August 8, 2016 - Erringer Ward - Simi Valley Zone

#StartingFromTheBottom #Finduntilyoufind #Andthenfindsomemore

Heyooooo

Alrighty. This week has been a pretty interesting one. I love my new area, love being on a bike, but the only difficult thing is coming into an area where NOTHING is going on. And so, we are working to build up a ward! 

I have very much enjoyed this first week. As you will see in the pictures, my new companion is just like me. It's weird. 

But, about the Visa card, I didn't order a new one..... But, mine is starting to break! So I am happy they sent a new one! Interesting though. Could you send that to me? Also, my bike was only 160 dollars. Bought it from one of the missionaries going home last week, and it came with pretty much everything. Although, I forgot my bike pump at the apartment. I should be able to get that back though tomorrow. Don't need much of anything else! 

A little more about my companion. So, I am follow-up training him. Which means I am his second companion, and this is his second transfer! So it's really interesting. I have never been with this young of a missionary, and it's TONS of fun. Just being able to recognize a lot of the things I have gotten into the habit of doing while he just doesn't understand. It's awesome. I am in another four man apartment too, where there is a brand new missionary and a missionary who has been out for six months! I am starting to become old in this mission! It's crazy.

I am loving biking around. Our area isn't bad, pretty flat with a few hills. But it is awesome because it is so easy to just stop and talk with people. The past couple days we have had the car, and it isn't nearly as effective as having the bikes! My ward is pretty cool. It is a PUNY ward. There were less than 50 people at Sacrament yesterday. It's crazy. But the Bishop is very into missionary work. It's so cool! We have some ideas for the ward that I got from a training I went to on Thursday.

So, Monday was neat...ish. Just a typical Monday before transfers. We went out to ice cream after our P-Day was done with Kelli and Brigette, and Kelli dropped us! Sorry Sisters! And then we moved bikes around so that transfers in the morning would be more smooth.

Tuesday was transfer day! It was frustrating. The Elder that was in charge of the checkpoint didn't show up on time at all, and no one else showed up on time either, so the train ended up being late. Anywho, I got picked up by Elder Alder, and we drove home and went to work! We visited with our WML, Brother Hull, and he made us malts. First time I had that! But we talked about some things and then went out and biked around a bunch. Met the Petersen family, who then took us out to dinner to a place called Red's! It was good. 

Wednesday was our first full day together! We biked around and talked with people a ton, just trying to find and find and find! Did I mention that our area has absolutely ZERO people that we are teaching. No Less-active, investigators, nothing. So we are desperately trying to find find FIIIIIND! So, we tried our best this day, but it didn't work out. No one interested yet! That night we had a District Leader Council, trying to figure out the goal for our Zone to work towards this transfer. That was great! We are working on building our faith even more and trying to find and teach the elect. 

On Thursday I went down to Oxnard to participate in a training with all of the other leaders in the mission! It was awesome. My entire district from Santa Barbara were leaders there! :) We had a presentation given by the Thousand Oaks Fourth Ward, about how to help members to invite their friends. And then President Felix spoke with all of the District Leaders specifically about how to fulfill their assignment. It was awesome! Something that we took back to our ward for sure. We are trying very hard to help members to become inviting machines! It'll be good for the ward. Elder Alder and I then did Weekly Planning, mostly planning about how we can find!!!!! Did I mention we NEED TO FIND PEOPLE TO TEACH.

Friday was my first District Meeting that I organized in awhile! I loved it. We talked a lot about invitations, and I brought back the presentation we were shown on Thursday. We had our meeting with Brother Hull, and introduced the one pager, something that helps members track their invitations that they extend! He loved it. We also want to try and get a church tour going. But then the rest of our day was spent trying to find. Same with Saturday. FIIIINDING. That's all that matters right now.

Sunday was a good day at church. Like I said, our ward is small. Probably the smallest congregation I have ever sat in! I helped bless the Sacrament, and bore my testimony as well! And then after church, we WENT FINDING. And we also did a lot of phone work, trying to set up appointments with members during the week.

Overall, this area will be a trial of my faith. But, I have felt very strongly this entire week that we will be able to find a family of five while I am here. This ward is going to get drop kicked into shape! I am excited for what lies in store, and am excited to exercise my faith to FIND! 

Ooh, I am allowed to listen to EFY. I would love to have the new songs! And it sounds like everything is going well for all of you! Have an amazing week, and don't forget to trust in the LORD!

Love,

Elder Harvey

Bryan:  Strategy......start with the less actives. They will actually bring investigators more than the regulars. Why is the ward so small. Seems odd in California. Is it a small town?

