Of Me and Thee

DECEMBER 26, 2016

Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is it! My final email as a missionary! I never, ever, EVER thought that I would get to this point, but I'm pretty sure that this is real life and holy moly it has gone fast.

I was thinking this morning about what to talk about and I just kept thinking about all the things I've learned over the past (almost) 18 months of serving as a full-time missionary. After making a FAT list, I summed up everything I've learned into two categories: 

The things I've learned of myself and the things I've learned of the Savior. 

Interestingly, as I was reading through my list I realized that EVERYTHING that I've learned about myself stems off of what I have learned about Jesus Christ. And ya know, I think that's how its supposed to work. Soooooo, here are a few of the things I've come to know during time as a missionary-

Of Him:

• He is aware of all of His children.
• He knows all of His children.
• Through Christ all things are possible.
• He is the Son of God.
• His Atonement is central to Heavenly Father's plan. 
• His commandments are meant to bless us.
• He can help us become our best selves.
• He knows what we need and when we need it.
• He will guide us.
• He LOVES His children. 

Of me:

• I am the daughter of a Heavenly Father.
• I can't do a thing without the help of Jesus Christ.
• I am supposed to be an instrument in the Lord's hands to bless the lives of my brothers and sisters. 
• My success in ANYTHING depends on my obedience and willingness to work.
• Charity is the pure love of Christ and if I pray for it, I'll get the opportunity to develop it.
• My prayers are heard and answered. 
• The spirit will guide me as I seek its direction.
• My sins and mistakes can be forgiven through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In the words of President Packer, "The Atonement leaves no tracks, no traces. What it fixes is fixed... it just heals, and what it heals stays healed."
• Faith in Christ can solve any problem.
• Being born a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the greatest blessing I could possibly be given.
• Missionary work is a never-ending job, joy, and privilege. 
• I can become all that Heavenly Father expects me to become through Jesus Christ. 
• I am LOVED by the Lord. 

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it was translated by the priesthood authority. And ultimately, I know that the Lord lives, that He loves us, and that this work is true. 

It has been SUCH a blessing to serve in the Colorado Denver South Mission. This is the last place in the world that I wanted to serve, but it sure is a good thing that Heavenly Father knows better than I do. (: 

Well, friends... "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith", and I can't wait to see what comes next. I'll see y'all on Monday!!! Thanks for all of your love and support!!! 

Smile big, be happy, and I'll see ya soon.

Love, 

Sister Harshaw 

Miracles, Snow, and a Trio

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

Hello, friends!!

So! We got our transfer news this week and guess what! I get to stayyyyyy! And better yet, I GET TO KEEP SISTER BALL AS MY COMPANIONNNN!!! I've never kept one of my trainees more than one transfer! I get to raise this one to maturity!! :'-) And this is going to be my very last area!! With that being said, we've been asked to tell our people to send any and all Christmas packages directly to us, not to the mission office. BUT. I'll be home the week after Christmas, so I'd actually appreciate it if y'all would send any and all Christmas packages to my HOMEEE. I don't wanna have to pack up a million more things that I already have. So with that being said, my home address is this:

Kelsie Harshaw
541 Round Hollow Lane
Southlake, TX. 76092

I don't know how its already Christmastime again, but I love it. It is by far my favorite time of the year. WOOO!

This week has been great!! Sister Ball and I have kinda been feeling like we haven't seen much progression in our area since we arrived here. But this week we received two stellar referrals from total strangers of people who are about ready to be baptized! One is a girl named Kelly. She is 26 and has had a hard life, to say the very least. She wants to develop a relationship with Christ and rid herself of past problems. We invited her to be baptized and she said yes, but due to some unique circumstances we can't give her a baptismal date at the moment. We are super excited to be teaching her and hope to be able to help her feel Heavenly Father's love for her!

Other than that, its been another great week out in the field! Sorry my emails are getting more and more boring.. Oh well! Y'all love me anyway! (;

Hope everything is lovely for my favorite people! Be happy and do something amazing this week!

Love,
Sister Harshaw
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NOVEMBER 14, 2016

Helloooo, loved ones! This week has been so weird, but SO good! Miracles are pouring in and we are finally seeing the light in this area! It was an interesting week, that is for sure. We taught veryyyyyyyy few lessons this week. We knocked a million and a half doors and no one wanted to talk to us and almost all of our scheduled appointments fell through. If our success were to be determined solely off of our numbers, this week would not be a very successful one!! BUT we saw miracles galore and we are finallyyyyy going to start seeing some progression this week!

