Well Here We Are

I can hardly even believe it...but here I am, my last pday sitting here in this little Internet cafe here in la Plaza de Maipu. Today we as the go homer group had lunch with President Barreiros at his house. Spent a few hours in the subway and the bus system to come back. Did some small purchases for the week. It all just seemed so natural...like this is my life. This is my home. This is what I do. I use the bus system and talk to people about the Restoration of the Gospel while going from one end of Santiago to the next. I hear Spanish rap in the streets and sing a hymn in my head. I buy Chilean treats like Mote con Huesillo and come to this little Internet cafe because that is what I do on Mondays.

Because I am a missionary and today is pday, a week just like any other.

You know, I usually write in my planner a small list of bullet points of wonderful things that happened during the week so that I can paint pictures with my words to give you all an idea of what my Chile is like. I love it. I love painting pictures every Monday because I love my mission. I love teaching and preaching and talking to people in the street and on the bus and while we wait in line. I love helping people recognize their beliefs, because even though many believe in God, they just don't know how to put it into words. And I love even more when we can apply the doctrine of the Restoration to what they believe, because it all just makes so much sense, right? A restoration just makes SENSE if we truly believe that God lives and loves and wants the best for us. I even enjoy when people reject us, because it is at least one person that has heard the message. An individual usually interacts with missionaries 7 times before accepting them in their home. Literally EVERYTHING we do is helping the stone continue rolling forward.

I would love to talk about all that I have learned...all that I have come to know about the gospel and about myself and about who I am and who we are and how we can be in the future. I could go on and on about what the scriptures say, recount the first vision with as much vigor as I possibly can muster, I could talk for hours of the testimonies that I have obtained of prayer, study, obedience...faith, repentance and of course baptism. The gift of the holy ghost, one of my personal favorites. How we can endure to the end to receive eternal life.

But for now, I will just leave y'all with a cliffhanger :) I'll share it all with you soon, I promise :) For now, I will simply testify that I know that this church is true. I know that God is our Heavenly Father and He loves us so much. He loves us so much that He sent His Only Begotten Son to be our Savior. They truly spoke to Joseph Smith and through him, the church was restored. I have purpose in my life through this gospel. It is beautifully life changing, and I have seen that in these last 18 months. I have no doubt that this gospel is the plan that God has for us to have JOY in this life and HOPE for the life to come.

I love you all. And I will see you all next Tuesday :) Be Bold, Stay Rad, Do what you Do and Let your light so shine because your light is JUST GLORIOUS.

Hermana Harkins

Me with my mission president and his wife today at their house for lunch

Me sitting at his desk :)

Shortest Email Ever!

I'm sorry, this is the shortest email ever, we had an all day meeting today about how to get a job when we get home. I'm pumped. But it took up all of pday, so this message is to let you know that I am alive and well. I am printing off all the emails I got to read later, thank you everyone who wrote me :) I love you all and can't wait to see you! God lives and He loves us :) Be bold, Stay rad, do what you do and let your light so shine :)

Hermana Harkins

P.S.  Next monday is my last pday, so write me something wonderful!

I dont know what to put as the title of this email

So I just wanted to let the world know...STEVE EVANS IS HOME FROM HIS MISSION! And I got more than 20 pictures of his triumphant return and I am still grinning. It is surreal to think that in just three short weeks, that will be me. I know what you all are thinking..."wow, just three weeks. That is so short!" But what I am thinking..."wow, three weeks. That is enough time to find a miracle and baptize a family."

So, I am going to let you all in on a little secret. I wasn't planning on sharing it until I got home, but I must share all that has happened and how it has strengthened my testimony. I truly know that God lives, He loves us, and He knows how to help us to do His will in this life. All that we must do is search for His help and He will always ALWAYS help us.

To start out, 4 weeks ago, I got a call from the mission assistants. The group of missionaries with whom I was going to finish the mission was very big, so much so that my mission President gave us all the decision to return in the beginning of February (aka TODAY) or at the end as planned. When I got the call, I felt a little shocked, and the elder I was speaking with told me to ponder and pray over it, and to call him two days later with the answer. I know that the answer perhaps seems obvious...STAY! But I found myself thinking "well, maybe I am receiving this option for a reason. Maybe there is something I need to do at home." I honestly didn't know, but I knew that the Lord knew. So I began praying...and fasting...and reading in the Book of Mormon. All of this teaching and testifying that I have been doing, and I got to put it into practice to make this big decision.

In the end, I got a resounding STAY. Alma 29:6. Alma 49:30. So I stayed. Continued working hard. And I quickly found that finishing the mission is tough. It is not just a waiting game of carefully measured patience. It is HARD. It is sadness in leaving my Chilean home, anxiety of trying to work hard right up until the end, striving to take advantage of every opportunity to share the gospel...even frustration at feeling that it is all just much too short. But I stayed strong, knowing that my Heavenly Father TOLD me that I am to stay. There were a few moments where I thought to myself..."Maybe it would have just been better if I had decided to leave early." It was hard, but with the help of my Savior, my Heavenly Father, my companion, and my Mission President, I just kept on chugging along. I kept on going.

And then today, I realized why I had to stay.

We had a special meeting to say goodbye to the 15 or so missionaries that decided to go home early. Because so many left, there were a few changes that had to be made with companionships and mission leadership. And I got called to be a Sister Training Leader, which is an assistant to the mission president, but the sister missionary version.

Talk about Hermana Harkins IN SHOCK! I only have three weeks left in the mission, and you are making me a sister training leader?! It came out of nowhere, and I am sure that my face showed every bit of my surprise. After the meeting, the sister that I am replacing came and talked to me, explained to me the sisters that I am over, which are the ones that need a little more help and attention, what it is that I have to do to go on divisions with them...My President came up and told me that we have a leadership meeting on Thursday...and I am still thinking to myself...WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

But I get it now :) God knew that this was going to happen, and He needed me to STAY. He needed me to stay in my sector, stay with my companion, and to help these sisters that I have the privilege to work with. God moves in mysterious ways, but all we have to do is TRUST Him and His mysterious ways. I know that if we search for His will, He will reveal it to us. Even if trials come, even if it gets tough, eventually we will ALWAYS be able to see exactly what it is that He has planned for us. I know that He lives and loves us. He has a plan for ME. And for YOU. And for US. So be bold, stay rad, do what you do, and let your light so shine!

Hermana Harkins

p.s. 22 days