Be an Example and a Light

Hello Everyone! Second to last email!

So our week was pretty great as well! Not as statistically amazing as last week. We did walk 9 miles yesterday.... and it was worth it because we had a very spiritual first lesson with a woman who seems like she just got it! It was very nice! We put our feet in hot water when we got home to make the weekly Sunday night calls to all the sisters. As far as the sisters, we found more investigators than even last week! They all worked really hard this week.

Today we had a sisters activity!! I am so glad I did one before I left! We went to Maunabo Lighthouse and it was amazing! We had the sisters read Pte. Monson's talk from GC, Be an Example and a Light, and have them choose attributes they want to develop to strengthen their lights to help other people. We also had them write their testimonies down and we put them in bottles and threw them in the ocean!! I will try to send pictures from H. Helmick's camera because I forgot my cord today! It was so much fun!

This week we also taught our inv. with a baptismal date but she didn't come to church... so we'll work for her to come this Sunday! I think my biggest commitment helper will be telling people it's my last Sunday, haha.

We had exchanges with both sets of the Caguas sisters this week! I was with Hna. Tanner, this is her first transfer. She is rocking Spanish! She also has such a Spirit and excitement with her that it made me excited! I was also able to work with H. Garcia from Nicaragua for one last time too! She was my last exchange. I love the sisters in our Zone. Each and everyone of them are amazing. I loved working with them and seeing all their different personalities and talents in the obra del Senor. 

We also had my last Zone Meeting and I taught about our mission culture and somethings we can do to improve our culture even more! It went really well. Our mission is amazing and I have seen it progress so much since I have been here, all thanks to Pte. and Hna. Boucher. I'm so excited for the future of this mission! I'm sad that my journey in PR and in the mission is ending here and I won't get to see what more miracles this mission will see but I am so grateful that I came and I'm grateful for everything I have seen here.

I am sorry to here about Brother Cundick. He was such a wonderful friend. He always made me feel so special. Did you know that every time I played in Sacrament meeting he would call me over the phone that day or that week and thank me and tell me how wonderfully I played? That takes such a special person to do that and it made me feel so loved and appreciated. I am sad that I will not be able to see him one last time. 

But I know that it is all in the timing of the Lord. and I am positive that in the Lord's Second Coming that Brother Cundick will be leading the angels' chorus. Please tell Charlotte that I love her very dearly and she and her family are in my prayers. It sounds like his funeral was quite beautiful.

You don't have to worry about preparing too much for me to come home! If you could just wash my bed sheets. Really that's all! I can take care of organizing my closet and everything. If you could just bring me a coat to the airport! That would be wonderful haha:) One of my red coats would be great, but I also think my brown pea coat goes better with my outfit. I am worried that all my clothes and skirts and blouses and dresses are all summer colors. I'm going to have a funny time adjusting to wearing winter colors!

I love you all so much! I can't wait to see you NEXT WEEK! So this is my official last week in the mission. I won't have time next week to actually work... next Monday I will be packing, Tuesday I will be driving sisters all over the island, Wednesday I will be in the office having auto sufficiency classes, and Thursday I will be on a plane and home to you! I am determined to make this the best week ever and enjoy every moment of working in the sun and teaching the people here in Puerto Rico. 

I love this mission. I'm sad to leave but I decided to just be happy and positive about it. Many missionaries get depressed before they go home and I figure that I could be panicking or really sad that it's coming to an end, or I could just appreciate that all good things end and appreciate my last moments instead of wasting them being sad! So I promise to be positive and happy! No matter what I have to come home! And of course I am excited to come home! So I'll just focus on the positive things and enjoy every moment!

I love you! I'll try to send photos!!

xoxo Hermana Hardy

Beans & Rice

Hello Family!!

Let me tell you about the Hurricanes Danny and Erika.

It was a storm alright... OF SUN!!! It was SOO hot!! It hardly rained where we are. It's a bit of a controversy because they said it was going to be a huge deal. But it wasn't for our part of the island. I do feel bad for the DR, they were hit really hard.

One night, I can't remember which, it started to rain a bit and the zone leaders called everyone to tell them to go inside. We had to go home 2 hours earlier than usual and it was hardly raining and I just about went crazy sitting inside. 

The next day was the best!! It was super cloudy but it didn't rain at all and we were thankfully able to work all day. I was happy because it wasn't hot.

This week for Pday!! Well we just went shopping. We live RIGHT next to the mall. We went to eat in the food court and when I started to eat my food I looked down and realized that I bought rice, beans, meat, chips, guacamole, and sour cream.

I don't know why I bought rice and beans on Pday!! I am going insane haha. But it was really good. Better than Burger King I say! that was the only other option.

We also saw a whole bunch of members today in the food court and they teased me because of the food I had and because it looked like a big plate. Which I thought was funny because what I had on my plate wasn't even half of what they give me to eat in their houses hahahahaha!!!! I love them so much. Really, the members here make Guayama Zion! They are our family.

We go on splits every week because we have five sets of sisters that we work with in a 6 week transfer. We don't do them the first week of transfer so that leaves us with one a week. 

Somthing humorous... I met three nuns this week! I guess it wasn't humorous but it was a fun experience!! Hna. Gallardo wanted to talk to them and we wanted to ask them questions about what they do but we were both too shy to talk to them but while we walked past we thought of a dumb question about the street name or whatever and then we started talking. They were really nice!! It turns out that these nuns are in social work with families. We helped them carry some boxes into the big catholic church. It was fun! They were really cool to talk to. One of them ran away from home to the convent at 17 and has been in the ministry for over 50 years.

