"I feel tired at the end of the day, it's a good tired!"

This email was sent on October 29, 2012

The missionaries who covered the area before us were in what's called a zebra, which is a companionship that has one English speaking Elder and one Spanish speaking elder. The English speaking Elder is still in the area with us so he told us where the apartment was. The directions weren't very good and we didn't know the area so we didn't even know where to look. Then one day we were walking around knocking doors and we walked past an apartment building we had knocked a part of a few days earlier. The address on the building looked really familiar so we looked where we had written the investigators address and it was the same building. 

We went up to the apartment and knocked on the door. The guy who answered was in his early twenties and when we started talking to him we asked his name and it is Austry, which is pretty close to the name the English Elder gave us. He invited us in and we talked about what he remembered from the other missionaries that came and taught him. He said he remembered something about apostles, which is really good because the organization from the time of Christ is one of the big things that sets us apart from everybody else. 

We went over the first lesson with him again which is the restoration. When we asked if the other missionaries had given him a Book of Mormon, he got it out from a pile of papers. He hadn't read any of it yet so we told him if he starts reading it and praying about it he'll know it's the truth. Overall the lesson went pretty well, but he works a lot so setting up a return visit was hard but we exchanged phone numbers. 

That all happened almost two weeks ago, we tried to visit a few times but he was never home. We got in and taught his older sister a little bit but she wasn't into it very much. Saturday he texted us and said "My sister said you came over looking for me?" We said yes and stuff then he texted "Si quisiera bautisarme, que necesitaria hacer?" 
which totally caught us off guard because it means, "If I wanted to get baptised, What would i need to do?" We told him he'd have to learn more about the gospel from us, come to church a few times, repent and forsake his sins and strive to live the commandments. He said, "I want to do it." Of course we wanted to meet with hime but he works a lot and has a schedule that is not set so we haven't met with him yet but we told him to read and pray every day in the meantime to which he replied "I'm already doing that." 

Elder Terris and I were tripping, this guy is the bomb. We only met with him once and he wants to get baptized and he is reading the little scripture assignments we text to him. We'll set him up with a baptismal date when we see him next. I kept trying to think of what we said that was good enough to give him that kind of faith but then I remembered that since I got my mission call I have been praying to find the people that are prepared for our help and that are ready to listen to us and have the faith it takes to want to change. I think I should keep praying for that, because it works.

The rest of the mission is going good, I'm fine with the schedule because even though it's hard and I feel tired at the end of the day, it's a good tired, a feeling of satisfaction about the work we did that day. All the sitting around studying alot is tough to stay focused but the things I am learning from the scriptures are amazing and I'm starting to really like reading. My Spanish is really improving, probably because all the prayers I say are in Spanish and it gives me a chance to say stuff that I'm not sure if it makes sense because the only person listening is god and he knows what I'm trying to say. Elder Terris and I are getting pretty close, he would sometimes hide around a corner in the house and ambush me with a rubber band but I got him back in the shower with some Ice-water. We're going to be together in Denison for the next nine weeks or so at least so we'll probably be pretty tight by the end.

The Halloween pictures are awesome. Daniel gets points added for hair authenticity but minus for repeating a costume. Sam gets points for having sweet glasses but minus for wearing my sunglasses. Caleb has to be the winner for this year, super cool, I thought he was Mumm-ra for a second. I approve of the wrappings, Couldn't think of a better use for the cloth I bought for my failed mummy costume last year. Well done to whoever did the face paint.

I got a bunch of letters from the primary kids and teachers which was super cool. Tell them that they really made my day. The letters from my family were cool too, I'll write some back today so You'll get them pretty soon.

The weather here has been descent and not super cold yet but with all that crazy storm stuff I keep hearing about on the east coast maybe we'll catch some of that here soon. I'm pretty tough and I'll have plenty of warm clothes by then but keep praying for me because I've never seen anything like what I'm sure is coming.

I've got to finish up the email now, I've got some other stuff to do today. I send my love again to all my family and friends back home. Thanks for all the love and support and prayers. Keep praying for me and the people I'm teaching that we can all get closer to Christ and become better disciples. So long for this week.

Sincerely,
Elder Jacob Harrison