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

Turn That Frown Upside Down :)

Hello Family!

 

 

We had one investigator come to church! She is slowly progressing.

Something really funny I haven't told you guys yet is about a sister in our ward. When I first got here she was not interested in helping us and all of that. Slowly we convinced her to drive us to her less active daughter's family.

 

HOWEVER, she was supposed to pick us up in the plaza and we were walking there when some other kind of investigator started talking to us and would not stop talking. (this was in Sept. or something) so this member was waiting forever for us and when she found us we got in the car and she was so mad and chewing us out. I didn't really understand what she was saying but I could tell she was unhappy and I didn't know what to do. I was in the back seat and she looked in the rearview mirror at me and my very first reaction was to smile really big and sweetly at her.

 

She gave me a funny look then said to my companion, "She doesn't understand what I'm saying does she?" and Hna. Gawrych said, "No she doesn't really understand spanish yet." That made the member laugh. Then we had a super spiritual lesson with her daughter and family.

Since then she has warmed up a LOT to us and is more willing to help us. It has been neat seeing her change and she absolutely loves me. Whenever she says something to me and I don't know what's going on I just smile. Then she laughs REALLY hard and grabs my shoulder and shakes me around and says "'OH, HARDY!!! HAHAHAHAHA.''

This happens a lot. She is also in Primary and was super happy to have me play the piano. At one point in our saludos she took my face in her hands and squished and wiggled my cheeks together and said something in Spanish and hugged me.

 

This past week we were visiting with her and before we went to go see her daughter she would see people in their houses or on the street and would stop the car and have us contact them, haha. She also likes to bring us taco maker and juice and treats when she visits with us and it is just so neat to see how much she has changed over the past few months where before she didn't want anything to do with us and now she treats us like her children.

 

She just thinks I am super funny with my smiles and not knowing what's going on. I think she thinks I am a bit of a ditz... but she loves me anyways. I told her the story in Spanish of how when I was little I thought Jonny ate the moon. She thought it was really funny and just says, ÖH HARDY! My favorite part is how she just laughs and laughs at me. I don't really know why, but as long as she is happy and willing to help us out I am happy!

 

 

Apparently I have a really expressive face now... Which is good and bad. One bad funny story is how one woman (who only speaks English) was going on about bills and whatnot and I was TRYING to make a concerned face and she thought I was judging her and called me out on it and I had to explain that I was just worried for her and not judging at all. Hna. Gawrych and all the sisters think that it's really funny haha.

I am going to practice my "concerned" face in the mirror this week.

 

Relief Society is in Spanish. They all talk at once. I am naughty and zone out sometimes but I will try to be better. The past four weeks I have been in Primary anyways to play piano and practice for their program, but now that's all over and we are back in Relief Society. Here Relief society is first and then sunday school then Sacrament. I will tell you more once I start understanding more. We did have our service project on Saturday, the men and young adults served in a school, cleaning out all this old stuff and whatnot abandoned whatnot. Women served in el hogar de ancianos, and we sang and shared scriptures. Older people are even harder to understand in Spanish and they didn't understand me either so that was fun. There was one old man who LOVED the Spanish Christmas songs they sang. He was tapping his feet and waving his hands and he was so excited.

 

 

They do not really have carpet here at all. Some people have rugs, but I haven't seen that very often. Pretty much every place in the pueblo has the exact same laminate flooring, haha. As far as funny manerisms I cannot think of any right now. I think it's because I've gotten used to them. They really do talk a whole awful lot here. It's hard sometimes to teach and get stuff done. They are very dramatic here. they exxagerate a lot haha. If someone waits for you for 5 minutes, they say they've been there for half an hour or more.

 

That makes me laugh that Hermana Boucher thought I was talking about Dad. I sent them a text saying that the package was from my AUNT, I didn't say anything about dad or uncles haha, we have a zone conference this week so I will clarify then:)

I did receive the medicine! Thank you so much! I also found gummy vitamins in Walgreens. I didn't buy them because they seemed expensive but I might today because it is probably the same price that you guys would have to pay to send it down here!
 

Penelope looks like Perry! Is she a black cayuga too? she even has white feathers! Is she cuddly?

The Rhapsody of Hymns is my favorite and I would LOVE those other ones you mentioned. The yellow christmas book should be in the bench, it is a skinny one, really simple songs. I used it for What Child is This and Silent Night (they are the last two songs.) The very first song is Have yourself a very merry christmas or whatever it's called.

 

 

I loved the Puerto Rican pumpkin!! Beautiful work! Good luck with your test this week Jonny and with the job you want! You will ROCK it! There should be a bulletin with all the music performances going on at the U and in the community. Right now is a great time to find a Jazz performance because I bet everyone is doing their senior recitals around this time. It shouldn't be too hard to find one to go

to.