Jaxon:  We have a pretty small area. And the Less-actives are a good idea! We are working on the ward list this week. Get this though. 70% of the households in our ward are without a Melchizedek Priesthood holder. Isn't that CRAZY?

Elder Harvey & his new bike

Elder Harvey and Elder Alder

August 1, 2016 - Westlake YSA Ward - Thousand Oaks Zone

#PresidentFelixROCKSTHEBOATHARDCORE #12/10 #TourDeSimi

HOLY COW.

SO.

THE PAST FEW DAYS HAVE BEEN C R A Z Y.

GaH.

First off though. Dad, I am sending you a letter. So go check the Post office sometime this week. It will get there faster than it would get home. Also, I loved hearing about Aydan and Hudson's experiences at EFY! It brought back memories of when I was at EFY, and my first real encounters with the Spirit. I loved Aydan's stories that she shared. I don't know Clayton Williams, I don't think. If you have a picture of him, I might be able to tell!

Sounds like you all had a great week. I have too! It hasn't been the easiest week, a lot of appointments falling through, and a lot of door knocking. Monday was great though. It was the first FHE with the Bishopric, and I was excited for this one! We had a church tour, where members could invite their friends! It was so much fun. We had 4 different rooms, all of which had Bishop, the Relief Society President, the Elders Quorum President, and the Missionaries. Naturally, we were in the font room! It was awesome, being able to present things about missionary work and baptism. There were only two non-members who came, but it was a great night nonetheless!

On Tuesday, we had 5 set appointments. And they were supposed to be really solid set appointments. However, only one of them panned out. We went to the college that morning too, and had no success. I love going to the college, but people just don't want anything to do with us! Silly peeps. Anyways, our appointment with Kelli kept, and we were able to teach about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! She liked it, but we aren't too sure how interested she is in progressing in the gospel. Anyways, we went to frisbee, which was great, and yeah. That's pretty much all that happened there!

Wednesday was killer. I think we knocked about 70 doors, with no luck at all!  Definitely a rough day, but that's all good! We had a great institute class on faith, and were able to talk with some of the members there! 

Thursday wasn't much of anything either. We had our Weekly Planning Session, and then tried to see more people. Nothing really panned out either. We had a lesson with Veronica at night though, and it was great! Had a member come, one of her good friends, and we taught about the Book of Mormon a little more in depth. She committed to reading it more, and it was awesome! Definitely a spirit filled lesson. 

Friday was a great District Meeting on Our Purpose as Missionaries. It was great. We had some more of our lessons fall through, and went on with our day, trying to see more and more people!  But, we didn't have any luck. That night was when anyone who's leadership assignment was going to change would get a call, and we got a call from President Felix. Previous to this call, all Zone Leaders and the Assistants were serving in YSA Wards. However, President informed us about some changes. Zone Leaders and the Assistants are now serving in family wards, and Sisters are replacing them! Also, he informed me of an assignment change for me. He has asked that I follow-up train and that I serve as a District Leader again! Super excited! I got my transfer call the next day, and I will be serving in the Erringer Ward with Elder Alder! And... the big news is, I am in a car share area! So, one day I will have the car, and the next day.... BIKES. Yup. Good bye belly! I was very irresponsible with the money I had, so I had to take 200$ out of my credit card so I can buy a bike. 

Saturday wasn't the greatest either. We had another couple of appointments fall through, but we did meet with Allison! She taught us about the Restoration, and she did an awesome job! I loved it! We went to a very irreverent baptismal service, and then we played some basketball with the ward! That night, we had transfer calls. So we had to call everyone in the Zone and tell them where they are going and stuff. That's always fun!

Sunday was great. We said goodbye to the ward, and after church we were able to go out to Malibu and have dinner with our Ward Mission Leader. I will send you some pictures next week. It was really fun to go out there one last time, and then we went and visited with Allison and Enrico, our Elders Quorum President. 

Tonight, we are going to be seeing everyone else at FHE! Should be a good time!

Elder Parkinson was great, and I thought we were getting along just fine! We had a good companionship, and I felt like I was improving a ton. However, I just saw a glimpse of his email to his family. Appears he didn't like me. But, he didn't communicate that very well. Anyways, I had a great transfer, I loved all of it, and I loved being his companion! 

I hope you all have an amazing week. I will send you my address next week. I am excited for my new area, but very sad to leave this one. I am excited to find those souls that Heavenly Father has been preparing out in Simi though! 

Here goes nothing!

NEW ADDRESS:

Elder Jaxon Harvey

1135 Fitzgerald Road - Apartment C

Simi Valley, CA 93065

Love,

Elder Harvey

July 25, 2016 - Westlake YSA Ward - Thousand Oaks Zone

#BishopricSwaaaaap! #AssistantExchangeNumbaTwo

Yo.

