if you need something just holler!

Have a great week!

Love,

HERMANA HARBISON

July 30, 2012

Walk into a house of investigator or member this week,

Where are you from?
Colorado.
Ohhh Batman...

Sorry to hear about that tragedy up there in Colorado. Hopefully the missionaries up there are teaching lots of people about the Plan of Salvation.

This week was a pretty average, great week. We found some new investigators who seem really eager to hear about the gospel. Yesterday I felt my second earthquake here in Peru (the first was in the CCM here). During the third hour of church there was a little rumble and then a jerk of an earthquake. It was pretty tiny but you could feel it, crazy!

Well honestly I hope things are going well up there in the States. I hope you all are enjoying the heat of the summer, because it´s the cold of the winter here. I don´t have much more to say. The work is coming along down here. I had my first interviw with our new mission president, President Douglas. He really is a GREAT president. He gave me words of wisdom that have changed my mission, I love him and his family and am so grateful for the sacrifice they´ve made to come down here and serve (it´s him and his wife and his daughter who is 16 and son who is 11). I know it´s not easy to make a change like this, it was hard for me at first that´s for sure. But I´ve honestly realized that this is the best thing I could be doing for the next 18 months and have and will put my heart, might, mind and strength into serving the Lord everyday.

Best wishes to you all!
Love,
HERMANA HARBISON

July 26, 2012

Greetings from Peru!


Hope things are going good for everyone that reads this. Life here is going by a little too fast but everything is great! I love the members of our ward, we get to have lunch and dinner with them every Saturday and Sunday. They are all so great and willing to serve us missionaries! I've also been thinking...I haven't found a dish that I don't like here in Peru :):) Everything our pensionista cooks is delicious, along with all the food the members cook. I love Peru!

We have an investigator named Milagros. She isn't progressing because she's not married to the guy she's living with, BUT she's super receptive to our message! Her boyfriend is an inactive member and her "sister in law" is a member. She told us that she's always excited to have us come over and she's also been going to church which is great! We'll see how things go, hopefully we'll be having a wedding here soon :):)

I've decided to send a picture every week. This week is of me and my companion on my very first day here in the field. Her name is Hermana Riveros and she's from Trujillo, Peru.

It was a pretty normal week this week, nothing out of the ordinary. Hope everyone is enjoying the Summer time up there in the States, because it's winter here and when the wind blows it gets pretty chilly, but not that cold.

Have a great week!
Love,
HERMANA HARBISON

July 16, 2012

This week was a really good we because we had 2 baptisms! My first baptisms as a missionary! We were afraid they weren´t going to happen because problems with the interview. But after a second interview on Saturday morning everything was good and they were ready to be baptized. I could tell because they were really sad when they couldn´t set the day for sure after Thursday´s interview. But in 5 hours we called everyone we could in the ward and had a great baptism! MILAGROS!


I learned a lot this week in my personal study. I was reading in the January 2012 Liahona a talk by Elder Christofferson about how everyday we need to ask for our daily bread because the Lord´s hand is always stretched out and we just need to use it. This applies to us as missionaries especially me when it comes to the language. Everyday I have to ask for the gift of tongues and everyday the Lord blesses me with it when I try my hardest. Also I learned the a smile really is a small act of service. While waiting for my companion in the waiting room of the doctor´s office I smiled at the only other person who was there and she commented that she had a rough day and to see my refreshing smile really helped her and then we started talking about things and the Gospel and what not and it was all great. Another way the Lord´s hand is always stetched out is helping me talking to random people even though I don´t know Spanish that well. On the bus this week I was sitting next to a stranger and I was determined to talk to her about the gospel because I knew I had to do. I said a prayer in my heart and the Lord helped me to talk to her and understand what she was saying and I gave and explained to her the pamphlet of the Plan of Salvation. It was so great and I learned that fear really is of the Devil becuase if I continued just sitting there debating in my mind whether or not to talk to her I wouldn´t have done what was asked of me. The Lord really does love and bless me and I am so grateful for that!

