"Harvesting the Field"

Note from Dad: We have been in Ohio visiting family until today. In Eric’s letter this week, he talks about a new finding technique introduced by the new mission president called Harvesting the Field. This is the exact program that we used throughout my mission in England 30 years ago. It is so interesting to see Eric start using this program and have some of the same kinds of experiences that I witnessed on my mission.


July 18, 2011

Hi Mom and Dad! How are you doing? The program of Harvesting the Field is the same thing you did on your mission. We have given many blessings in the last week and I have seen more miracles than I ever have in the mission before. It is an amazing program. The people are feeling the spirit much more strongly now in the lessons as we find (people) using this method. I have some cool stories to share with you.

On Saturday, we were doing Harvesting the Field down south and we ran into an old Haitian man whose skin was peeling and had a rash on it. He was in a lot of pain and he said it was from Voodoo. He told us that an evil spirit went in him and changed his skin. We told him that we were servants of God to leave the peace and healing power of the Savior in his home. He let us in his house across the street. We kneeled down and said the prayer. We blessed him that he would find healing in his home and that as he listened to our message he would be healed. We said several other things. At the end of the prayer, he told us that something had changed and that the pain in his leg was gone and as we left, he was in a really good mood and chuckling. We have a return appointment with him on Tuesday.

I am loving the mission. I am feeling more power and authority coming from my calling then ever before. We are using a program called Harvesting the Field, which President Anderson introduced to us as a way to help people recognize us as servants of God from the very beginning of the teaching relationship.

How it works is that when we approach the door or talk to people on the street, we say, "We are representatives of Jesus Christ. He has sent us here to leave his peace and blessing in your home. Can we come into your home to do that?"

If they say they are too busy, we say, "This blessing is in the form of a short prayer and will only take a moment of your time. May we come in and leave His blessing?

If they say they have their own religion already, we say, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ? This blessing is from him and it is for all those who believe in him. May we enter and leave his blessing?"

If they say that Jesus Christ has already blessed their home, we say, "You can't have too many blessings from Jesus Christ, can you? May we come in and leave his blessing?"

If they say they are in a hurry, we will say, "it will only take a moment because we too are in a hurry."

I have seen so many miracles come out of this method. I have seen some of the most stubborn people let us and change their hearts. I will tell you a few of the amazing things that have happened.

And with the Harvest the Field, an important part is to tell them that the feelings that they felt were the result of the Holy Spirit. We do the blessing and leave quickly so as to not interrupt the Spirit in the house. If we linger too long and distract them, the feelings they had might be forgotten.

Yesterday we knocked on a Haitian woman's door. She said she had a church and that she felt that Mormons didn't worship the same God and that we weren't his representatives. We used some of the techniques I mentioned, and then she asked me how I became a representative of Jesus Christ. I told her that he called us and selected us, and she let us in. By the end of the blessing, she allowed us to get a return appointment and she told us that she felt the spirit of God was present when we gave the blessing. Elder Shipley and I were so surprised that there was such a big change in her so quickly. She knows we are representatives of Christ now. Most people we used to teach didn't recognize that, but now she has evidence of our power, as did those who witnessed Ammon. And now maybe she will believe in our words. This is such a cool program they are having us do. I am so grateful to be a part of it. I hope all missionaries can have a chance to do this.

Many more people are opening their doors to us than ever before. I am feeling the spirit and I am growing more than ever. I just hope I can maintain the humility because when things are going so well, it is easy to forget whose power it is that is bringing us this success. We are no better than any other missionaries. We are just having a different experience. That is what I admire so much about Elder Furner. He doesn't use his skills to boast about his strength. I hope I can be like him some day.

This week we went on an exchange with the zone leaders. It was great! Elder Orton is a great leader. I stayed in our area while Elder Shipley went to the other elders' area. We had a good exchange. We found Analia again! She missed our last appointment because she had the actual surgery to get her gall bladder out. She is doing a lot better. She was out of it the last time we came. She has read 61 pages out of the Book of Mormon. We committed her to come to church this week and she did. Her baptism is next week if we can meet with her enough times. We are trying to get members to come out with us so we can have her be fellowshipped. I don't want to see her fall away after baptism. It happens far too often. We had a meeting with the Ward Leaders yesterday and in our ward we have 600 people in the records, but only 200 people show up. Many of them were baptized within the last three to four years. A few of them are even within the last year and a half, which is awful. I am really beginning to realize why members of this church have such a big influence. You don't need to be missionaries to make a difference in someone else's life.