Sigh. This week has flown by again. Why does that always happen??? No matter what, weeks just FLY. AND IT'S THE LAST WEEK OF THE TRANSFER ALREADY. Dang. This week was fun! We worked really hard, and found 6 or 7 potential investigators. It's been a good week, that was capped off by an exchange with the Assistants on Saturday!

Glad to hear how your week went! I do have to correct one thing though... You're defeating the purpose of PokemonGo!!!! YOU NEED TO GO WALKING. Driving around isn't the purpose! ;) (we started playing Pokemon Go...but there's no Poke-stops near our house so we have to drive...or walk for 4 hours)

Glad that Aydan and Lachlyn had a great time at girls camp! Also, what the heck are those Elders doing! You always teach the Restoration if there is a potential investigator at a dinner! ALWAYS. There is nothing that can compare in any of the lessons than feeling the Spirit during the recitation of the First Vision! (Emerson had some friends over for dinner the same night we had the Missionaries here...although we had a nice visit and a short "lesson" Jaxon was surprised that they didn't teach the First Vision discussion)

Anyways. The week has been a great one! Monday night we had a FHE at Brother Caldwell's house, a member of the bishopric. We have one of these activities once every month, called a Bishopric Lesson! It's a ton of fun, and this time it was on Prioritizing and Time Management! Loved it. Played some air hockey with our Ward Mission Leader too, and wrecked him :)

Tuesday we hit up the campus again. We found this guy named James, he knows a lot of members who are on missions now, and he came up to us and said that he wanted to come to church! He didn't show, but that was probably for the better. It was a confusing Sacrament Meeting. Anyways, talked with him, and then we were approached by some lady who works for the college and told us we needed to sign a permission slip to be able to come onto campus and call her every time we come to contact people..... So that was interesting. We signed the paper, and yeah. Then, we talked with a guy named Arry, one of our members friends! He was a bit annoying, but fun to talk to. The conversation started by him telling us that 'shrooms are scientifically proven to give humans the strongest spiritual feelings... And then he went on to bash on us. We got out of the situation pretty quickly, but it was still funny! We had a few appointments fall through during the day, and then had dinner with Jade and Josh, the couple that took us to the temple! It was a good visit with them. That night, we also had a lesson with Veronica! A new investigator! She loved hearing about the Restoration, and she really wants to clear up her schedule on Sundays in order to come to church! Super spiritual lesson though, she was really excited to read the Book of Mormon! 

Wednesday we went up to the campus again. Not as eventful as Tuesday though. And then we had a lesson with Madisen, a Less-Active! We taught about the Sabbath Day. It was a good lesson, but she didn't come to church :( Had institute that night too! All about how important the scriptures are! It was awesome. 

Thursday we did FoodShare, which was really boring this time. Not a lot of people came! Then we had a District Leader Council with our District Leaders, and then did our Weekly Planning! Not much happened after that, just trying to see people to no avail!

Friday was a great District Meeting on faith! I played piano for it. Butchered the closing hymn, but I have memorized Be Still, My Soul now! I played that one pretty well! Elder Parkinson and I led an EDPEP on referring quickly to the Restoration, and it went well! Really important principle though. It's important to connect with people, yes. But it is also very important to not waste anytime and refer to our unique message to the world! I love it, and have been working on it for a while! We did our Zone Evaluations after lunch, and then had an awesome lesson with Kelli! We taught about the Plan of Salvation and Baptism, and she seemed to really like it! We are seeing her again tomorrow. Then, we rushed over to the Stake Center and exchanged with the Assistants! I was with Elder Gibb in Ventura. That night, a less-active wanted to meet with us so we went to his house and talked with him about repentance! It was great. Got yelled at by some drunk guy on our way out, and then went home and planned a great Saturday!

On Saturday, we didn't have a very successful morning. Tried to track down a referral, and were unable to. We met this lady, Veronica, after lunch though! She was nice, and going through a very tough time. She wanted to meet with missionaries, and so we gave her information to the missionaries that worked in her area! We then went to the beach and set up a booth. I loved it! We talked with a ton of people, and I always love when people come up to us and tell us how wrong we are. It can be pretty entertaining, but we met a few really good people there! We went around trying to see people for the rest of the day, talking with people on the streets, and having some appointments fall through. But, it was a great exchange. Elder Gibb is a great Elder, and I was really happy to be with him for the day!

Sunday was awesome. Our Bishopric was changed! Which wasn't awesome. But is at the same time! Our new Bishop's name is Bishop Montague, and he is absolutely awesome! We had a few appointments fall through that night, but we were able to invite a lot of people to our church tour that we are having tonight! Hopefully some people actually show up! It will be fun! 

