Memorable Lessons

Hello Family!!

I haven't received the packages yet, but thanks for sending them! I think I will get them on Halloween. We have a mission conference that day, and Elder Cornish and Elder Christensen are coming. 

What can you do to help me be a better missionary? Well, I don't know! Prayers are always helpful. I think I need help having more confidence in myself now that Hna. Gallardo is leaving and I need to train a new STL. I am nervous about that.

My most memorable lesson last week was last night!! Haha. We visited a family of recent converts. A mother and her 17 year old son and 11 year old daughter. They are awesome and really faithful and strong. The son has some learning disabilities but we talked with Bishop and he says that the son can prepare to receive the Priesthood. He is pretty smart but we need to teach him differently with repetition. 

So we went to teach him last night with the new Young Men's president (a RM that got home four weeks ago) who is going to teach our recent convert everything he need to know. Well we used a Driver's License to show the importance of having permission to act in the name of God.

We showed a real Driver's License and I showed my fake Puerto Rican License that I drew with a sharpie. He understood it all really well. But the funny part of the lesson was my companion when she finished the comparison and said that just like the license, the Priesthood Authority is Heavenly Father giving us permission to drive. 

We all started laughing and she realized what she had said and fixed it. It was funny.

We help the other missionaries by going on exchanges with them and helping them apply what they learn in Zone Meeting and whatnot. I've had a lot of experiences with some sick missionaries and helping them out. There was a sister last transfer that was feeling down and felt like she wasn't learning anything here or growing, and we talked to her and helped her out.

Our investigators are doing pretty well. The ones that are coming to church (there are two) are pretty good self-starters! One of them comes with her member friend every week and the other one we had to call to remind the first week in the morning and this Saturday we called and reminded her and she came all right. Usually it's a lot harder getting an investigator to church!! They always have their excuses. Working with members also makes their church experiences better,

I am happy that the new Sister Babcock shared Stephanie's love with you. What a wonderful woman! I love you so much mama!! The Ralphs moved? Where did they go?

Sorry my email is so short! Last week was pretty long though, right? All well!

Well familia!! I love you so much!!! I hope you have a wonderful week! 

xoxo Hermana Hardy

Listen Before Teaching

Hello Family!

Loved the photos from the pumpkin picking! I really like Jonny's pumpkin head, it made me laugh out loud here in the cyber library in the mall!

So transfers were three weeks ago, and we drove around the island (literally). Next transfers are the first week of November (November third in specific). I will be staying in Guayama for the rest of my mission unless President needs us to move to another area in Caguas Zone to whitewash. I anticipate staying here though. Hna. Gallardo is finishing her mission and will be leaving and I will be receiving a new companion.

So Hna. Gallardo is from Tijuana, Mexico, which borders with San Diego, right underneath California. She is 24 years old, her parents were converted to the church in their youth and she was born into the covenant. She has one older brother that is married. She likes to dance Mexican folk dances!! Pretty cool. She will be dancing in the Tijuana Temple dedication (well, cultural celebration, you know what I mean!). 

She used to play american flag football. She has almost finished her bachelors in psychology in Baja California university. Like all Mexicans she really really really likes anything with pique (I don't know how to translate that word correctly, but like hot sauce and anything that is spicy.) And now I like pique. She is really awesome. She taught me how to make a type of fried taco this week and they are yummy yummy. I promise to make them for you.

The lessons we had this week... well we taught a family with the members that gave them to us as a reference! They are pretty awesome! We are really excited to be teaching them. They are a close family of four- the wife's name is Emily! We taught them L1 yesterday with the members (they are neighbors) and it went well.The members shared a powerful testimony. They've been praying for this family for a long time! I am happy to be here to help them teach their neighbors. 

Afterwards our new investigators had refreshments all prepared for us! Haha, they will make good Mormons ;) We also have a woman that has been coming to church these past two months and she's reading and accepting everything except a baptismal date. 

Our baptismal date for this past Saturday hasn't been answering our phone calls for almost two weeks. I think he's doing that on purpose. On Saturday we wanted to call him (we knew he wasn't ready, and didn't have an interview) and ask him if he was ready for his baptism that day at 5:00. He didn't answer. But we will see if we're going to drop him or keep on trying. He knows everything is true but can't commit to a date. He's basically a dry mormon. 