My favorite teaching experience this week:

We had a miracle where we went to visit a 10 year old recent convert who knows more about the Gospel than I did before I came haha. She is doing alright, just some infection in her leg from a mosquito and they are operating today. 

But her cousin (thirty years old) was there to look after her while her mom was out. We read in the Bom with the little girl and she rocked it and understood and analyzed everything really well. The cousin is not a member but shared with us and in the end she told us that she feels that the Book of Mormon is true. 

We started explaining a bit of L1 and the little girl explained the first vision like I don't know what haha. Perfect future missionary. Anyways, we have a return appointment tomorrow and I am so excited to teach her! She's already accepted that the Book of Mormon is true and is willing to study it. YAY!!! 

She also shared with us a neat experience of how she is a cancer survivor. She had to have a bone transplant in her arm and she was number 1200 to receive one. The Holy Ghost came to her in a dream and touched her left hip and told her that is where they needed to take the bone for her transplant. The doctor didn't believe her when she told him but he did the analysis for that hip and found the bone matter that was compatible for her arm. Miracle! She is really prepared to accept the Gospel and has a lot of faith.

Something also funny: while we were in the middle of finishing 1 Nefi 7 and before starting chapter 8 two catholic missionary type people came in. They were going around visiting people and inviting them to believe and have faith in God. 

It was really funny because we accepted them with a lot of warmth and they were both staring at my name tag, really confused, and saw that all of us had a book of Mormon in our hands. Very nice people as well. But I'm telling you this 11 year old has more faith and knowledge than they realized. She is going to be fine.

Another hard but uplifting experience was with our other RC who is in the hospital. But she is 83 years old and has been there about a month. The thing is she doesn't like the food and refuses to eat so Hna. Gallardo and I went and figured out how to convince her to eat her dinner. She ate more than half of it in the end!! 

I had to promise her raisins in every bite with the potatoes carrots and meat. The prize was the apple juice! She can't eat salt because of her kidneys and dialysis, but she refuses to eat food without salt. But she likes sweet things like raisins and she is always thirsty but can only take some liquids. She really enjoyed the apple juice. But there were a whole bunch of us there cheering her on as Hna. Gallardo fed her. 

Yesterday almost all our RCs were in the hospital! One little girl (with her family there with her), the older woman, and then a family of RC were there to visit all of them!! It was a party in the hospital. I thought it was really neat that the family of RC came to visit all of the others. This ward is amazing.

I am glad Hannah enjoyed her Birthday!!! I can't believe she is already in Company at 14! Way to go Hannah!! I always said that she would be better than me haha:) She truly is our little rockstar! Get ready broadway!

I have my very first MLC this week. I am excited to see what it is like! (Mission Leader Council). From what I heard it is a very strong, spiritual meeting.

Well family, I love you so much!!

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL week! Take care!

xoxo Hermana Hardy

Happy Pioneer Day!!!

Hello Family!!!



We went to the Waterfalls today!!! It was so beautiful. Lots of fun. I will definitely bring the family here when we come back to visit so we can go swimming! Make sure you show the pictures to Grandma!

 

 

I am not sure if they really celebrate the 24th but we do have an activity and an amazing speaker from another ward is coming to speak to us. As far as I understand he is the Puerto Rican John Bytheway!

 

 

A few weeks ago in Zone Meeting our STLs told us that we needed to start inviting contacts in the street to be baptized! At first I was slightly incredulous and I had a bad attitude about it for about 20 minutes but I decided that since our leaders are inviting us to do it then Heavenly Father wants us to do it! So we started and it isn't too bad. 

 

I thought it would be really awkward and that we wouldn't know what to say but the very first time I just went for it and the Spirit helped me start a conversation about baptism, the restoration, and the invitation. The first one said she would have to find out more. The rest are so so. One problem is that often our contacts have to be really quick and there is no time to invite them before they run off. But I am determined to continue!

So we found a new part of our area and contacted a lot of people there and found some families! Then we took out a map and figured out it's not our side of San Sebastian-- Whoops! But the other sisters are happy and I am excited for them! They got a lot of references that week. 

The music in this ward.. haha. Well I play the piano every week and their piano is actually a keyboard and it is so quiet that no one can hear it while they are singing except those who sit closer. So I will not be doing a solo here because there is not really a point if no one can hear it. 

 

 

THIS week. Haha, so the pedal to the keyboard got messed up and when I went to play the intermediate hymn the pedal wouldn't work while I pressed on it, but when I let go all the notes would stay together like a normal pedal. So I had to reverse the way I play with the pedal and it was very complicated but I got used to it very quick. When the phrase needed a break I would step on the pedal and off really quick so the notes wouldn't run together so. Very interesting. Then at the end it was okay.

 

 

Last week we had an FHE and dinner with the Stake President and his family. I tried to do the egg in the bottle thing that worked in a lesson the week before but it didn't work as well this time... haha, it took the egg ten minutes to be sucked in! SO we did the latas endure to the end lesson which I will explain when I get home so you don't know what it is when I give you the puzzle.

 

 

Why is running 17 miles so normal for you?! That's crazy! You run more than I walk! Transfers are the 11th of August.  I received the shoes! They are so wonderful, thank you so much!  I tried chicken liver this week. Never again! :D  I can't wait to get Jonny's and Hannah's letters this week. Make sure you write them! haha :)

Have a wonderful week! We watched 17 miracles for our missionary activity this last week. It is such a strong powerful movie! I love it so much and every time I think about our pioneers I feel the Spirit very strongly. I am so grateful for them!

 

xoxo Hermana Hardy