Well, that was my week. Nothing too fun and exciting, but we are chugging along! Next week I will have transfer news for you! The church is true, never forget it! Keep going, and always hold onto your testimonies! 

Love you!!

Elder Harvey

Picture of me and Elder Gibb, and Elder Parkinson and I chilling like villains.

Elder Harvey & Elder Gibb

Elder Parkinson and Elder Harvey

July 18, 2016 - Westlake YSA Ward - Thousand Oaks Zone

#TheWeekMyLifeWentDownTheToilet #PokemonGO

Hey!

Okay. This week has been a highlight of the transfer for sure! We had MLC, went to the temple, had interviews with President and Sister Felix, had an awesome Zone Meeting, and went on exchanges with Elder Ruby! Busy busy week, and it definitely went by way too fast!

So, P-Day. We had just bought this new toilet scrubber, and we were waiting for our laundry to finish up, and so we decided to do some more cleaning in our apartment. I went to the bathroom, to clean up a bit there. We had just bought a toilet scrubber too, so I was scrubbing the toilet with it... when the head of the scrubber broke off... and went down the toilet.  Ugh. So, we called our apartment Elder in the office, and he told us to flush it 50 times, to hopefully have the head go through the system. So, we did. FIFTY TIMES. It was painful. But, we thought all was well after that. Go to the bathroom Tuesday morning, nope. Didn't work. Long story short, we needed a brand new toilet! Yeah. I am sooooooo dumb. Rest of the day was mediocre. 

Tuesday was a day. We had MLC, and learned more about member missionary work and about becoming better leaders. Very inspiring. The thing I loved the most was the Assistants telling us that there is no more comfort zone as leadership in our Mission. No more of it. We need to stretch ourselves, and I took comfort in knowing that I have been stretching myself more and more as my weeks go on! Went to Frisbee that night, and then planned our Zone Meeting!

The temple was fantastic on Wednesday. The same members took us down as last month. The ones that got engaged the night they took us. They are getting married on the 6th of August! Exciting! But, it was a great session. I learned a lot about myself and again had my goals and vision for myself ratified in the House of the Lord. I also learned that I need to give up for good all of the worldly things I have been holding on to. As Spencer Larsen taught me in Sunday School, "let go of the banana!" Oh, and I SAW ELDER HUBBARD THERE! I was so excited. I hadn't seen him in forever! The rest of the day was great. We had a lesson with a less active member of the ward about the Book of Mormon, and then had Institute! Learned about repentance and forgiveness! Kyle was sleeping when we got to his house to have our lesson, and so the member we brought offered to take us out to dinner! Fun day.

Thursday. We had to set up a room for President Felix to do his interviews in, and he ended up going to a different building than we went to... So that was awkward. We had changed the location of it, and some communication problems happened I guess. But it was fine! Interviews went well. I sure do love President and Sister Felix. They are just so loving and great. And after interviews, we went and taught this former investigator named Alonso, and he became a new investigator! It was awesome! He didn't come to church though, but that's okay. We are going to see him tonight! Then, we had dinner with a member and her non-member friend, taught the Restoration, and she became a new investigator as well! Great day. Adding to that teaching pool!!!

Friday was kinda rough. No one was really home, and yeah. But, Zone Meeting was super awesome! Very spiritual, and very inspiring! I was able to give a talk on the Book of Mormon being YOUR story, all about how the Book of Mormon is for us, written for our day. Just like Dad said, it is a book that can prepare us for the Coming of Christ! I loved it. The Book of Mormon is SO TRUE. 

Sunday, we had church, which was great as usual! Learned about Christlike Attributes and about the temple! And then after church, had lunch with Elder Snyder and Elder Davis, and then went and saw Alex! Another former. His brother is in Zimbabwe on his mission, and we taught him, and he is a new investigator as well! It was awesome. Three new investigators this week! The Lord is mindful of our situations, and since we have been patiently working, we found the people God has been preparing!

Thanks for your emails. I miss the Pageant, next year we will have to go! I want to do a church history tour as well. That would be awesome! I love you all. Have an amazing week! 

Love, Elder Harvey

Elder Parkinson & Elder Harvey
Los Angeles LDS Temple

July 11, 2016 - Westlake YSA Ward - Thousand Oaks Zone

#ELECT

​HEY

So. This week has been up, then down, then up! First though. Lemme explain the package.... I totally spaced it and forgot to write a letter to go with it! The socks are for Emerson. Some Elder gave me 4 bags of socks.... and I didn't need them all. So, basically, you don't need to buy as much socks for your mission! The tennis balls and reflectors are things I have been collecting. I somehow manage to find a tennis ball in every area I go to. And more often than not, they tend to be on the first day I am in the area! The scarf was made for me my first night in the mission field, and the knives I wanted to keep! Other than that, I can't remember what else I sent. 