The biggest miracle of the week was a woman named Denise. We received a referral from church headquarters on Thursday of a lady living in our area named Denise. The message told us that she referred herself and that she wanted us to call and schedule an appointment with her! But.. there was no phone number and no valid address attached to the message..... They gave us her apartment complex, but no apartment number. We spent a goooooood chunk of time just knocking doors in her building asking for Denise or if they knew who she was, but got nothing positive. Hahaha, pardon my immature TV show reference, but I felt like Spongebob in that episode where Squidward moves to that weird squid resort place and they can't find the real Squidward anywhere, so they just walk up to random squids and say, "Are you Squidward?? Are youuuuu Squidward?" hahaha ANYWAY We asked the manager and she couldn't help us, so we determined that the only thing that we could do would be to pray that Denise would somehow get a hold of us! We prayed and asked Heavenly Father for help, had our ward mission leader see if he could look her up online, and just about every other thing we could think of, but got nothing. We determined that we would write a letter to her and see if her complex would just deliver it. Well, on Saturday morning right before we were going to write that letter, we got a phone call from a random number. The lady on the other line said, "Hi! My name is Denise! I'm not a member of your church, but I want to learn more! I had been talking to missionaries online and they said they would give my information to you, but I hadn't heard anything so I just called Salt Lake and asked for your phone number." Sister Ball and I had to spend a minute picking our jaws up off the floor, and then Denise went on to say, "I've been around Mormons my whole life and I love them. I've reached a point in my life where I just really want to deepen my relationship with Christ and I want to find a sense of family. I know that the Mormons have that and I want to be a part of it. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do any of that. Can you please come meet with me on Wednesday??" So, we set up an appointment and we'll be meeting with her this Wednesday! MIRACLES, I TELL YA.

Our ward has been doing a 40 Day Fast for missionary work and we have been seeing SO many blessings since they started it. Denise is actually one of FOUR amazing referrals we've received out of the blue from church headquarters since they started two weeks ago. I honestly think that all the time leading up to this week has been a trial of our faith. We have seen almost no progression in our work here, despite all of our hard work, and now we have ten set appointments with people this week, six of which are with investigators. TEN. We haven't taught that many lessons in a week since we got here! I know that the Lord provides for our best efforts, and I have gained a stronger testimony of that this week!

This is the Lord's work, and he just loves us enough to let us be a part of it. I love my calling as a missionary whether we are teaching up a storm or having every door we knock slammed in our faces. There is so much joy in being a part of the Lord's great work.

I hope that you are all having as happy of a week as I am! OH. And THANK YOU TIMES A MILLION AND THEN SOME TO THE SOUTHLAKE WARD YOUNG WOMEN FOR THE PACKAGE!!! It made my day more than I can say!!! It also took me a minute to figure out who was who in the picture y'all sent because you're all so stinking grown up! What the heck, friends!

Anyway, I love y'all bunches and bunches. Smile big. (:

Sister Harshaw
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NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Hello, loved oned! How is everybody?

SO. Today is the first day of my LAST SIX WEEKS as a missionary! It blows my mind that time has gone as fast as it has. I seriously feel like I just got here. Like I was JUST in the MTC. And now it's all almost over???? What the heck! Its kind of a weird thing to think about. I've been on such a spiritual high since I got here and I'm about to have to go back to real life. As excited as I am, its also super super weird! Time flies, ladies and gentlemen. Really and truly.

This week has been so great! This 40 Day Fast that the ward is doing is producing some serious miracles. For one, Denise, the one I talked about last week, is just as awesome as we thought she would be! We met with her on Wednesday and holy moly, she is PREPARED. She was so receptive to everything that we taught and we're going to see her get baptized for sure. We left her with some things to read from the Book of Mormon and she texted us back within two hours of us leaving and said, "I just finished my assignment!! Can you come back sooner than we planned??" She is so great. I'm excited to keep teaching her and we're planning on having her on date for baptism by the end of the week, so stay tuned!!

OH. We had the first snowfall of the season this week............ I know I should be grateful that it started so late, but WOW I am not a fan of snow. Or the cold. It was 78 degrees on Wednesday and then 28 degrees and snowing on Thursday. How yucky is that?? It's warmed up quite a bit again since then, but I think the realllllll warm that I love is gone for the year. Boooooo. I will survive though!

(this face is how Sister Harshaw feels about snow)

Other than that, this week has been lovely! We're seeing miracles galore and this ward is taking SUCH good care of us. I'm super excited for Thanksgiving here!! I love this time of year. I'm so thankful to be on a mission and to be gaining all of the life experience that I am. I'm thankful for all the people in my life and I'm thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love y'all and hope you have the happiest of Turkey Days!!!

Love,
Sister Harshaw
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NOVEMBER 28, 2016

Well hellooooooooo, my friends!! This week has been SO great! I love Thanksgiving and enjoyed getting to spend it in the service of the Lord!

This week has been seriously awesome. We are continuing to meet with Denise and she continues to be fantastic! She is progressing and we will be putting her on date to be baptized this week. The Lord really does provide for all of your efforts! The 40 Day Fast that our ward is doing is bringing soooooooooo many miracles. We received yet ANOTHER referral from church headquarters this week of a lady named Rocky. The referral said that she lived next to missionaries in Arizona, that she is golden, and that we needed to contact her ASAP! Unfortunately she is sick, but she was so  excited when we called her and we will be seeing her next week. Just to put this whole 40 Day Fast into perspective, I have never received a valid referral from church headquarters up until a few weeks ago when the ward began their fast for missionary work. We've received FOUR now, and they are all amazing!!! Oh! And Michael and Terra, some investigators that we couldn't get in contact with for the longest time agreed to be baptized! Andddddd some other awesome investigators just had an active member of the church randomly (except for not at all) move into their apartment with them!! The Lord's hand is soooo evident in our work here!!