We also have a pretty neat woman that came to church yesterday. She has a speaking disability and it's hard for us to understand her and teach her and I have to rely on the Spirit a lot to help me in the lessons. She does say Hardy really well though! She is pretty cool and WALKED to church... yeah. People don't normally do that in PR. It's too hot!

So my entire mission I have been working hard to learn how to listen before teaching, so the Spirit can teach through me. I think I am okay at it. The one investigator that can't speak well has been a challenge for me because I can only understand a part of what she says.

Guayama is a mix of campo, coast, and city. It has just about everything. It isn't too big but there are a lot of areas that we can't get to by foot. This week we walked eight miles one day- it's been a while since I've walked that much and Hna. Gallardo and I agreed that our bodies are breaking down. We were exhausted! 

We have a mall right next to our house- they have Marshall's, a whole bunch of the regular Puerto Rican clothes and different stores. Guayama isn't much of a tourist spot. there are only one or two tourist shops in the plaza. The plaza is pretty far away from us- maybe three miles? so we don't go there often because there aren't as many proselyting opportunities there. But I will go looking there one day. There are more or less a lot of little shops here or there, some clothing. 

Mostly we just work off of two main streets that run parallel to each other. All the urbanizations we go to are inbetween or on the other sides of them. We are trying to branch out a bit and we are looking for areas we've found in the area book.

Does that answer your questions? Hope so! You can ask for more descriptions and I will pay more attention this week as I go around and I can look for more things to tell you!

Next week I will send you a picture of the meal calendar that the RS passes around every week. The members here take such good care of us. This week the calendar is FULLER than FULL! The problem is that we don't have a scale so I don't know how much I'm gaining. Please send cardio ideas! Haha. I have found that eating so much is a gift of the Spirit because there's no natural way that I can eat that much all by myself.

Hope you all have a wonderful week. Good luck Mama in your reactivation efforts! Here in the PRSJ Mission reactivating is equally important as baptizing because it means the same thing: someone working towards their salvation. Here in Guayama we have been doing really well at reactivating recently. The Bishop here is amazing at helping us.

Tomorrow we are teaching Zone Conference. I will be speaking about our responsibilities as missionaries to establish the Church where we serve- it's something we don't usually think about.

I love you so much! Have a wonderful week!

xoxo Hermana Hardy

Ponderizing

Hello Family!

AWESOME job on your marathon!!! I am so proud of you! Way to meet your goal to run the St. George marathon!! That is so cool. What is your new goal??!

I loved conference. We watched it in our chapel here in Guayama, I was able to see it in English.

My favorite conference talk.... That's a hard one. I loved President Nelson's, Pres. Uchtdorf's, Elder Holland's, and so many more!

Listening to the new Apostles bear their testimonies was also a really powerful spiritual experience for me. I can testify that they are the Lord's chosen Apostles and they have been called to help us in these times.

Conference also answered all of my questions. That was also a neat experience as I went back through all my notes from conference with the questions I had written before. Every question was answered in different ways from several different talks. That was really neat for me. I wish I had brought my notebook... I would have expounded on my favorite talks and what I learned!

I also loved the one that spoke about prayer and asking the Lord what we lack, and how the Spirit will answer us and we must act on that impression. 

I have really seen a difference in what I get out of conference as a missionary. Before I would just listen to conference and sometimes I would feel good things and sometimes I was just staring at the T.V. without paying much attention to what was being said. Man has that changed!!! 

I think what's made the difference is that now I am watching with the specific purpose of finding the answers to my questions and also knowing how I need to improve. Some of my questions were also rather urgent. I had had them before but this past week magnified the importance of some of them and the attributes that I need to develop. Conference was so much more important to me this time because I desperately searching for the counsel I needed. I hope that I always remember how I prepared and watched this conference and that I can always aprovechar conference for the rest of my life!! 

Are you all going to start ponderizing??? Haha, what a great idea! I am trying to think if memorizing a paragraph of the Living Christ every week counts in ponderizing or if it needs to be a verse from the standard works... I will think about that. I think I should probably choose a verse! I loved Alexis and Geoff's scripture.

Hannah: I am so proud of you. I remember something from conference that said that once we have had strong spiritual experiences we should remember them often and refer back to them. They are proof that Heavenly Father loves us, knows us, and will answer our prayers and help us. Remembering that will help us receive revelation in the future. 