So, sounds like a fun week you had! Sadly, I totally forgot to take some pictures of me and biking. Sorry :( I wish I had! But, I was really sweaty. Probably didn't want to see that. I did not burn a shirt on hump day, but I will soon! I will take a video of that when I figure it out! 

So, the fourth of July was a ton of fun! No one was home after P-Day. But for P-Day, we had our Zone Activity! We bought a watermelon and organized a scavenger hunt for everyone to do in one of our church buildings! It was great! Everyone seemed to have an awesome time, and we were able to get closer as a Zone! Then, that night, we went to see some people, but everyone was out. And so we were walking down this street, and a jeep pulls up alongside us and it was a member with three of her non-member friends! It was hilarious, because she lives in one of Elder Parkinson's old Wards, and he couldn't remember her! But, we went by and saw Brigette (the member) on Thursday, and invited her to invite one of her friends to have dinner with us! AND SHE DID IT! So, we are having dinner with her and Kelli on Thursday! Going to be awesome! Then, we went in for the rest of the night, and I attempted to make poutine. It wasn't very good. Didn't really have the right ingredients, and so I tried my best. But, that's okay!

Tuesday we went up to the college for a little bit and talked with some people. No return appointments or phone numbers, but it is good to just get out and contact people! We didn't have much happen after that. Just went around and tried to see people. Played Frisbee with the ward after our correlation meeting, and yeah! That night, Miguel dropped us over text. So, our teaching pool was completely empty. Nada. No one. So, we went full finding mode. 

Wednesday was a good day! We went to the college again. Same results. Then we had lunch with a member, shared a good meal and talked about missionary work. We have been trying really hard to become equally yoked with the members, and so we have been meeting with all of them and sharing a great personalized message on receiving answers through the Book of Mormon! Hasn't resulted in quite what we were expecting though. No referrals yet, but we saw miracles! Anyways, we had lunch with Nate, then went and ended up giving the father of a less-active in our ward a blessing. Went by some people, had dinner, went to a little bit of institute, and then had an awesome lesson with Allison! It was the last of the new member lessons, and we taught about Enduring to the End! Good experience. 

Thursday! We had weekly planning. But, weekly planning got interrupted by lunch with Jayson! Always good to eat with him and exchange info about the ward. Basically, for the rest of the day, all of our appointments got cancelled. No one was out on the streets. Nothing. That was a rough night, but we made it through! 

Friday we had an awesome District Meeting on Faith, and finding the faith to find the elect! Very uplifting. That morning, we did an activity where we identified all of the former investigators in our area book, and planned to see as many of them as possible during the day! It was a good activity, and we saw little immediate success from it! But, we had four AWESOME member lessons that day, and felt that we were getting closer and closer to a referral. All of the members keep referring us to other members of the ward. So, eventually, we will find someone that has a friend they are working with! 

Saturday was a DAY. I was on exchanges with Elder Oakey, in my area. So, we went to WORK. In the morning, went by some more formers and ended up talking to a ton of people! It was great. Then, in the afternoon, had all of our appointments cancel, so we went up to Moorpark, taught a less active about faith in Ether 12! We got a text from the Sisters in Moorpark the night before about a YSA man who they talked to that day, and told us he was interested in us coming by! So, we went and saw Kyle. At first, his mom came out and told us that they weren't interested. But then she made the mistake of offering us a drink. As she went to get us something, I ended up stalling her a little longer, until Kyle came to the door! He came right out as his mom said "Oh, you want to talk to them???" We taught him the Restoration. It was a powerful message, the Spirit was very present. Asked him if he thought Joseph Smith could be a prophet. HE SAID HE ALREADY KNOWS THAT HE IS. Asked him if he thought the Book of Mormon could be the word of God. HE SAID HE ALREADY KNOWS THAT IT IS. WHAAAAAAAAAT. He said the closing prayer. Didn't come to church, but we will be seeing him on Wednesday!

Sunday was good too. We had church, and then dinner with Jacob Chun. Great guy, going through his own personal struggles, but is trying to fight it! Then, we had another little message with Allison. She wasn't feeling too good, and so we decided to meet with her! It was great. Talked about Doctrine and Covenants 6 a little bit: 

" 22 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.

 23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?

 24 And now, behold, you have received a witness; for if I have told you things which no man knoweth have you not received a witness?"