We spent Thanksgiving at our ward mission leader's house and it was so great. When you're away from your family you kind of adopt the members of your ward as your mission grandparents, parents, siblings, etc. and the Andersons are DEFINITELY adoptive mission grandparents. We sure love serving in this ward. They are soooooo so so good to us.

SO. Want to know the craziest news of all from this week?? Welllllll lemme tell you!! Last night we were in our car driving to go meet someone when we got a call from President Gifford. We pulled over and I answered and he said, "Hi, Sister Harshaw. Is Sister Ball there too? I need to discuss something with you both." WHICH IS A TERRIFYING THING TO HEAR FROM YOUR MISSION PRESIDENT. He then proceeded to tell us that we will be getting another companion tomorrow!!! Her name is Sister Nicoleta, and she is coming to us straight from the Philippians!! She was originally assigned to this mission, but has been serving in the Philippians for the past six months while she waited for her visa to come.. Well it finally came!! President said that he felt good about her coming to our area and that it'd make perfect sense considering I'll be going home three weeks into a seven week transfer. SO. I get to spend the last five weeks of my mission in a trio! Its going to be such an adventure!!! We'll being going to pick her up from the mission home tomorrow evening and Sister Ball and I are so excited!

SO. That has been my week, ladies and gentlemen!! I am absolutely loving my time here and I am getting so stinkin excited to see all of you again!!! Keep on keepin' on and smile big!!

Love lots and lots,
Sister Harshaw

Elders are disgusting...Teaching a princess...Satan is a bum...Every missionary should be issued a dog...Pumpkin everything...

OCTOBER 3, 2016

HOWDY, FRIENDS!

This week has been so good and so busy!!! Tuesday was transfer day and I went and picked up my new missionary and we went off to our new area! My companion's name is Sister Ball and she is from Shelly, Idaho. She is so so so good! She is going to be such a good addition to this mission. She wants to work hard and she has a great testimony and I already like her lots. Its really weird to be on the other end of the mission spectrum with me coming home in three months and her just arriving. Its kind of cool to look at how far I've actually come since being a baby missionary! I love her "greenie fire" and I'm so excited to work and learn with her. 

SO. There are a few things that I have learned this week.

1. Elders are disgusting. We moved into an apartment that elders had been living in and OH MY STARS IT WAS SO NASTY. Moldy rice in the fridge, dirty dishes in the dishwasher, old nasty clothes left in the closets, YOU NAME IT. We spent the first day in the area just de-eldering the apartment because I can't function in unclean places. You'll be glad to know that after four trash bags, an entire roll of paper towels, and several bottles of disinfectant, our apartment is now livable.  I have become my mother's daughter. :'-)

2. White-washing is one of my favorite things. The elders before us left us with a dirty apartment and absolutely no one to teach, so we're starting from scratch again! I love starting from scratch! It leaves us with so much opportunity. Especially with a baby missionary. We've done lots of tracting and talking to everyone and we're working hard so that we can be worthy of miracles! I know that the Lord provides for our efforts and I am happy to be serving here in Lakewood again. This ward is AWESOME and so so so missionary-minded. I love it. 

3. Training is more beneficial to me than it is to my new missionary! When I was trained and even when I've trained missionaries in the past, I've honestly never been a fan of the whole "training" part of it. We have an hour each day to study from this little book for new missionaries and I've always thought it was kind of a waste of time. BUT WOW, NOW I LOVE IT. I forget sometimes that the basics of missionary work are the most important things and its so good to get a reminder. I'm learning a lot and I love going back to the basics. 

4. GENERAL CONFERENCE IS MY FAVORITE THING EVER. I actually already knew this, but this weekend just reaffirmed it. I love having the opportunity every six months to hear from the leaders of the Church. I love the spirit that you can feel and I love my membership in this church. It is the thing in life that I am most grateful for and I don't think I'll ever figure out how the heck I got lucky enough to be BORN into it. Seriously, blessings don't get any greater than membership in the Lord's church. 

5. So there are some superrrr cool recent converts in this ward. They are all African immigrants and wow, they're awesome. One of them, Rose, is quite literally a big-time African princess. HOW COOL IS THAT? Her grandpa is a really big deal of a chief over there and she is African royalty. I get to teach a PRINCESS the new member lessons. Life is good. 👸 

ANYWAY, this week has been great and I am so excited to have these new opportunities to learn and grow! I only have three months left to do this great work and I'm gunna do my darndest to make the most of it. I love the Lord and I love His work. 

AND I LOVE ALL OF YOU TOO. (: Have a happy week, y'all!!

Sister Harshaw 

OH. My new address issssss:

Sister Kelsie Harshaw

3232 S Newcombe St.

Apt. 10203

Lakewood, Co. 80227

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OCTOBER 10, 2016

Hello, loved ones!! 