When I think about my relationship with Heavenly Father I think about how well my Dad and Mom know me and how much they love me. Heavenly Father knows us just like Mom and Dad know us, and He knows what's best for us just like they do, and He is ready and willing to help us become who we need to be. 

I also think that recognizing our Divine Nature is central to successfully living in this "state of probation". If we understand that we are children of God, we will more willingly live and love the Gospel and Heavenly Father's commandments. We will not just obey because that's what we have to do. We will obey Him because we love Him and we submit our will to His- and that is the very best and most important type of obedience. We will be so much happier too! It qualifies us for the Spirit as well. I am glad that you are enjoying seminary!

Love you all so much! I hope you all have a wonderful week!!

xoxo Hermana Hardy

Power Of The Atonement

Hello Familia!

Women's Conference was awesome, right??! I loved it. Pres. Uchtdorf's was my favorite. I will admit that it was a little bit different watching in Spanish because I couldn't hear Pres. Uchtdorf's voice but I imagined it anyways, haha!

Next week I will be able to watch all of conference in English! We have satelite in our ward building so we will be watching it here in Guayama!

Who from our ward went to the hospital??!

The weather in my new area... well it's still really dry! The mountains are a bit greener than when I came but it hasn't rained in a really long time. Every once in a while it rains at night. But let me tell you, this week has been the hottest week of my life! Summer is supposed to be over already but it's been extra extra hot. Also, our air conditioning broke this last week. None of us has been able to sleep! It's just too hot. I am also a little bit roasty toasty and sunburned... not bad, but everyone makes a big deal about it when they see me. I think I had at least three contacts Saturday that told me that I shouldn't be outside haha.

Someone that I taught about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I will be teaching it this week with one of our investigators. I think the biggest miracle I saw from teaching about Christ and His Atonement and Gospel was definitely Ana from Toa Baja. 

I remember that when we were going through the questions for the baptismal interview we asked her the third question about repentance and if she felt that she had repented of her past transgressions and she told us that for a long time she couldn't let go of the hurt feelings she has against people that had hurt her family. She said that she was trying to overcome that still and when we started to teach her the Restored Gospel she was able to let go and have her heart healed by the Atonement. 

She was so so so happy that she had finally been able to let it go. She felt so good inside and ready to be baptized. I think that is one of my most favorite experiences in my mission- listening to my friend Ana sharing how the Atonement had worked in her life and the healing it brought.

Yesterday in church we had ward council at 8:00. Then Sacrament meeting at 9:00. I played the piano. Learned a new hymn too! the members say that I was making a funny face and cringing at the end of each verse because for some reason it sounded funny and they weren't singing with me and I wasn't sure if I was playing or counting wrong or they were! I am embarrased! I am going to work on my poker face. Then we had Gospel Principles. None of our investigators came this week! Which was too bad. Then Relief Society. We were able to reactivate someone yesterday too, so that was awesome!

Funny story of the week:

We were helping a member clean her new house before she moved in... I was sweeping and Hna. Gallardo was cleaning the bathroom and she called me in saying that she didn't know how to use the bidet in order to use it.... Well of course I've never used a bidet but I assumed that it was really simple and easy to figure it out. 

So I walked in acting like I knew what I was doing and I turned it on a little bit but the fountain thingy in the middle wasn't working, so I turned the knob and the water started spraying like it's supposed to but it was really low................ So I leaned over and turned the hot water knob all the way and BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The water came up SUPER hard and sprayed me in the face!!!!! Right in my left eye!!!! 

Hna. Gallardo and I started shouting because the water was coming up almost to the height of my head and there was water all over and we didn't know what to do and we were just so shocked. Hna. Gallardo turned the water off and the member ran in to see what happened and she died laughing with us. She is 20 years old so she wasn't judging. But yeah. That's the last time I act like I know how to use a bidet, hahaha. That was humiliating! I had no idea that it would spray so high....

Hannah: Last week you asked if I want you to write me. Yes please! I would like for you to write me when you have the time! xoxo

Well I think that's about it. This week was something else. We found some new people too, so that's good!

Have a wonderful week! I love you all so much! I should be able to get mail next week! Tell Jonny!

xoxo Hermana Hardy

Feliz Cumpleaños Hermana Hardy!!!

Hello everyone!

What a wonderful birthday! Thank you all so much for the packages, cards, emails, and happy wishes!