Great week in store for us too! We have MLC tomorrow, and then going to the temple on Wednesday, and then interviews on Thursday, and Zone Meeting on Friday! Should be a great week, and hopefully we will have a lot more investigators by the end of the week! This area is catching fire!!! The elect are definitely out there! 

Hey, I love you guys! I hope you all have a fantastic week, and know I love you! Keep going, and I hope you all listened to Dad's talk! Realizing our won potential is pivotal to becoming who God wants us to become! 

Love,

Elder Harvey

Attempt at Poutine

July 4, 2016 - Westlake YSA Ward - Thousand Oaks Zone

#WHOOOOOOOOAAAAA #LIVINGONAPRAYER

Hey!

Okay. I love the mission. Only one thing wrong with it. Time is just too fast! Feels like I was emailing home like 5 hours ago. Crazy.

My week has been AWESOME. I loved every minute of it.

Let's see. Okay, Mom, I got the parcel! I feel bad. I forgot to tell you about the shirts. But they were good. The only that was annoying was the sleeve was shorter and tighter. I did find pants.  :) Dad, I got a card from your Mom, from the Jestes, and from Aunt Virginia, and the Shirley's! It was great. 

Tuesday was so awesome. Ah. We had Zone Conference, and it was another super spiritual experience! We had some guy come and talk to us about car safety and stuff. It was a cool presentation. They fixed all of our Tiwi's, and yeah. Then President talked about being equally yoked with the members. The main theme was that we can't expect the members to be able to do missionary work if we aren't showing them how to. Then, SURPRISE! Elder Parkinson and I sang "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" to open up the afternoon session. It was awesome. Wanna know something cool about that? Zone Conference was on the 28th of June. When was the last time I sang in front of a crowd? Probably at my Farewell. When was that? 28th of June. We killed it. And then, the three Stake Presidents from the three Zones that were represented came and spoke to us about the vision that they have for their stakes. It was great. And then we talked about faith and becoming a true believer of Jesus Christ. All-around, it was an amazing spiritual experience and I definitely want to become a more true believer of Christ. That night, we did a new missionary exchange with Elder Palmer and Elder Ruby. I was with Elder Palmer in his area.... and....

Wednesday. Probably the hardest day of my life. Just kidding, it was fun. Just really sweaty. Elder Palmer and I worked our butts off. And also my thighs. Ladies and gentlemen... Elder Harvey biked for the first time on his mission. Yup. And I nearly died. I am way outta shape. But, we had a couple great lessons. One of them was with a member that didn't want to stop talking. But the people we were teaching became new investigators!

Thursday was a lot of administrative stuff. So not much happened this day, except for a lesson with Allison. I am not surprised she found you on Facebook! She already found Elder Parkinson and I. Anyways, we talked about Obeying and Honoring the Law. And Elder Parkinson, in lieu of July the 4th, went full American. It was awesome. She will be finishing the new member lessons this week!

Ah. Friday. What day? HUUUUUMMMPPPPP DAAAAAAAAAAY! Gah. Great day. We went to gather Stake Reports from everyone for our meeting on Sunday, and then went to Moorpark to go to the college. No one was there, so we went walking. We walked down this street that I knew a Less Active lived near, and we talked to a lady and were walking back, because we planned to see Reggie later in the day. I told Elder Parkinson that we could go by Reggie right now, but later in the day is probably better because he is most likely sleeping, and who turns the corner in his car? Reggie. We went to his house and had a lesson with him about receiving answers from the scriptures. And then later that day, we saw Madisen and taught her about the same thing, just applying it in different ways to both of them! That night, we did another new missionary exchange. Only this time, the classic duo was re-united....

Elder Bronson. Do you remember him? I came out with him, and we were in the same District for our first two transfers, and this was my third exchange with him! It was great. We talked with a lot of people and walked around a lot. Tried this new idea I had, Park Contacting. It was good, met a Spanish lady and referred her to the Spanish Elders! So that was awesome. 

Sunday. We had our 6am meeting with the Stake Presidency about the missionary work in the Zone. The Zone has 5 people who should be getting baptized this month! Church was great too. A lot of the testimonies were about faith, and about having the faith necessary to get through trials. And we talked about work during Elders Quorum. How we need to take pride in our jobs and do them to the best of our ability. Saw Alex that night, a former investigator, and talked with him. His brother is the only member in their family, and he is on a mission in Africa! And Alex just won't sincerely search the Book of Mormon and pray about it. 