Everything this else is going good. I found out this week that the toilet paper isn´t biodegradable... WHAT!?! So I noticed that there was a lot of TP in the trash can and I asked my companion why and she said ti´s because it´s not biodegradable and the toilet can´t handle that. So we have to put our TP in the trashcan until we run out and buy TP that is biodegradable. Adventure of the mission, no complaints just adjustments.

I´m grateful everyday to be a missionary and to learn new things. Hope everything is going good for you wherever you may be.
Love Always,
HERMANA HARBISON

July 9, 2012

Hola Familia y Amigos!


Hope life is treating you all well! Life here in the field is going along pretty good. The beginning of the week was a little discouraging but the end just got better and better. We had a lot of appointments fall through, but then we met some new people and have started teaching them. Also, 7 investigators came to church yesterday which just made the week that much better, becuase none came the week before.

Confession Time: I, Hermana Harbison, am sorry for ever making fun of people who cry in the middle of testimony meeting or anything like that. Becuase now that I'm a missionary I cry over the little things when our Heavenly Father shows His love towards His childern. I was reading an article in the March Ensign over breakfast and started to tear up... My heart has been changed and I'm afraid I'm going to start crying in movies when I am no longer a missionary... But I have a year and a half so we'll see. Maybe I'll cry all my tears out here on the mission becuase Heavenly Father shows His love every day. There you have it folks. I'm not crying because I'm sad or because I miss my Family (don't get me wrong I do miss them) but because I'm so happy. Cheesy? Check. Do I sound like a Sister Missionary? I hope so :):)

Everything is coming along. Spanish is slowly coming. I've learned that I truly have to rely on the Lord to have the gift of tongues and ask for that gift. Because when I do I understand Spanish so much better and progress.

There you have it for the week. Hope life is treating you all well. Until next time!

HERMANA HARBISON

July 2, 2012

Hello World!


I´m offically a missionary. I´m out here in the real world teaching real people and let me tell you it´s not easy. Period. But it´s so rewarding because I´m learning so much about EVERYTHING.

My companion´s name is Hermana Riveros. She´s from here in Peru in Trujillo. She´s great and she´ll be my companion for the next 12 weeks to do my training and what not. We live in a re done garage of a member´s house. It´s actually pretty nice considering it´s a garage. However, there is a legit rooster that lives across the street and crows at 3 in the morning and throughout the entire day. That was a great surprise my first night. But now I´m used to it haha. The area I´m in is called Surco. It´s pretty nice and the members and great. We have a pensionista that cooks us lunch, which is the biggest meal of the day here, and then for the weekends we eat at member´s home and they provide delicious food. For breakfast and dinner we just eat at home.

It´s been an adjustment learning about all the different investigators and how I could help them be baptized and know of the truth. Even though this work isn´t easy it´s totally worth it. I can´t wait to help more people and baptize them.

Well that´s all I´ve got... Until next time, hope everyone has a great Fourth of July, believe it or not they don´t really celebrate that here which is too bad. But I´ll be updating some more next week on my P day.

My mailing address is:
Felicia Lynn Harbison
Peru Lima South Mission
Av Jorge Basadre 592, Oficina 604-A
Edificio Torre Azul, San Isidro
Lima 27
Peru

June 20, 2012

Well I've been here for a week and it has been an adventure. Here you have 2 sets of companions a Latina and a North American. You teach with your Noth American together in your district. Mine is named Hermana Giles, I was originally solo but then I got a companion. Then I have 2 Latinas, Hermana Huamani and Gomez that are both here from Peru. They're all great, no complaints.


Also something that's new is that I'm going out into the field on June 26th, a week earlier than I was supposed to. This is because my mission president is going to be changing the week I was supposed to go out and that would have been too much or something. Which is totally fine with me because in class I've learned everything they're learning right now and its all a review. But I don't mind continuing my learning becuase I;m sure I'll miss it here once I go out...