Just a head's up, this'll be a rather boring email because it was a rather boring week! That's just the way it goes in missionary work sometimes. Its been a good week anyway, though. (: 

This ward that we're serving in is SO stinking great. There are all kinds of people and the bishop and ward council are on top of things. As soon as we got here they handed us lists of people to go and visit. We've been able to meet lots of new people and and we've been gaining the trust of the ward as we help them in their work. They're so excited about missionary work and I loveeee it. They're even going to do a 40 day fast for missionary work! Its where a different family signs up every single day for 40 consecutive days and they fast for missionary work! We are DEFINITELY going to see miracles as us missionaries and the members work together with the same purpose. 

Oh! A miracle! Kelly, the lady that came to us at church in Littleton about a month ago, is getting baptized on Wednesday!!! And her daughter wants to get baptized now too! I get to go to her baptism and I can't wait to see the gospel change her life even more. She was seriously every missionaries dream investigator and its so cool that I got to be even just a little part of her experience. 

In other news, we get to watch the Fort Collins Temple dedication this Sunday and I'm super excited about that! It'll be nice when I can actually go there in real life, but I'm happy that I get to see part of the Lord's work moving forth. 

Anyway, like I said, nothing too exciting to report this week! We're working on finding new investigators and building our teaching pool, so pray that we'll find the elect families that have been prepared to hear the gospel! We know they're out there!!!! 

I love y'all and hope you're having a happy week!!

Love, Sister Harshaw

Oh!!! I almost forgot! We went to visit the cute little African family this week and they have four adorable little kids that LOVEEEE us. One of the little girls was sitting on the table while we were talking to her grandma when she asked if she could touch my hair. Next thing I know, I've got hair just like hers!! hahahah I love the little people. Also, I literally have no idea how she ended up on my lap, but I couldn't get her off so I just went with it. Don't tell President (;  

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OCTOBER 17, 2016

Hello, friends!

This will unfortunatelyyyy probably be another kinddd of lame email, but 'tis the way it goes sometimes! 

We are still working on finding new investigators, BUT we have done a tonnnnnn of service this week!! We announced in Relief Society last Sunday that we were looking for service opportunities and allllll of the little old grannies in the ward have called us. We've walked dogs (which is an AWESOME way to get people to talk to you, by the way. I think every missionary should be issued a dog.), moved things into storage units, pulled weeds, reorganized and decorated houses, volunteered at a food bank, and a million other things in between! It has been such a good way to gain the trust of the members in the ward. They've started giving us the names of their friends and people in the ward to go visit, so we're being kept nice and busy! I've gained a pretty strong testimony of service since I've been on my mission. I think that if we're going to be full-purpose missionaries (or members) that we need to be looking for opportunities to serve all the time!! That's how Christ did his work, so we should do the same! Serve, love, and then teach. 

Kelly, the golden lady from my last ward was baptized this week and she invited me to attend her baptism! She is amazing and it is so cool to see some of the fruits of your labors, even if those labors were cut short. The Lord really is preparing people all over the place to hear the message of the restored gospel. He loves us and wants us to receive the blessings that the message we share brings. 

The Fort Collins Temple was dedicated yesterday and we had the awesome privilege of attending a broadcast of the dedication and the cultural celebration! I love temples and I can't wait until I can go back to the temple often. It is definitely something that I have missed since I've been on my mission and I look forward to being able to be involved in that work again. BUT. For now I'm involved in the work of the living, not the dead! And I love it! 

Anyway, that's about all I've got for the week, folks! Stay happy and do some good!! 

Love, 

Sister Harshaw 

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OCTOBER 24, 2016

Hello, people! 

Ya know, sometimes the life of a missionary isn't as exciting as you might imagine it to be. Just like when you're at home and you just go with the flow of life and nothing out of the ordinary happens, sometimes missionary life is just plain Average Joe!! And so it is right now! But that doesn't mean that life isn't good. Because even on the most average of days, you're still a missionary. And being a missionary is the best. (: 

With that being said, I have nothing terribly exciting to write about today. So insteaddd, here is a little list of things that I'm grateful for and a small miracle of the week:

1. The gospel. It is my favorite thing in the world and I am so grateful for my mission for teaching me more about it. It really is the key to happiness in a world that isn't always particularly happy. WE'RE SO UNBELIEVABLY BLESSED TO HAVE IT, FRIENDS.

2. Pumpkin everything. Everyone is busting out their best pumpkin treats and I am so totally a fan. 

3. Crunchy leaves. 

4. An abnormally warm Colorado fall. Props to whomever is praying that Colorado will stay warm, because its working!! I haven't frozen yet! I'm crossing my fingers and everything else that can be crossed that the snow will stay away until January! A girl can dream, right??!

The miracle of the week was finding a man named Paul. We were at an apartment complex trying to contact a part member family, but they didn't answer. We were going down the stairs when we noticed two men who were moving a bunch of boxes from an apartment into a moving truck. Sister Ball suggested that we offer our help, and after about a ten second mental battle with Satan about why we shouldn't even bother to offer because we probably couldn't do much, we started walking toward them. Satan is such a bum, but I won the battle! Take that, Satan! Before we could even get all the way over to them, one of the men who was on the balcony above us said, "Hey! Do you want to give us a hand for a second??" We agreed, to which he said he was joking, but we insisted and grabbed some boxes and moved them to the truck. The man who asked for a hand, Paul, told us that he recently attended an LDS wedding reception where he received a copy of the Book of Mormon, and that he and his friend have been talking a lot about it recently! He said he has been texting his friend about it right before we showed up and that he felt like seeing us was a sign from God. 