So this was definitely a birthday I will never forget! haha. So we had exchanges from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon. They went pretty well. But on the way back from Humacao we got a little lost... Woops! 

When we finally found our way back onto the route we needed to follow we were good until we came up on some traffic in the forest. We waited a good half hour until finally someone told everyone that the road was closed and we had to go the LONG way through Caguas to get back to Guayama. I was driving for a really long time on Wednesday! But that night we went on Visitas Pastorales with the members. 

Hna. Martita then took us to go get pizza in the plaza. Then Familia Marrero drove past with the other sisters and they all came inside and we all ate pizza together and then they took us all to ice cream. The members here are so sweet. They made it a really special birthday!

Last Monday we ate with Fam. Marrero and they had a cake and they sang to me and everything! They gave me a really pretty journal. Their son also got back from his mission last week! poor thing came home to find that he has four sisters that are there to eat dinner every Monday. Haha, we love this family. Hno. Marrero looks both like Dad and Mr. Jorgensen. Mary Sue is a sweetheart. 

I also loved my package! I ended up getting it on Friday because the other sisters had to go to the office! Thank you sosososososo much! Haha, I loved it. There are a LOT of cookies from the dearelder package! I got the dear elder package on Tuesday and we took pictures with the members and the balloons and everything.

There aren't really any different traditions in the PR. Well, at la casa de familia Marrero they rub frosting in your face! they also have a special birthday song.

The sisters that were sick are doing tons better! 

This week I was studying about humility and relying on the Lord and relying on the Spirit to receive revelation and guidance in missionary work. Sometimes I worry that I depend too much on my own abilities instead of trusting more in the Lord to do this work. Not because I think I can do it myself but because sometimes I just don't take the time or thought to focus on depending on the Lord and doing what He wants us to do.

The most exciting thing that happened this week.... Well, My birthday! Getting lost on the way to Humacao, celebrating with members, then fam. Marrero's missonary came home, stake conference, and exchanges! Exchanges are tomorrow.

Every single one of the sister companionships in our zone are changing except for us. Today we are figuring out the plans and the times and the drop offs and pick ups, tomorrow I will be driving back and forth over the island. Should be fun!!

Now let's talk about something more exciting!! Baby Gough is a girl! I am really really surprised! I thought it would be a boy! YAYAY! We get a little ballerina. I am so excited, I can't handle it! That makes me so happy! It looks like that party was really cute and fun! I loved the videos you sent!

This email is pretty short, sorry! I am going to send photos!

xoxo Hermana Hardy

Nurse Hermana Hardy

Hello Family!

So new mission policy is to have EVERYTHING sent to the office- letters and packages alike. Besides that, our apartment isn't even registered with the post office and we don't have a mailbox.

I am still waiting on the packages but I am excited for when I receive them! There is a member here who has his birthday the same day! They said that if there's cake they'll invite us over. So who knows what will happen Wednesday!

So last Zone Conference (last Tuesday) we taught Effective Planning with the zone leaders. But the thing is... they got there late and the conference started late so by time the first zl finished it was supposed to be our turn to start... so let's just say that we couldn't do the activity we planned and I only had three minutes to talk about using the agenda to plan effectively and to plan conversion. 

Let's just say I talked really fast and personally I didn't think anyone got anything out of it. But the AP's started teaching right after and they mentioned my name and what I taught about planning conversion twice so at least they were paying attention to my three minutes. All well, hopefully next time will be better.

This week was a particularly rough week, so I really appreciate what Mom and Dad shared. I am so proud of you two! I am so proud that you ran a complete marathon! Way to go! I can't do that! Maybe I could walk that far, but definitely not run! Way to make a goal and go strong until the end. And that's only the first one! The next marathon will be easier and that's how it goes right?

So this week we had Conference on Tuesday. Wednesday we were with Hna. Garcia in the emergency from 11:30 am until 8:00 pm because she was really sick (she is doing tons better, so it all turned out alright.) the emergency rooms are crazy here. 

Then Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we did back to back exchanges with the sisters in Caguas. So I drove to Caguas four times this week. It's a 40 mile drive. 80 miles round trip four times in the week. On Thursday there was lot of traffic in Caguas. we didn't get back until 6:00... there wasn't much time to work. But I was able to be with Hna. Paniagua from the DR, and Hna. Gassaway from Arizona. They are both really neat sisters. 