The food's great here at the CCM. Which makes me nervous for the field because the food in the real world is probably totally different than here. We shall see next week though!

Today for P-Day we got to go to the temple which was AWESOME! It's a beautiful temple but kind of sad because I don't know when I'll get to go to the temple again since it's not in my mission. It was an adventure getting to the temple today. We had to run across the street and catch the bus which is this little tiny like 15 seater bus and we all (those in my group) crammed in there and headed off with a crazy driver haha.

Well that's all the news I've got! Next email will be from the field of Lima South!
Love Always,
HERMANA HARBISON

June 13, 2012

Hola, From Peru!


Yes you read that right I'm here in Peru! On Monday morning I got called down to the Travel Office, not wanting to get my hopes up again Hna. Cardenaz and I slowly walked down expecting nothing. But surprise surprise I got my Visa and they gave me my travel plans to leave the next day, Tuesday. I was so excited but so sad at the same time because I love my companion soooo much. Well I got all packed pretty fast and then went on with my day, saying goodbyes and what not. It was for sure bittersweet because I became such good friends with my district.

Tuesday morning came way too fast and I had to be at the travel office at 5 am. I got on the bus and was on my way to the airport to go to Peru. Our lay over was in Atlanta and I got to call my parents, awesome! Then hopped on the plane to Peru for a 6 hour flight. Most of the flights I slept and read, couldn't watch the movie but that's ok. 20 of us landed in Peru at 11 pm, made our way through Customs and what not and then were on our way to the CCM by about 12:30. We didn't get to the CCM until 1:30, found our room and slilently made our bed real quick and went to sleep. We got to sleep in until 9, which was great and then get pictures taken and what not and now I'm here emailing.

The CCM is way nice. The rooms are way nice, you can tell a million people haven't gone through here before. It's pretty small here there are only about 30 sisters or so. I haven't met my companion yet, but she's from Peru so that's going to be a fun adventure. The weather is pretty cloudy right now, humid but sitll pretty warm, no complaints at all.

I'm going to miss my district in Provo, but it's all alright because they're leaving to go out into the field on Monday and I know they'll do great. It's been said that the Gospel comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. Obviously I was too comfortable in Provo, but I learned so much about my self and other people, more than I would have if I would have come to Peru on May 22. I feel I'm truly ready to lose myself in the work and endure, with the Lord helping me the whole way.

I don't know when I'm leaving the CCM, I've heard July 2nd or June 26th, but I'll find out soon enough. Until then I'll be learning more Spanish and getting aclimated to this country I already love.

Hope everything is going great there in the States! Have a great day!

HERMANA HARBISON

June 8, 2012

Hola!

This week has been a pretty normal week, nothing too exciting happened. We got to host the new sisters who came in on Wednesday again and that was tons of fun!

However, this rotten deal happened to me on Thursday:

So on Tuesday I went into the travel office asking if they had any info on my Visa, which I do about once every week. They said we would call you down if we had it or put something in your mailbox. So we start class on Thursday and in the middle of the prayer the speaker in our room comes on and calls me down to the travel office. We quickly finish the prayer and Hna. Cardenaz and I speed walk down there. The second I walk in they tell me, "Sorry we still don't have your visa."I ask if they're serious and they say yes. I then ask why they called me down if they didn't have anything new. So they basically just told me something I already knew. No new info. Let's just say it was a roller coaster of emotions. Well they're like we just got a bunch of Peru Visas and yours wasn't in there but we can give you a phone pass and you can call to tell your parents. In a fog, I said yeah I'll take a phone pass to talk to my wonderful parents. So no new news on my Visa, got a little tease thinking I was going to get one and then I got a phone pass to call my parents. Tons of emotions to say the least....

Other than that it's been a pretty normal week! My companion is still awesome and the best ever. We got new Hermanas in our zone and they're living in our apartment so that's something to get used to. But Hna Carrdenaz and I are doing great and enjoying our short time together, because in a week plus a few days she'll be headed to Costa Rica. Sad and happy all at the same time.