Unfortunately, he lives about 30 minutes away, so we don't get to teach him. But we got all of his information and sent it in as a referral! From the brief conversation that we had with him, we could tell that he really was prepared. Its a good thing the missionaries in Thorton are on the same errand of the Lord that we are, and that my companion was spiritually in tune enough to heed the prompting to help!! 

I love this work and the people here in Colorado. Its such a blessing to be a part of something so big and I love the Lord for sending me here. I hope you are all having the happiest of weeks and that all is well!!

I love you all a million!

Sister Harshaw 

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OCTOBER 31, 2016

Howdy, y'all! And happy happy Halloween!! 

This week has been so great! I don't think anything particularly marvelous happened, but it was just good anyway. We worked hard and we're starting to see the fruits of our labors. (: 

A miracle of the week was being able to meet with a part member family, the J's. The wife is a member, her husband is not, and her less active son was home for the weekend. The son, D-, has been living a lifestyle contrary to Heavenly Father's plan, to say the least. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation with a big emphasis on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how we take advantage of that sacrifice by repenting. D- was thinking long and hard about everything we said and we could tell that the Spirit was teaching him something. He returned to school in Washington this week and yesterday he sent his mom a picture of him in his church building, going to sacrament meeting for the first time in years. He went by himself, introduced himself to the bishop, and has decided to get his life in order. His mom was beyond happy. I don't know if our lesson on the Atonement had anything to do with his decision, but I know that his steps to repentance will bless him and make him happier than anything else. I love seeing the gospel bless other people's lives. 

Ummmmm, other than that, I don't have too much to report on! We received some great referrals and found some new investigators, but it is toooo soon to say much about them! So stay tuned! Its kind of weird when you get towards the end of your mission. I feel like all the days are blurring together and I never know what to write home about! So stick with me for two more months and then I'll just tell mission stories in person. (: 

I love y'all and I'm so happy to be serving a mission. I love the gospel, I love the things that I've learned, and I love my Heavenly Father! Have a happy week, friends!

Love, 

Sister Harshaw

I Love to See the Temple

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

Hello, hello, friends! How goes it??

So I've decided that being emergency transferred is one of the weirdest things ever. Because you just up and leave one area and hop into another in the middle of a transfer and nothing makes sense! This area doesn't really feel like my area and these people don't really feel like my people and Sister Paongo doesn't really feel like my companion. Its kind of like being on a big exchange! It all just feels temporary! But I'm meeting more and more people and the ward is great and we are seeing miracles.

We have an investigator named Denise that the sisters found shortly before I got to the area. She is the brother of a recent convert and he referred her to us and she is on date to be baptized on October 1st. She has a lot of health problems and her biggest holdup has been church. She is on oxygen and was concerned that she would not be able to bring enough to last all throughout church. We went to her home on Saturday and asked if she would be coming and she was hesitant and told us of a few hesitations that she had. One was that she didn't have a good shirt to wear with any of her skirts and the other was that she was all out of pink lipstick! So Sister Paongo and I went to the store and picked out a shirt that went with her skirt and found some pink lipstick and brought it to her later that day. She was beyond thankful and felt so special that we would do that for her. We organized a ride for her and the next day she showed up to church with her cute new shirt, pink lips, and enough oxygen to last her three hours. The oxygen actually almost ran out and probably shouldn't have lasted her as long as it did, but I am positive that Heavenly Father kept her tanks full for the three hours. Again, folks. It all goes back to meeting the needs of the people before you throw the gospel at them. Denise needed a shirt and some lipstick before her heart was softened enough to come to church. She loveddddd church and plans on coming again next week.

SO GUESS WHAT. In our mission we can go to the Denver temple every three months, IF you're serving on the Metro side of the mission. I've been on the Western Slope of the mission basically my whole mission and I've missed every single temple trip as a result. BUT GUESS WHAT TOMORROW IS. ITS TEMPLE DAY!!! AND I'M ON THE METRO SIDE OF THE MISSION!!!!! WOOOOOOOOO! I get to go to the temple for the first time in almost 14 months and I am so beyond excited. I've missed it there. A lot.

So not a whole ton to report on this week, but it has been good! I hope that y'all are all doing well and that you're happy campers!

Love,
Sister Harshaw
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SEPTEMBER 12, 2016

Hello, friends!!

This week has been sooooo so so good!! And it all started on Wednesday with the temple. I HAVE MISSED THAT PLACE SO STINKING BADLY! I don't think I even really realized how much I missed it until I was there. I absolutely cannot wait to be able to be there all the time when I get home. There is so much power and joy in the temple and it makes me happy beyond belief. This gospel is such a blessing and I am so happy to be a part of it. Anyway, the rest of the week was all so crazy! On Wednesday after the temple, one of the sisters in my zone was sick and had to go to the doctor so I went on a crazy half-day exchange with her companion, Sister Holcomb. We were all over the place, back and forth between our areas and the mission home and just.. everywhere!! On Thursday we had our weekly planning day and then on Friday we had zone conference! It was sooooo good. I really admire President and Sister Gifford and all that they have done for our mission in the two months that they have been here. They are super different from President and Sister Murdock, but in a totally good way! They are teaching me how to be a better missionary and person and they're preparing me to go home and be a good member missionary.

