Hallo leute vom MTC!

   This week was exactly like the week before. And the week before that. Every day is wonderful; lots of learning every day. But holy cow it is impossible to keep track of time in here haha

Missionaries visiting the Provo Utah Temple

   Cool thought about German words. In German, the word for "to turn" is "kehren". The word for "to repent" is "umkehren", or in otherwords "to turn around". This is because when we repent, we realign ourelves with God and His will for us. We stop doing things in our lives that may be wrong, and we improve ourselves and turn ourselves towards God. Even cooler is the the word for "converted" is "bekehrt", or in other words "turned". We are converted to God through the process of repentance. We turn ourselves slowly to Him, and then when we are facing Him, we are converted, or turned around already to face him. 

   One of the other cool things about this gospel that I often think about is that Christ always tells us that we need to be perfect. The thing I often think to myself though, is "Well, I'm gonna try hard to be perfect, but I won't ever get there. I'll work at it, but being perfected in Christ is for other people. Like apostles, prophets, or other great church leaders. I'll probably never get there, but I'll try." Thing is though, that this gospel is for everyone. We ALL can reach that. It is all within our reach, within our capabilities. We have to keep trying, but as we do, we WILL improve. It can be kinda hard to realize that we really can change when we rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The Gospel and perfection in Christ is attainable by everyone, even me, even you!

 

   We can always be looking for ways to improve, because none of us are perfect. We all have things that we need to work on. We can always be learning. We will never be done learning and coming nearer to Christ. We can come nearer to God and look for things He wants for us in all that we do. Literature of all sorts, ideas of every kind. There is always something we can learn. I challenge all of you, LDS or not, to just read parts of, or the entire Book of Mormon. Even if you think it's a load of hogwash, all good. Look for things that you can do come nearer to Christ. Read it and look for ways God might be talking to you. Things you can do, and principles you can apply personally in your life. I promise you that you will find at least something that you can benefit from. 

   And share what you learn. When you find something interesting or cool, tell those around you. Help them out. We are all going through this life, any ideas or inspirations we have, share them! You never know who they might benefit.

   One additional tiny challenge: look for something you can do to serve someone else once a day. It can be as small as holding the door open, or giving them your seat. Just look for ways to help each other out. Charity is nurtured through service to others.

  

   You guys are awesome. I love and miss you all. Email time is one of the most stressful times of the week (in a great way) because I can never fit in all I want to say!

   Keep up the good work guys! Don't ever stop trying to "umkehr" and come nearer to God!

Elder Harps

P.S. I promise to get better at sending pictures!

Hallo vom MTC! 

Elder Harps and other missionaries at the Provo MTC

   This week was great, though it did have its ups and downs.

   This place is wonderful. I know I keep saying this but every single day I feel like I am learning so much. I feel like a new person every time I wake up.

   This week I learned that we have to look outward and serve others. I know that sounds really generic and I know we've all heard it a thousand times, but it's true. This week I worked really really hard at being perfectly obedient. I worked really hard at praying and asking God for help developing patience and humility. And it went nowhere. Every day I felt like I was more confused and unable to effectively study and work. I was really confused, because I thought I was doing everything I was supposed to, yet I didn't feel happy. It was really frustrating, and I asked God to tell me what I needed to do. The answer didn't come immediately though, He made me wait a day or two (which feels a lot longer here). But I finally realized that I was too focused on my self, and improving myself, which ironically is not the way to improve ourselves. Yes we have to be willing to make the changes God wants for us, but we have to serve and love His other children. THAT is His work. That's why I am here in the first place. I'm serving this mission so that I can bring God's children to a knowledge of His plan for us and His gospel. I was so focused on drawing myself nearer to God that I lost sight of my purpose. It really was quite ironic. So I asked God for help in looking outward and loving those around me. I'm trying to forget myself and not worry about me and my progress and just help those around me in whatever way I can. I'm not very good at it yet, but I know that as I try to serve and love the people around me, God will take care of me. He will help shape me into a tool by which I can help the people of Germany receive this wonderful message of hope and happiness. Look outward, try to love those around you and help them.

   I'd like to extend a challenge this week to find just one way to serve someone around you. Also try to introduce yourself to someone new once a day. Just make new friends, and help those around you. Just one a day. I promise that you will begin to love the people around you. It will bless you and them.

   Also, two scripture passages that I really liked this week were 2 Nephi 2 and 2 Nephi 9. They are really powerful scriptures that help explain where we came from, why we are here on earth, and where we are going. Excellent scriptures. The prophet Nephi is awesome.