Hope everything is going great where ever you may be!

June 1, 2012

Hello Everyone!

This week has been an exciting week. To start off, I got a companion! Her name is Hermana Cardenaz and she's the best! Here's the story: We get to class on Tuesday and one of the head teachers informed us that we would be moving to a new district. Elder Baker and I moved two doors down to a district in our zone that's two weeks ahead of us, which is nice because I already knew most of the Spanish we were learning and this little boost will be nice. However, our other member of our trio moved to a different district who is 3 weeks behind us or so, which is probably good for him, because he was having a really hard time with Spanish and actually speaking so hopefully that will help him. So this same day Hna Cardenaz's comp. left to go home and she was left to be the only sister in her district. So when they combined districts we became companions. It's so nice because we were already roommates and got along from day one pretty much. She's a great missionary and I've learned so much from her. Couldn't have asked for a better companion to be my first one! Plus we (Elder Baker and I) have new teachers now and I've had to get to know the investigators Hna Cardenaz was teaching so that's been an adjustment. Also, when it comes to what I might have missed with the 2 week lag, my new teachers are way helpful in catching us up and making sure we understand. (The only concept I didn't know that we missed was the subjunctive form in spanish so they're helping us withthat). With this new move, I also got a new mailbox number, now it's 106 instead of 133. Just an FYI, missionaries LOVE letters! :):) Also, on Wednesday we got to host the new Sister Missionaries coming in. Which means you take them to their residence, get their name tags and welcome packet, get their books, and then take them to their classroom. It was so much fun doing this!

That's all the exciting news I have here at the MTC. No word on my visa yet so I'll just be hanging out here until I get any word. Today we went to the temple early in the morning. Now we're going to enjoy the rest of our P-Day.

Have a great day!
Love,
HERMANA HARBISON

May 31, 2012

Hola Familia y Amigos


This week has been a rollercoaster of a week to say the least. Ready to get up close and personal and all spiritual with Hermana Harbison?, well here you go:

So when I teach our investigators (our teachers acting like investigators from their missions) I used to teach with E. Jacobsen, because I am still a solo Sister. So this Monday we were teaching our hard investigator Mario, he's hard in the sense that he has a hard heart and tends to argue with us on whatever we say. So we decided we wanted to crack him, get to know his past and why he is so argumentative. Well we did, he told us that he needed money to pay rent, he wants to go to school but he can't afford it and all these other things in his life right now. Then I explained to him that through the gospel miracles and blessing could happened and he flat out told me that miracles could not happen to him. And I started to cry because I just felt so bad for him that he didn't think that God loved him and could help him through the gospel and through faith. Yes I said I cried in the middle of a practice lesson here at the MTC. My companion (a 19 year old guy) looks at me with an expression of whoa you are really crying. Then our investigator went on and explained his past, parents leaving him and his sibilings and then moving from foster home to foster home and praying all the time and not getting the answer he wanted. Well we went on to explain to him about how people suffer but God has a plan for us. We read him some scriptures and challenged him to pray to know if he has a loving Heavenly Father with the actions found in Moroni 10:4. Well we finished and I was just so pumped because he was so much more receptive and willing after that. BUT THEN, the next day my teaching companion left to go down to the Peru MTC (he doesn't need a visa because he's only in Peru a few weeks and then goes to Ecuador). So since I didn't have a comp to teach with, I couldn't teach my investigator anymore, but instead had to teach with the other companionship in our distict. And this is how it's going to be until I leave. This was hard because I got so far with Mario in my lessons and just loved him and wanted to help him so much that it was hard to lose him and start over fresh with a "different" Mario. So then I had to teach this "new version" of Mario and get to know where these other Elders were in the sense of what they have taught him and what they want to teach him. That is a whole other story that I don't have time to type in my 30 minute email time.