I don't have a ton of time, so here are some highlights of the week:

1. President Gifford has given Sister Paongo and I permission to continue teaching the Kanipe family from Lakewood!! We went over there this week and scheduled an appointment with them and I am excited to continue working with them. The elders were going to teach them, but they weren't completely comfortable with elders.. lets just say, there are certain people that you're meant to teach when you're on a mission and I think the Kanipes are some of those people for me! I love them!

2. I got to go to lunch with Ben, Becky, Anna, Lilly, and Jack on Saturday!!! It was great! I didn't realize how close to Highlands Ranch I am until like, last week. Its so nice to see some familiar faces every once in a while. (:

3. Denise came to church again and loved it! She is moving steadily toward her baptismal date of October 1!

4. On Friday some former investigators, Daniel and Linda, called and told us that they would like to meet with us again. We met them three weeks ago when I first got here and they were uninterested at the time. But Daniel has had some health challenges that have truly humbled him and turned him back to the Lord! He made a promise with God that if He would allow him to heal that he would turn the rest of his life over to God. He began to heal and that is when he called us. We taught them the Restoration and put them on date to be baptized on October 15, 2016! They were truly sincere in their desire to be baptized and we're so excited to see how they progress!

The Lord really does bless you for your efforts, my friends! Whether those efforts are in missionary work, school, work, friendships, or whatever, the Lord blesses us when we do our best. Like Elder Holland says, we get credit for trying. (: I know that the Lord's hand is in my life every single day and its such a privilege to be a part of this great work.

Ya know, I didn't believe anyone when they told me that a mission goes by in the blink of an eye. At the beginning a year and a half felt like eternity!! But now the days are FLYING by and I can't seem to get enough of them. I don't know how time does what it does, but missions really are just the blink of an eye.

I hope that you are all happy happy campers and that you're doing your best every single day! The Lord will bless you for it!!

Love,
Sister Harshaw

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SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

Helloooooo, everybody!! How is life for all of my friends? Life is great here in the CDSM. We're seeing the work begin to progress and miracles are everywhere!!

The biggest miracle of this week was a woman named Kelly. Last Sunday a lady in our ward came and grabbed us after sacrament meeting and introduced us to her friend that she brought to church. Kelly has been looking for a church to attend for the past year and wanted to try ours out. She came and loved every minute of it. Her friend told us about her and that she is interested in taking the missionary lessons. We started teaching her on Tuesday night and she is AMAZINGGGGGG. We taught about Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the gospel and she soaked it all in. She stopped us at one point and said, "As you've been talking and I've been listening, I've had this warm feeling going throughout my whole body. I felt the same thing at church. What is that?" We were able to explain the Spirit to her and she began identifying every time she felt that warmth and peace. We didn't know, but after her first Sunday she asked her friend, "Will you be there when I get baptized?" When we invited her to be baptized on the 22nd of October she just about jumped out of her seat. She is incredibly receptive to the spirit and read 100 pages of the Book of Mormon before we even met with her. THIS WOMAN IS EVERY MISSIONARY'S DREAM. She came to us, she truly wants the gospel in her life, she is 100% on board, and she is going to be an incredible member of the church. To make it even better, one of her two daughters came with her to church yesterday and she LOVED it. She asked for a copy of the Book of Mormon and will begin taking the lessons as well.

But here's the catch.... SHE DOESN'T LIVE IN OUR WARD BOUNDARIESSSSS. She lives about three minutes outside of our ward, so we had to give her over to the elders in the area she lives in. Sometimes the whole ward system is kind of a bummer to missionaries. BUT. We are all going about the same work here! I know that those elders are going to take good care of her and that the Lord will continue to provide for us as we work hard. It was a blessing to be able to teach her, even if it was just for a second.

Anyway, this week has been wonderful and I am so happy to be here. I love this work and I love the Lord for allowing me to be a part of it. Transfers will be next Tuesday, so send your mail soon!! I'll probably get transferred out of this area since Sister Paongo and I have been together for three transfers now.. Its a bummer because I love her and I love this ward! But I'll go wherever the Lord needs me. I'm excited to see what the last three months of my mission will bring.

I love y'all millions and I'm so thankful for the love and support that you send my way!! Have a happy week!

Love,
Sister Harshaw

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SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

HELLO, PALS. Its been another incredibly speedy week in Littleton, Colorado!

First things first, we got transfer news! I am going BACK to Lakewood, but to a different area. I'll be opening yet another new area-- the Green Mountain ward-- AND I'll be training another baby missionary!! Wooooo, adventures galore!! I'm really thankful for the opportunity to train another new missionary because I could use some "greenie fire"! Today marks the beginning of my second to last (real) transfer in the mission and the fact that life is about to slap me in the face is finally sinking in. It turns out missions don't last forever, my friends. Its a strange realization to make.