Today? We are doing a scavenger hunt with the Zone, and tonight is a tailgate FHE with the ward! Should be fun, but we have to be in by 8 :(

My testimony this week has grown in sacrifice. I have had the question this week, as I have reflected on my mission thus far, and I studied this morning about what it truly means to "forget yourself." I came to the conclusion that it's a choice we make. We choose to lay everything on the altar of sacrifice. But, it isn't just a one-time choice. Rather, it's a choice we make every conscious second of our day. I was reminded of an experience I had before my first Midget game. Suresh came into our locker room, with a speech prepared. He spoke to us about the ancient Greeks, how they were some of the most fearless men to ever fight. Their army was great. And he talked about how before every battle they entered, they would land their boats on the shore, and burn them. They would do this as a sign of no retreat. There wasn't anything for them to go back to, and so as soon as the stepped onto that field of battle, they were either going to defeat the enemy, or be defeated. Suresh told us that as soon as we stepped a foot on that football field, we needed to have no retreat. No excuses. Just play your guts out. My thoughts are that we need to do the same things as missionaries. As soon as we step into the field, we need to burn those boats. We need to make sure that we give our all. No retreat. No excuses. Just soul-saving. This is something I really want to apply. I am trying very hard to let go of myself. To make that conscious choice of becoming the consecrated missionary that God wants me to become.

" 18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

28 Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee." (Luke 18)

I sure do love you guys. I am glad you are doing so well! I hope you all have a great week, and know that I love you and are praying for you! 

BURN THE BOAT!

Love,

Elder Harvey​

Hooligans :)

Canada Day Feast (he forgot to buy poutine supplies)

Canadian Pride

Puzzle we sent him in his birthday parcel.

June 27, 2016 - Westlake YSA Ward - Thousand Oaks Zone

#GlorifiedMailMen #"OhShoot.We'reOuttaGasElder"

Hey!

It's me again. For the 52nd time I think? That's weird. It really is quite something. Time just absolutely flies by. Thanks for all of the birthday wishes! We had a great day. Elder Parkinson made me breakfast, and we went to Ward Council and I got slugged pretty good by Jayson Anderson. That was awesome! He said "your Dad told me to give you 20 good slugs." Loved it! We went to a members house for dinner, and had some AMAZING peanut butter cup ball things. They were awesome. Then, went to a general priesthood meeting with the Newbury Park Stake. It was incredible. Such an amazing meeting! The Stake President there is such a great speaker. Learned a lot about missionary work and I was able to apply what they were trying to teach the Young Men to what I need to do as a missionary! Needless to say, it was a fantastic day! 

So, Mom, it is kind of confusing. So, I am with Elder Parkinson in the Thousand Oaks Stake. Basically, our YSA Ward covers two stakes. Last transfer, Elder Snyder and I were covering two stakes. It was huge. But, with the influx of missionaries we are getting in August, President decided to split the two stakes in half again. So, Elder Snyder is down in Newbury Park Stake with Elder Davis (the one that was in my District while I was in Solvang and Santa Barbara) and I am in the Thousand Oaks Stake. Same Ward, but the areas are split in half now! So I had to move apartments, but I still live with two other Elders now. I will get to that story later though.....

Monday. P-day was great, as always. We went to FHE that night, and it was a talent show. I wish I will send a couple of videos maybe. Some are hilarious, others were jaw-dropping. Just a great night! After we got in, we had to deal with some more transfer details. There were two areas that were made into a "car-share." That's where the two areas share a car. So, one day one companionship will have the car, and the next day the other companionship will have it. Whoever doesn't have the car? Their on bikes! So, we had to flip cars around because the cars in those areas didn't have a hitch to put a bike rack on it. Then, no one has any bike racks. So they will be getting those tomorrow.

Transfer Tuesday. As per custom, our car died over night and so we had a member come and jump us. Luckily, we only lived about a football field away from the checkpoint, so we walked some stuff over there. Transfers are stressful! After we got our car started, we drove my stuff over to my new apartment and found it an ABSOLUTE MESS. I was SO TICKED. The Elders that used to be in that apartment whitewashed out, and I guess just decided to leave it an absolute disaster. I cannot tell you HOW ANNOYING IT WAS. But, Elder Snyder and I cleaned it up, and now it is absolutely spotless. I have gotten pretty good at that on my mission. You can thank Shay Leavitt for that one. I picked up Elder Parkinson, and then we drove missionaries around all day and got everyone in the Zone situated. We have two brand new missionaries in our Zone this transfer, and they are doing great! Elder Bronson is training one of them. I came out with Elder Bronson. And yeah. It was a busy day!