Well there's my story of my investigator this week. Pretty long, but a great experience and good practice for out in the field when I might get so far with an investigator and then have to leave to go to another area. And learning how to work in a trio has been a challenge too but we're getting the hang of it!

Another story for you all: So this week Elder Rasband of the 70 came for devotional and had visitors he introduced to us before he started. He said they are going to be the Mission President (family) of the Peru Lima South Mission. He then had all of us who are going there stand up (I only saw 2 others). I was so excited that after devo we went down and talked to the family and they were so excited too! It was great and they seem like a nice family and will be getting there about a month after I will be out in the field, or so.

Thanks for reading this long story and I know that we can be blessed if we have faith and rely on Him when needed. Hope life in the real world has been treating you all great, love hearing from you all!

May 18, 2012

May 18, 2012
This week has been pretty uneventful. Just a normal week here at the MTC. However, on Tuesday Elder L. Tom Perry came for devotional and talked about the Priesthood and that was a great and powerful talk. I'm still a solo sister and it's awesome! (Now that I've said that I'm probably going to get a companion...) Well I did kind of have a companion this week, because she was in a trio and all her companions left this week to go out into the field. We just planned and went to meals and around campus together but that's about it. But she's leaving this Wednesday so we won't be companions for that much longer and then there will only be 3 beds filled instead of all 6 in our residence hall.

My teaching companion, Elder Jacobsen, and I have been teaching an investigator named Mario (who's really just our teacher acting like this investigator she taught on her mission). Mario is very hard hearted and flat out told us that he doesn't believe in God and that he doesn't want to be Mormon. So it's been fun trying to teach him without just wanting to argue with him about every contridiction he has about the Church. It's good practice for when we get out into the real world....

Today we got up early and went to the Temple first thing in the morning. It was great and I wasn't tired one bit :):) But we are going to catch up on our sleep this afternoon by taking a LONG nap, can't wait!

Well that's all I've got for all you all out there in the real world! Hope you all have a great week!

May 11, 2012

Here's my week:

Well on Monday it turned out that Elder Remington was good enough to move up to the advanced class so that left Elder Jacobson in a trio with the two other companions in our District. So it's fun, whenever someone has to go to the bathroom while we're in class, we all have to go and wait outside. Other than that things have been going good with my side of things and the Elders. Class is going good too I'm learning a lot of Spanish and remembering things from the classes I took forever ago. I've learned that I always have to be sincere in my prayers and the Lord will help me in learning how to preach the gospel in this foreign language.

Sad News First: In the mailbox yesterday there was a letter saying "Sorry to inform you but your visa has not come in yet. You will continue to stay at the Provo MTC until your visa is approved." So who knows when I'll be going out to Peru. But that's ok, because things will work out and I'll be learning things here and getting more comfortable here as well.

Funny Story: E. Jacobson and I we're teaching E. Bakeer in our class about the Atonement. This is what E. Jacobson said: Chirst suffered for all the sins in la tienda (the store) instead of saying la tierra (the earth). I look over at our teacher and he's laughing under his breath, needless to say I started laughing as well. And of course, since it was a situation that I shouldn't being laughing that hard in I ended up laughing even more. But we made it through the lesson, the Spirit was there and it was all good and a funny story came out of it.

Today my roommates and I went to the temple and that was a great experience. There were some foreign Hermanas going through the temple for the first time so two of my roommmates were their escorts and that was a great experience to see and get to know these other amazing Hermanas.

That's all the exciting things I have here on my end. Hope things are going well for everyone out there in the real world.

