We finally received an email from Elder Harrison, so we know that he arrived safely to Nebraska!
It is so exciting to hear about his first days in the mission field!
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Email sent October 15, 2012
Wow, a lot has happened since my last email. We shipped off from the MTC early in the morning and headed to the airport. On the leg from SLC to Denver I sat by two missionaries so i didn't get to talk to anybody but after a pretty long layover in Denver we headed to Omaha and on the plane ride I sat by this woman and we talked all about her life and my life and her church and my church and Christianity in general. I didn't give her a book of Mormon or anything but it was a really cool conversation. We got to Omaha and met our Mission president, he's really cool and his wife is really cool too.
We spent the night at a hotel then the next morning got a tour of the Mormon trail visitors center and other local landmarks in Mormon history.
We spent the night at a hotel then the next morning got a tour of the Mormon trail visitors center and other local landmarks in Mormon history.
After that we went to President Weston's house and ate then met a bunch of other missionaries. They wanted to get us right to work so they gave us all temporary companions and sent us knocking doors around Omaha. I went with an Elder Terris who has been out for a year, he must have learned how to find the right people because the very first door we knocked we started talking to this woman with a few kids and she invited us in. My companion took the lead of the lesson but at the end I bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and invited her to pray for an answer and I asked her to be baptized when she got one, that part was a little rough because I hadn't spoken Spanish for a few days but she said she would. I'm pretty pumped about that. Later after some get to know you stuff with the presidency and the office staff and everything we had a testimony meeting and then got our assignments.
My first assignment is to Denison Iowa being trained by the same Elder Terris that I tore it up with in Omaha. The area had missionaries in it a year or so ago but they closed that area. Elder Terris and I will pretty much be starting from scratch in a town forty five minutes away from a chapel with like one member family. It'll be hard but it'll be awesome because like eighty percent of the people in Denison are Hispanic so we'll have plenty of opportunity to practice the language. Since the area is new when we got assigned they didn't have an apartment ready for us yet so we stayed in a teeny tiny little town in Iowa called Persia with some other elders in our district.
Downtown Denison, Iowa
One of the days we were waiting for our area to be ready we had the opportunity to go to a Gladys Knight performance in a stake center in Omaha. The Persia Elders brought a few investigators and so did pretty much every other missionary around. The music was pretty unorthodox, really peppy gospel stuff and keyboard and base guitar and stuff. The members didn't really know how to react but some of the black ones were waving their hands in the air and saying amen and stuff. On the way home from that I hit my first animal, a raccoon ran across the freeway when i was going seventy, got my heart going but I've seen the end of Simon Birch so i didn't swerve or anything.
After they got our apartment and furniture ready on Saturday we went to Dennison and started moving in we got everything settled and it's a pretty big apartment for missionary standards. The windows are all pretty drafty and there was a weird centipede in the sink one morning but other than that no wildlife yet. The gas wasn't on yet and still isn't so we have been without heat or hot water for two mornings, that's pretty fun.
We visited the Pacas family last night, they are an old husband and wife that have some grown up kids that aren't active. Brother and sister Pacas are really cool and will be the anchor for all the people we'll be converting in Dennison. It'll be hard to get anyone to church since it's so far away but we're going to work hard anyway.
I'm pretty pumped to be here even though I'm kind of in the middle of nowhere, Dennison has like 10,000 people and it's by far the biggest town for miles and miles. Me and Elder Terris get along well so far and he'll be a good trainer.
It is pretty cold in Denison!
My first assignment is to Denison Iowa being trained by the same Elder Terris that I tore it up with in Omaha. The area had missionaries in it a year or so ago but they closed that area. Elder Terris and I will pretty much be starting from scratch in a town forty five minutes away from a chapel with like one member family. It'll be hard but it'll be awesome because like eighty percent of the people in Denison are Hispanic so we'll have plenty of opportunity to practice the language. Since the area is new when we got assigned they didn't have an apartment ready for us yet so we stayed in a teeny tiny little town in Iowa called Persia with some other elders in our district.
Downtown Denison, IowaOne of the days we were waiting for our area to be ready we had the opportunity to go to a Gladys Knight performance in a stake center in Omaha. The Persia Elders brought a few investigators and so did pretty much every other missionary around. The music was pretty unorthodox, really peppy gospel stuff and keyboard and base guitar and stuff. The members didn't really know how to react but some of the black ones were waving their hands in the air and saying amen and stuff. On the way home from that I hit my first animal, a raccoon ran across the freeway when i was going seventy, got my heart going but I've seen the end of Simon Birch so i didn't swerve or anything.
After they got our apartment and furniture ready on Saturday we went to Dennison and started moving in we got everything settled and it's a pretty big apartment for missionary standards. The windows are all pretty drafty and there was a weird centipede in the sink one morning but other than that no wildlife yet. The gas wasn't on yet and still isn't so we have been without heat or hot water for two mornings, that's pretty fun.
We visited the Pacas family last night, they are an old husband and wife that have some grown up kids that aren't active. Brother and sister Pacas are really cool and will be the anchor for all the people we'll be converting in Dennison. It'll be hard to get anyone to church since it's so far away but we're going to work hard anyway.
I'm pretty pumped to be here even though I'm kind of in the middle of nowhere, Dennison has like 10,000 people and it's by far the biggest town for miles and miles. Me and Elder Terris get along well so far and he'll be a good trainer.
It is pretty cold in Denison!
Sorry I couldn't call more people at the Airport that card worked great and had tons of minutes but I could only call so many times and I used them all up. Christmas is coming sooner or later and I can call home then. Keep sending my mail to the address I gave for the Omaha office and they'll get it out to me.
My time is about up for this computer I'm using in the library so I'll have to sign off here. Keep us in your prayers so we can find lots of people and teach well. Till next Monday which is my new P-day, I love you all and I miss you.
My time is about up for this computer I'm using in the library so I'll have to sign off here. Keep us in your prayers so we can find lots of people and teach well. Till next Monday which is my new P-day, I love you all and I miss you.
Sincerely,
Elder Jacob Harrison
Elder Jacob Harrison
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