Wednesday wasn't anything super special. Went up to Moorpark College for the first time with Elders DuPlessis and Rosenlof and went contacting. Got some good contacts in there. We met with Allison too. She is almost done the new member lessons! Oh, and we went to institute! Learned a lot about the Book of Mormon. President Manwaring is such an awesome teacher. He is so full of the spirit. He screamed German at us. It was hilarious. I talked with him a little that morning about getting into that kind of business, and he gave me some tips and tricks! It was great. Talked about how much he loved it, not necessarily the highest paying job, but it was the most worthwhile thing he could do. 

Thursday we Weekly Planned. Elder Parkinson ate Balut. I will attach a video of it, it is really funny. We had dinner with Jared, a less-active in the ward. He wouldn't commit to reading his scriptures, but hopefully he can start coming to church more. He works on an ambulance in LA, and usually works nights. So it's no bueno. 

Friday was District Meeting. We had a great meeting on expectations and how we can teach the Restoration more simply! We are in Elder Ruby's District again. He is an amazing District Leader! Had coordination meeting that night with Jacob, our ward mission leader! It's weird serving in the same ward with your former companion. It's like a break up where you see them everyday. It's weird.

Saturday was great. Kinda. All of our appointments fell through pretty much. We met with Ryan and talked about having good friends, and then had dinner with Allison and talked about what it takes to become a better missionary! It was awesome. Worked the pavement! 

And yeah. That's about it! Sunday was great. Thanks again for the package! I didn't get the chance to make the cake, but I will!

So, today is quite a sacred day. Last night, one of the talks was on Joseph Smith. It was powerful as he quoted Doctrine and Covenants 135:

"1 To seal the testimony of this book and the Book of Mormon, we announce the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and Hyrum Smith the Patriarch. They were shot in Carthage jail, on the 27th of June, 1844, about five o’clock p.m., by an armed mob—painted black—of from 150 to 200 persons. Hyrum was shot first and fell calmly,exclaiming: I am a dead man! Joseph leaped from the window, and was shot dead in the attempt, exclaiming: O Lord my God! They were both shot after they were dead, in a brutal manner, and both received four balls.

 2 John Taylor and Willard Richards, two of the Twelve,were the only persons in the room at the time; the former was wounded in a savage manner with four balls, but has since recovered; the latter, through the providence of God,escaped, without even a hole in his robe.

 3 Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel,which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!

 4 When Joseph went to Carthage to deliver himself up to the pretended requirements of the law, two or three days previous to his assassination, he said: “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer’s morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God,and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me—he was murdered in cold blood.”—The same morning, after Hyrum had made ready to go—shall it be said to the slaughter? yes, for so it was—he read the following paragraph, near the close of the twelfth chapter of Ether, in the Book of Mormon, and turned down the leaf upon it:

 5 And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful;wherefore thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. And now I … bid farewell unto the Gentiles; yea,and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my garments are not spotted with your blood. The testators are now dead, and their testament is in force.

 6 Hyrum Smith was forty-four years old in February,1844, and Joseph Smith was thirty-eight in December,1843; and hence forward their names will be classed among the martyrs of religion; and the reader in every nation will be reminded that the Book of Mormon, and this book of Doctrine and Covenants of the church, cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring them forth for the salvation of a ruined world; and that if the fire can scathe a green tree for the glory of God, how easy it will burn up the dry trees to purify the vineyard of corruption. They lived for glory; they died for glory; and glory is their eternal reward. From age to age shall their names go down to posterity as gems for the sanctified.

 7 They were innocent of any crime, as they had often been proved before, and were only confined in jail by the conspiracy of traitors and wicked men; and their innocent blood on the floor of Carthage jail is a broad seal affixed to“Mormonism” that cannot be rejected by any court on earth, and their innocent blood on the escutcheon of the State of Illinois, with the broken faith of the State as pledged by the governor, is a witness to the truth of the everlasting gospel that all the world cannot impeach; and their innocent blood on the banner of liberty, and on the magna charta of the United States, is an ambassador for the religion of Jesus Christ, that will touch the hearts of honest men among all nations; and their innocent blood, with the innocent blood of all the martyrs under the altar that John saw, will cry unto the Lord of Hosts till he avenges that blood on the earth. Amen."

Powerful words. The Prophet Joseph Smith truly saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. He was the Prophet of the Restoration. And we have a prophet on the earth today. I know this. I preach this. And I love this gospel. Dad, the Gospel truly is about change. If we don't change our ways, we can never make it into the Kingdom of Heaven. We are all imperfect. We are all fallen. And the only way to return to Heavenly Father's presence is by changing through the Atonement! I'm all in. And honestly, I am just "glad to be here." 

I love you all. I will burn a shirt on hump day. Also, I am so thankful for the country we live in.

OH CAAAAANNNAAAADDDAAAAAA!

Thousand Oaks District

Not sure what they're doing...room mates...