We got an awesome new investigator named Samaynia on the exchange too. She heard many negative things about the church, and she was very defensive at first, but she said she wanted to hear from us herself before made any conclusions. She was so relieved after she met with us and she said that the idea of the Book of Mormon makes a lot of sense, because it seems logical that God would give another group of people who lived in America prophets as well. She came to church yesterday and both her and Analia committed to come this coming Sunday. There is an activity at the church where people will watch the movie Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. She said that she would try her best to come and Analia really wanted to come. We are going to commit Samaynia to be baptized on a specific date during our next lesson. We are going to get a member to be there.

Elder Shipley is so good at getting things organized. He made a chart that has all of our progressing investigators, when the last day we contacted them was, who is fellowshipping them, how many lessons they have had with a member present, how many times they have been to church, when our next appointment is with them, when our last appointment was with them, etc. This will help us keep track of every one of our investigators, because some of them went a week and a half without being contacted, which is horrible. They won't get closer to Christ if we don't keep in contact with them.

We met this really awesome woman named Merline. She was getting her car fixed in the parking lot next to Lina's apartment complex. She lives in the same apartment as Lina, one of our investigators. Merline loved it when we came over and she gave us a person to teach when we called her the next time. That is so cool! We are going to pass her to Elder Giorgino because she speaks good enough English that we don't need to teach her. She lives in their area, so unless she needs us to teach her because of the language, she goes to them, even though she is Haitian. It is okay though. I was really disappointed about having to pass her, but as President Hale said, we are all wearing the same jersey. We need to be just as happy, if not more happy about the successes of others than our own.

There are a lot of good things happening in the work. The hardest part is being efficient and effective with our time so that we can do everything we need to. We have so much we need to manage, but I know that God will help me do it. Elder Shipley and I have grown so much in the last two weeks. I am amazed at all of the wonderful experiences we have had together. When the spirit is strong, the work is a lot more fulfilling.

Bye everyone! I love you all! Growth is painful and hard, but it is very satisfying. I just hope I don't lose momentum. I won't, because I won't let it happen. Pray for our investigators, especially:

Analia (baptism this week)

Samaynia (will know Joseph Smith and Book of Mormon are true)

Carlo Joseph, Margerie, Georges (Get work off)

Rodeline, Viniel, Prince (overcome obstacles)

Edward (Feel the Savior's love and desire to get baptized)

Ernst (be willing to pray to know and come to church)

Luxom Paul (feel the spirit to tell him this message is true)

and all the rest we have.



Note from Mom: Eric forwarded us his letter to the president, so I have included it.

Hi President Anderson! This has been a great week for Elder Shipley and I in terms of finding people and teaching with the spirit. We have had some of the most amazing finding experiences ever. We are finding more prepared people than I have ever found as I have been a missionary. This Harvest the Field program is such an amazing thing and it helps us use our priesthood and help others to recognize us as servants of Jesus Christ. I am having more fun than ever.

We are doing well in getting people to accept dates. We are focusing much more on our purpose and as we have been more bold and focused on Christ, the spirit has been much more present and our message is being received better.

Our district is doing well and the obedience level is on the rise. I haven't been so obedient and happy in all of my time in the mission field. Everything is going well. I will continue to push forward so that my efforts and progression don't go down. I know that this time is easier than any other to stop progressing because of pride or a false sense of security. Please continue to pray for us. I feel so much strength coming and I am amazed. His guidance is so real and I am finally starting to take advantage of it. Elder Shipley is a great missionary. One of the most obedient, motivated, and purpose driven people I have ever met. He is doing great! I know that he was meant to be with me. Bye President! I love you! We will talk to you later.

Love,

Elder Seamons