May 5, 2012

Amigos y Familia,

The first few days have been good. It turns out I'm a solo Sister which means I don't have a companion. The reason for this is because there wasn't enough sisters who were at the intermediate level to be my companion so I'm alone. It's WAY nice. The only problem is I ALWAYS have to find an Elder companionship or a Sister companionship to tag along with when I'm not in my room (which is all the time). With that being said I'm the only Sister in my class (which is also our district). However, I live with 5 other sisters in our residence hall. One companionship is a trio and the other is just 2. They're all super nice but they aren't my real companions; because they are above me in spanish because they've been here longer. There are 4 other Elders in my district, they are all tiny little missionaries who seem scared straight when it comes to the MTC and Spanish, but they're slowly losening up and getting to have fun. For the most part I hang out with Elder Remington and Elder Jacobson. E. Remington is really good at Spanish and E. Jacobson is still learning a lot and I'm right in between them both.

Most of the time we are in the classroom either having class, doing personal study or doing language study. It's a lot of time there but I'm learning a lot about my self, Spanish, and these Elders and their companionships. We have gym time for about an hour. Yesterday I went with my Elders up to the fields and we ran and played bocce ball which was tons of fun and a cute little bonding experience. Also, yesterday we had our first investigator (he's not really an investigator, but an actor) but we still treated him like he was a real investigator. E. Remington, Jacobson, and I taught him together ALL IN SPANISH. E. Remington did most of the talking but I talked about the First Vision which was the part I prepared for. For the most part it went well and it was a great experience and we get to do it again today with a follow up lesson.

Phone

Here's our LA trip through my phone:

 Macarons at a savory restaurant

Mom, Grandma, and I went to the Los Angeles temple and participated in a session there

At the Farmers Market downtown there was an authentic Spanish restaurant where we enjoyed some Paella 

We all went to Disneyland for a couple of days.  It was Grandma's first time to California Adventure and her first time to Disneyland in 40 years.

At age 86, she even rode the Tower of Terror with us. (There we are on the bottom left)

Square

On average it costs about 325,000 dollars to advertise in Times Square

But it cost us nothing to get on this big screen in Times Square

Guilty

Have you seen this trailer?

Because right now it's my guilty pleasure.

Saw the movie for real and the little guy was cuter on the big screen :):)

Passed

I barely passed my Science 101 class with a B- my first semester.

I passed many trucks while driving home on Saturday.

I may have just passed gas, (but we'll just say it was the dog).

I passed my Mom in height many years ago.

And I always regret it when I've passed up a cookie, a cute pair of shoes, or that one skirt that was on sale.

But one thing I passed with a few flying colors, was the Praxis test.  

Until next time, here's a picture I made for the heck of it.

It's a tree if you couldn't tell...

Facts

Fact: I turned 21 two weeks ago.

Fact: General Conference was this weekend.

Fact:

Fact: It takes a long time to get the coals hot on a windy day, but eventually your hamburgers get cooked.

Fact: Our conference weekend was great, great food and great messages.

Test

This Saturday I'm taking the test of a lifetime, well at least of my lifetime which has currently only been 20 years.  To put it lightly, the Praxis test is the one that will determine whether or not I will become a teacher, well that's not that light but it's the truth...

This book has become my new best friend:

It may be on the thin side, but it's full of information.  All of which I have to continue to study and spit out on Saturday.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

Regreso

Mi amigo Corey returned from his Mission in Costa Rica.

While I was down in Utah this past weekend we caught up on life.

Check out his music.  Les va a gustar.

Temple

Went through the Temple with my mom this weekend.

Salt Lake City Utah Temple

Great experience in preparation for the Mission.

Off

Well I took off from the blogging world. And now I'm off from school for the day so I'll give the world an update or two.

Nothing new in the fact that my semester has kept me busy. But there is always time for fun with the roommates. Like movies and bonding and baking and bowling:

From the left: Kristin, Sharla, Me, Brooke, Diana and Lyndsey.

Kristin is a freshman from Montana.

Sharla has been with me forever.

Brooke is engaged, so we rarely ever see her and she's also from Montana.

Diana is my roomie and we've known each other since our first semester.

Lyndsey is from California and is studying Elementary Education like me.

I've missed posting. I'm still busy. But I would never forget to do the regular roommate post for the semester.