   You guys are awesome. Keep up the good work. Love you all!

Tschus!

Elder Harps

(P.S. To my college friends, the MTC cafeteria somehow manages to be even blander and worse than the Cannon Center. I didnt even know that was possible)

Hallo vom MTC!

   This place is amazing. I cant believe we have only been here 7 days. In all honesty, I feel like every single day I have woken up as a new, better person. I feel like I am being hit with epiphany after epiphany and the Spirit of God is omnipresent here. There are 13 missionaries in our zone (11 elders and 2 sisters, all going to Frankfurt Germany in 5 more weeks). My companion here in the MTC is named Elder Gilbert, who hails from St. Louis, MO. He and I get along really well.

   I am honestly a completely different person than when I arrived here. 

Elder Harps, his companion, senior missionaries,
and his first investigator. 

   We have been teaching an investigator here, who speaks not a lick of English; only German. And on the first lesson we completely flopped. Our german was so bad and awful. We spent 25+ minutes trying to explain that God is our father and He loves us. It was really humbling. I realized that I had been trying to speak German to her instead of preaching the Gospel. And I also realized that my German is awful, and that there is no way I can learn German in 6 weeks on my own. But I can through Christ and the Spirit. The gospel clicked for me though. I realized why I am here. I realized why I am going to Germany to be on a mission for two years. Jesus Christ enables us, through His Atonement, to do and become anything; ANYTHING. We can overcome any trial, and adversity, any crisis of faith or hardship, by using His atonement. We are not expected to be perfect. We CANNOT be perfect, or frankly improve ourselves at all. If I try to trudge through this life on my own, I will make no progress. I must pray for help, want His help, and then work my tail off at improving and anything is possible. The gospel isn't about doing things, it is about becoming things. It is about drawing closer to Christ and letting Him lift you up. This gospel is a wonderful message of hope. We can have hope, peace, and happiness when we take advantage of Christs atonement. I want everyone in Germany to have this same hope, happiness, and peace. When I got here, I felt like I was here to learn German. I am not. I am here to learn to preach the Gospel, and I now see German as a barrier keeping me from that. My german is improving rapidly now that I am focusing on the reason why I am here instead of speaking the language. 

   I've been thinking about humility a lot this week. The only way we can effectively use the Atonement is if we acknowledge that we are nothing next to God. That we need his help. I don't mean that we are worthless, but that we cannot reach our potential without reaching out to Him for help. Humility is so powerful because when we are prideful, and I often am, we can stand only as high as ourselves. In our minds, we know best, we can do best, and we are the greatest. And so we can only stand as high as ourselves. The power of humility comes from this. When we acknowledge God as the most powerful, and strive to do His will instead of our own, we stand for something greater. The greatest in fact. We cannot stand higher than if we stand for God and let him lift us to heights we never dreamed of. When we stand in humility, nothing can topple us, for God stands with and strengthens us. When we are humble, we are willing to recognize that we are not perfect, but that God can help us improve.

   There are two passages of scripture that really struck me this week. The first was all of 2 Nephi 31, and the second was Moroni 7:40-48. Whether or not you are a member of this church, click the link and read them. It will probably take you 5 minutes.

   Ahhhh guys I cant write enough in this tiny amount of time. I love you all, and I hope you all have a great week.

Auf wiedersehen!

Elder Harps

Welcome!

Illustration by dear friend, Skyler Dumas

This blog is designed to help share the experiences that Elder Micah Harps is having while serving a 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Frankfurt, Germany mission.  It is managed by his mother, Julia, but will mostly consist of his letters and pictures that he sends home weekly.

It is our desire that you will enjoy this glimpse of missionary life and learn more about the faith of Elder Harps.  However, this blog does not officially represent our church in any way.  If you would like to learn more about Jesus Christ and His teachings please visit mormon.org or at any time you may also request a free copy of the Book of Mormon and even learn more from missionaries serving in your local area by using this link. Free Book of Mormon

Elder Harps begins his mission in Provo, Utah at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) where he will be for the next 6 weeks as he learns the German language.  His first day was 1 February 2017.  While on a mission he will not be available for phone calls or using social media.  However, if you would like to send him a letter, you can do so at micah.harps@myldsmail.net.  He will be checking his email on a weekly basis. 

Micah has had the desire to serve a mission since he was a young boy. These next 2 years will be some of the hardest and most rewarding experiences of his life.  We hope that by sharing these experiences, you too will be able to see the joy of serving others and learn more about Jesus Christ.