This email was sent by Elder Harrison on 8/24/2012.

Another week gone by at the MTC, I'm pretty well getting the h

ang of things. I'm at the point where there is no new food, i've seen everyhting on the menu, thats kind of a bummer. I loved the letters and emails from everybody, they are so encouraging and there is no feeling like when your district leader says "one for Elder Harrison" when going through the mail. I got a dear elder from a woman named Jan Steed that i think Dad converted on his mission, i'd love to hear that story. I loved Caleb's drawing, about the empty sea. I miss you guys, keep the letters and dear elders coming. As far as my birthday goes,  don't bother with candy, they feed us well enough here so i'm not in the mood for sweets very often. On sundays the only breakfast option is cereal and the lines are always super long, a box of cereal would be fantastic in the next package, kashigo lean crunch or something else like that, also some sweet skinny ties, not so thin that they are radical but just enough to add some variety to my tie wardrobe. Daniel will know exactly what to get, something with color and stripes about the width of the blue penguin tie I brought. 

Today is our first time using the TRC, Daniel can tell you what that is. At first my companion did alot of talking in the lessons because he's really good at spanish but he's sort of started making me take more of the time which is good but will be hard at the same time. I guess thats how missions are, good for you but hard. It is hard but I'm really glad i'm not back at home working on the downstairs with you guys, that sounds pretty rough, I'm curios to see what it looks like when I get back.

 I have a haircut appointment today which im sort of worried about, the barbers here do around the ears really weird, I'll have to take some pictures of the result. Speaking of pictures, I have been taking alot, I'll send them to you when I fill up a memory card. Lots of my district mates and a few of my companion sleeping. Whoever is managing my facebook add my district for me. Elder William Bradley, Eric Peterson, Calvin Petersen, Ty Mull, Luke Spiker, Cahse Jenson and Zack, maybe with an h, Hulsey. They all went to BYU except Hulsey went to snow college and Petersen went to BYU Hawaii. If that helps you find them It'll be easier to tag them in my pictures of them so their families can see them. My district mates never cease to entertain me, they all get together at night and do a modified form of sit ups while eating. When eating jerky, jerk-ups. Popcorn is Corn-ups. When it's dried mangoes it's Mag-ups or go-ups, that one is still undecided.

 At lunches Elder Spiker gets everybody a round of "carbo" which is straight soda from the fountain drinks. Everybody who wants to puts their glasses together and yells carbo then chugs the soda water, which is really terrible. Maybe we should avoid the appearance of evil but we do have alot of fun together. Daniel can try that one if he dares. My time is up again so i'll catch you guys next week on p day.

Letter from Elder Harrison

We received this email today from Elder Harrison,  The first line shows that he has not lost his sense of humor!

Email sent 8/17/2012  @ 11:09

I met this Sister missionary named Sister Lewis and we really hit it off and are talking about marriage after we get back form our missions, just joking. Everything is going great, I am used to the schedule so i'm a lot less tired during the day, however sitting studying for such long periods of time is still hard. I love all the opportunities to read and to pray and learn spanish. I'm not a pro quite yet but after a week of working at spanish i'm alot further along than I thought i'd be. I guess that is the lord helping me be able to serve him better. The food is great, I'm eating lots of vegetables and green stuff that keeps me healthy and strong. All the exercise is good too, i'm glad we have that or i'd probably go crazy. My companion and I are getting along pretty well, he speaks really good spanish and I'm pretty good at knowing what our "investigators" need to hear so we make a good team. We taught a woman, a teacher who had assumed the identity of someone she met on her mission, named regina that was really depressed the first time we came over and after we started to teach her of God's love for us and the atonement she really began to change. I know it was simulated but the gospel really can change people, i can't wait to share it with real people in nebraska. We got a new batch of elders wednesday, josh franklin among them, and it feels good to not be the new guys anymore. I felt pretty wise and mature about the week under our belts then this Elder Mull guy (who is the brother of Brandon Mull writer of Fablehaven) went for a record at lunch and put thirty-five grapes in his mouth. Aside from our little shenanigans my district is really great, full of men that have great testimonies and know exactly what they are doing here. We went to the temple this morning and it was my second time, which was really good because I could focus more on my thoughts and feelings than the first time through.After the session we had an amazing breakfast in the temple cafeteria. Today is my first real P-day so while i've got alot to do, I will have time to relax a little here and there. When I got here all the other Elders told me the first week would go by slow and after sunday time would fly. The first week was pretty slow and I hardly knew where I was going but sunday's sacrament was great and we heard a life changing talk given to the mtc at christmas about the character of christ. After sunday time did start to fly and while i do miss everybody i left at home i think alot about what nebraska will be like and i'm really excited to learn spanish better and teach the people there. We get 30 minutes on p-day to read and write emails but we can get letters any time and write them all day on p day. All of the members of my distric have been getting letters and packages and i feel a little left out. there is a website called dear elder where you can write me an email and i'll get it like a letter which is really convenient. I send my love to my family and my ward back home, you guys helped get me here and i'm very grateful for that.

The night before the MTC

The family  ( without Elizabeth & Matt)

Jacob with Grandma Lael and Grandma Doris

Missionary parents

Supporting Jacob!

The Harrison boys

with Caleb

with Samuel

with Johnathan

Present and future missionaries!

The Harrison cousins.

Tuesday night, August 7, 2012,  Jacob was set apart (a calling-specific blessing)  for his service as a full time missionary by our stake president, Eric Asay.  Our family was joined by Grandma Lael Whipple, Grandma Doris Harrison and Scott and Jacque Harrison and their family, Brooke, Ian and Walker.  It was a very special experience.  Afterwards, we took a bunch of photos.  The next morning, Our family left the house at 5 am to take Elder Jacob Harrison to the Boise airport for his 6:30am flight to Salt Lake City, Utah.  From there he took a shuttle to the Missionary Training Center (MTC).  We will not see him or speak to him on the phone (except Christmas and Mother's Day) for 2 full years.  Fortunately, we can send letters back and forth and he is able to send his family weekly emails.  I will post his emails on this blog for friends and family, along with photos.

our last glimpse of Elder Harrison in the airport security line

Well, here we are the Sunday before Elder Jacob T. Harrison reports to the missionary training center (MTC)  in Provo, UT.  He will be serving in the Omaha, Nebraska Mission--Spanish speaking for 2 years.  He will be set apart on on Tuesday night as an official missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
His flight leaves very early Wednesday morning from Boise to Salt Lake City, UT  and from there he will take a shuttle to Provo, UT where he will spend 6 weeks in the MTC learning how to be an effective missionary and also trying to perfect his Spanish.