ANYWAY. This week has been pretty good!  We've had a lot of great things happen and a lot of not so great things happen in the work, but that is just how it goes sometimes. Denise, our super sweet and awesome investigator, called us last Monday and told us that she does not want to be a Mormon anymore.. She didn't explain anything and wouldn't set up a time for us to come and talk to her. We tried talking to her friends and they knew nothing and when we call she just says, "I'm sorry, sisters. But I'm a Baptist. I'm not a Mormon and I'm never going to be a Mormon." We don't have any clue what happened, but we think her Baptist mother may have been the cause of her turning away. We are sad for her, but we know that we have done everything that we can for her and that the Lord will continue to provide for us as we work hard! Agency is a two-edged sword, am I right??

Our most progressing investigators now are Daniel and Linda. They are engaged to be married on the first of October and then on date to be baptized on the 15th. They came to church for the first time yesterday and loved it! They are reading every day and they are keeping all of the commitments that we are extending to them. We are being cautious with them though, because we think they may just want welfare..... We're cautiously optimistic though!

Other than that, nothing too exciting has happened this week! The Car Czar started cracking down on how many miles we drive, but he didn't tell us until 10 days into the month.. we're toast as far as miles go and we've been walking EVERYWHERE. Its actually been pretty fun and it turns out you can talk to a lottttt more people when you're not sitting in a car for like half the day!

Well, friends, I hope that you're all as happy as can be! Keep on keeping on and smile big! Thank you for all the love and support that you send my way. I feel it allllll the time!! (:

I LOVE YOU PEOPLE!!

Sister Harshaw

Moved but not transferred...and The Big Comfy Couch

AUGUST 29, 2016

MOVED BUT NOT TRANSFERRED...

WOWWIE WOWZERS. What a week! This has seriously been the weirdest, craziest week of my whole entire mission thus far. 

SO. I haven't really mentioned it because I don't usually like to spill the beans on my companion's personal lives, but Sister O. has super severe depression, anxiety, and ADHD. We have been together for eight weeks, and in about week three of our companionship she started struggling really reallllyyyyy badly with it. She had been taking a medication for about a year that really helped and then for some reason it just stopped working. I've noticed that being on a mission takes whatever struggles a person has and amplifies them by about 50 million. Not sure how or why that works like that, but it does! Anyway, she has been progressively getting worse and worse throughout the weeks. We have been in constant contact with our mission president, his wife, and the mission nurse and a few weeks ago we went to a doctor in Denver and he changed her prescription, but it didn't do squat for her. This week it got so bad that Sister Johnson, the mission nurse, told us to pack our bags and go stay the night at the Van Wagoner's, the senior missionaries in our ward. We stayed there four nights this week and went with them to the mission office for three days. I actually kinda liked being in the mission office because they put me to work! I got to play secretary, car czar (that's what we call the guy that deals with the cars hehe), assistant to the president, travel coordinator, and even mission president! Playing secretary was my favorite because I got to answer the phone and sit at the big desk in the front of the mission office. Hence my dumb reference to The Office in my subject line.... hehe.. ANYWAY, we spent most of the week there so that Sister O. could rest and be around the mission staff. 

Long story short, President Gifford and Sister Johnson decided that it would be best for Sister O. to head home and get better there. It is really hard to get better in the mission field because there are no coping mechanisms and you're expected to go out and work, work, work. She was heartbroken about it at first, but quickly realized that it was what needed to happen. As soon as the Spirit confirmed to her that going home was the right thing to do, she said it felt like a weight had been lifted from her and for the first time in weeks she was happy. She went home on Saturday morning and as far as I can tell, she is doing well there. 

I am so grateful for the time that I was able to spend with Sister O. I learned SO much from her. I think the greatest thing I learned was charity. And not like the give to the poor and do good things kind of charity, but the pure love of Christ kind of charity. I learned how to see and feel the way Heavenly Father feels about other people. There were so many times when Sister O was so so so sad, and all I had to do was pray and ask Heavenly Father to help me feel His love for her. He always allowed me to see her from His perspective and He put the words in my mouth that helped me to pull her out of some pretty dark places. I know that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love each and every one of us and that we have such divine potential as His children. Being with Sister O has made me realize that Heavenly Father really does use us as instruments in His hands. I know that I was supposed to be her companion and that she was supposed to be mine. 

SO. With that being said, I'm sure you're all wondering what I'mmmmm doing now! WELL. There was another sister that had to go home for health problems on the same day as Sister O. I talked to President Gifford about it and we both felt that it would make sense for me go just go to her area. The Lakewood ward has a set of elders and sisters, and there just isn't enough work for two sets of missionaries to do there. The ward isn't supportive enough and we felt that I could be more effective in another area. Sooooo, we turned our investigators over to the elders and I am now in a different ward! I am serving in the Cornerstone Park ward in Littleton, Colorado, about 30 minutes from Lakewood, with none other thannnnnnnn *pause for effecttttttt* (appreciate my Despicable Me quote, please.) SISTER PAONGOOOO!!! We were together in Fruita for two transfers right before I became companions with Sister O! We are white-washing Cornerstone Park and this ward is already so amazing. I am excited to be here and to see what more the Lord has in store for me. 