Saturday I went out to work in Hna. Hoko's area because she had to stay home with Hna. Garcia all week. So it was fun to teach with her. It started pouring everytime we walked out of someone's house. We were soaking all day. Sunday after church and lunch I stayed with Hna. Garcia in the house and Hna. Gallardo and Hna. Hoko went out to work. I made brownies! But we don't have a normal cake pan (I am buying one today) so I did them in a mini muffin pan. they turned out looking like ebelskievers! 

Also we have some contacts that speak English and they are really nice and they said something about how being a Bilingual Nurse is a job that gets payed a lot and is always needed. Interesting. 

Also, Hna. Boucher told me that everything that has happened in the last 2 weeks with health problems is preparing me for something and that I could be a nurse. 

Also, Saturday night our recent convert Rosa died. She had been in the hospital since before I got to Guayama and she was fighting a lot of health problems. But now she is resting and we are happy she isn't suffering any more. Hna. Gallardo taught her and baptized her with Hna. Dye. Her funeral is tonight.

So in one of the few opportunities I had to go out to actually work I was able to teach one of our new investigators who has come to church 4 weeks in a row but it's hard to get an appointment with her. We taught all of L1 but it turns out that her member friend gave her Our Heritage and she read almost all of it and she new and understood the Restoration and Joseph Smith before we taught her... haha. She was REALLY excited to get a Book of Mormon and she is excited to read it! So that is really awesome!

We have one man with a baptismal date who read and does everything but he hasn't come to church in a while and is unsure about his date. He knows he is going to be baptized one day but says he isn't ready.

What is my favorite thing about Puerto Rico? The people I suppose! especially the members here in Guayama. I have learned a lot from their example of love and charity and faith. 

Well that is about it for this week. I am memorizing The Living Christ in Spanish with the rest of the mission. I am almost done with the second paragraph. (we had a lot of time in the emergency room)

I hope that you all have a wonderful week andd enjoy the reveal party for Baby Gough on Saturday! I am excited. Send pictures next Monday okay??!

xoxo Hermana Hardy

Lost In Translation

Hello Family!

So it turns out our zone conference is tomorrow! I am sure I will get the first BD package and I'll probably wait until the 27th of September to get the next one! That's okay.

So for investigators... we are in the finding phase right now. Remember the woman we found last week in the hospital? Well we went to go find her house... hahahahahaha.

She lives super far a way where we have permission to use the car and let's just say it was jungle and super hard to find and we got really lost because they don't have addresses here and in the end I took a turn just to see what we would find and we found a member outside his house! So then he and his daughter drove us around the entire area looking for this woman's house and we found it, then found the neighbor to verify and also tell us where the husband works so we could talk to him (the number we had for her wasn't in service) so we found the husband at his work and he gave us another number and in the end we were able to call her and make another appointment for the next week. haha. But these members were really awesome to help us out!

Lost in Translation Funny story: Last week when we went to go help a RC in the hospital eat her dinner my companion told me to cut or shre the meat that we were feeding her. Well.... she said "muelelo" which means "shred it". BUT.... I heard "huelelo" which is "smell it!" so I thought she wanted me to smell the chicken and tell the RC that it smelled good and help her have a desire to eat it....

So I went in to smell the chicken on the tray and there were about five other people in the room staring at me and my companion thought I had gone crazy because instead of cutting up the chicken I was smelling it. AWKWARD!

I haven't had very many animal experiences lately... there are a lot of cats here. Sorry! Well, yesterday after a lesson with a family of RC we played Memory which was themed with Puerto Rican birds. I learned a lot of more bird names and it was actually really hard because they all looked alike and that made memory difficult.

I ALMOST won.

This week I also chopped all my hair off! Okay, maybe just a couple inches. See pictures! 

We had a RS activity where someone's daughter and her beauty students came and gave us all free hair service and I opted for a hair cut and they straightened my companion's hair and everything. It was really fun!

Testimony meeting was pretty awesome. The members here are awesome.

And that's about it! This week Hna. Hoko was really sick so we took turns going on splits and taking care of her. She's feeling a lot better now but still pretty weak! 

Something I really liked this week was when a sister called us and she was feeling down because she was worried that she wasn't changing or learning here on the mission and I was able to talk to her and I told her that EVERY good decision we make we change a little bit for the better. Even though it's really small that we can't see it, we are always changing.

Have a wonderful week!

xoxo Hermana Hardy