My new address is this!

******Sister Kelsie Harshaw

7158 S Lincoln Way

Centennial, Co. 80122******

I hope that you are all having a happy week! Don't forget to smile big! 

Love, Sister Harshaw

OH. And since next week is Labor Day, I may or may not get to email on Monday. I'll most likely have to wait until Tuesday, so just a heads up!!

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AUGUST 15, 2016

THE BIG COMFY COUCH

Helloooooo to my family, friends, acquaintances, former companions, and everyone in between!  

SO. We're going to do a little backtracking before I start this email and reminisce on a story from the beginning of this transfer.

*Flashback to July 18, 2016*

"....Sister O. and I are completely reopening the area we are serving it, so we had noooooo one in our teaching pool when we arrived. On Sunday of last week we decided to fast for miracles in our area and to get the ball rolling. On Monday, the day following our fast, we went to our bishop's house to try to meet him since he and his family had been out of town until that day. We knocked on the door and no one answered, so we went to get back in the car to go to our next appointment. While I was putting my things in the car I noticed a man and a woman across the street struggling to get a couch through their front door, and the Spirit basically yelled at me and told me to offer to help. In my head I was like, "Pshh, silly Spirit! I can't lift that couch into their house! I'm a scrawny weakling, and you know that." But the Spirit insisted that I offer my help anyway. I opened my mouth and asked if they needed any help and she said, "No, I wouldn't want you ladies to get hurt!", and they went back to attempting to shove the over-stuffed couch through the teeny little door frame. We watched for a second and then I said, "Are you sure? Do you at least want an extra hand or two?" She looked at her husband and then back at me and said, out of breath, "Ummm.. yes, please." We went to help, but couldn't contribute much. Turns out you have to have some upper-body strength to lift a couch, and I'm lacking in that department. Sharmin, the lady, told her husband, Scott, to go get more help, so he went to get their neighbor and we talked while they lifted the couch into the house like it was no big deal. She told us that she talked to missionaries about a year ago and that she wanted them to come back, but they never did. I said, "Well, we'll come back!" and to my surprise she said, "Will you please??" She then told us that she and her husband have been looking for a new religion after a negative experience they had with another church and that her 10 year old son is lost and needs the Lord in his life. She sounded so desperate and both she and her husband were excited to have us come back........" 

Well, friends.. This week I sat on the massive comfy couch that I attempted to move into Scott and Sharmin Kanipe's house almost 5 weeks ago as Sister O. and I taught them about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have been trying to meet with them for the past several weeks, but family emergencies kept coming up and they had to keep cancelling. Each time Sharmin called to tell us she had to cancel, she sounded so sad and told us over and over again that she wanted us to come so badly. WELL. Little did we or she know, in those weeks of trial for their family, the Lord was just preparing them further to receive the restored gospel. I HAVE NEVER TAUGHT A FAMILY AS PREPARED AS THE KANIPE FAMILY IN MY WHOLE ENTIRE MISSION. Scott, the father, was raised Catholic and has fallen away in recent years due to some inconsistencies he found between their teachings and the teachings of the Bible. Sharmin's family was mixed, with her dad being a Roman Catholic and her mom being a member of the Lutheran church. They have a son, Kaden, that is almost 11 and they want so badly to raise him with a belief in God and Jesus Christ. Scott's father was just diagnosed with brain and lung cancer from smoking, and he now wants to quit smoking himself. Sharmin expressed to us that she feels a void in her life that she just wants to fill. Kaden lovessss learning about Jesus. THEY ARE PREPARED BEYONE BELIEF, Y'ALL. We started our lesson by singing "I am a Child of God" and the Spirit practically flooded their small home. It was one of the most beautiful and Spirit-filled lessons that the Lord has ever helped me teach. After teaching through the First Vision, Sharmin stopped us and said, with tears in her eyes, "I feel like a weight has been lifted and all I want to do is cry.". And cry she did. 

This gospel is so unbelievably beautiful. To see it touch the hearts of other people is by far my favorite thing about my mission. We are going to be seeing the Kanipes again this week and we are going to invite them to be baptized on the 25th of September, so keep them in your prayers for us! They need the gospel in their lives so desperately!!! 

This is all yet another reminder to me that Heavenly Father's plan and timing is so perfect. All these weeks we thought Satan was intervening and making things more difficult for us as we tried to meet with this family. But it turns out Heavenly Father was just molding and shaping them and preparing them to hear the words the Spirit spoke to their hearts and minds as we taught them. The Lord sure does work in mysterious ways. 

I am so so so happy to be on my mission. I love it and I love spending all day every day serving my Heavenly Father's children in Lakewood. OH. Speaking of Lakewood! We got our transfer news and Sister O. and I get to stay together for yet another transfer!! I'm so happy!!! 

I love y'all sooooo much and I'm so thankful for all the prayers that are sent my way! I sure do feel them!!! Have a happy week and keep on keepin' on!

Love, Sister Harshaw