 

 

I am carving a ring out of a coconut shell! I had my first real coconut this week and the elders opened it with a machete for me.

This week someone gave us 100% juice! MIRACLE!

I love you all! Take care and remember to SMILE!

 

 

xoxo Hermana Hardy

The Waving Campaign

Hello Family!!!
 

 

Transfers were last Tuesday. They tell us the Sunday night before. Next transfers are December 2 and I will probably stay here because Cabo Rojo is the furthest you can get from San Juan and people usually stay here for a long time. (random thought, if you haven't sent my one book of arrangements yet, can you also send the yellow christmas arrangement book as well?)

I played the piano for the Primary Program yesterday! It went very well. I learned a lot of new songs the past few weeks and it was great. Now the Primary President is a lot more willing to go out on visits with us :)

As far as toys or games I haven't seen anything different here than in Utah. Sports, video games, smart phones, etc. I played hopscotch with a little girl last week when her mom's car broke down (we were all on our way to a lesson) so we didn't have a lesson that night but we did draw with chalk in the plaza! I will try to send a picture. There is a hand sing song game that some girls taught us and is funny. It took me a while to pick up the words but they are pretty much nonsense anyways.

I think the best thing I have had was lasagna that a member made for us!! haha, it really was the best lasagna I have ever had. But lasagna is also a rarity here. Umm, I think I really love fried plantains. Any fried fruit like that is called a tostone, so yesterday I had tostone de pana, which is a pretty starchy fruit like everything else. I liked it just fine, but the elders had gone on about how good it is so when I actually tried it it wasn't as good as they had led me to believe haha. I LO VE aguacate though too. AND last night they gave us APPLEJUICE!!! wahoo! I was so excited, no one drinks apple juice here!

I do receive all of Grandma's letters! They make me so happy:) It only takes 3 days for letters to get to me! Pretty awesome!

An interesting event and a spiritual message! Yesterday NOTHING worked out. We ran all over town for all these lessons that were supposed to be member presents but all the member's cars broke down this week (seriously, a whole bunch of them) so we were going to have normal lessons but no one was home. The only thing that worked out was a half active family (husband active, wife not).

 

That lesson was pretty amazing and simple. If we had had all those other lessons we may not have been able to have that lesson. We think that everything fell through just so we could visit that family and give them the lesson they needed to get comfortable with us so we can help them get back to church and progress to the temple (people LOVE the picture of our family and of mom and dad on their wedding day outside the temple). They were the ones that had apple juice too! And doughnuts from Krispy Kremes! They have doughnuts here but they aren't the same as Krispy Kremes (which is in Mayaguez). So my message is that sometimes things fall apart because Heavenly Father really does have another, much bigger, purpose for us.

This weekend President and Hermana Boucher dropped off something for me! Haha, apparently Hermana Boucher ordered something from the LDS art store and aunt Joann saw the order and called Hermana to ask to send something to me with the package of art! So I received goldfish and the most beautiful bookmarks to give out! Tell Joann and Grant I say hello and thank you so much!

 

 

I am so grateful for all of you and your prayers for me! There are lots of ups and downs but I am loving it here! Waking up in the morning is pretty easy (most of the time) because it is so light outside early in the morning.

Did I already tell you guys about The Waving Campaign? Well, I realized a month ago that I tend to look at the ground while I walk around so I made it a goal to start waving at all of the cars that drive by us so that I don't look down. So we started to smile and wave at every car. Then we started counting how many people wave back at us and I reported the numbers to President just for fun and he loved it. He calls it the Waving Campaign and always asks about it now and thinks it's great. My original goal was just to meet someone one day that recognized us as the girls who waved at them. Well now about the whole town knows us and people start to honk and wave at us before we even start waving at them! People also honk and wave at the other sisters because they think they are us, hehehehe. So that's pretty cool. We have been bad at counting lately but I think our record one day was over 60- pretty awesome.

I hope you all have an awesome Halloween- send me pictures of the pumpkins!!

I can't believe Hannah has a triple turn on the left side- get out!! haha, that is awesome! Hannah, you should write me a letter and let me know what all your rehearsal schedules are like and what dance at school is like, and about your friends and EVERYTHING! write as much as you like please!

I have coconuts and the elders are going to tell me how to carve a ring out of a coconut! I am excited!

I don't know what else to say! There is so much and I am just so happy here and I still feel like it's July haha.

I want to give everyone a BIG hug and tell them that I love them. I am so grateful for everything that you have taught me.

I love you all!!

 

 

Hermana Hardy

Walked... And Walked... And walked...

Hola Familia!
 

It's been quite a week. I think the best thing that happened was that with a couple of investigators I have been able to see a change in them. Really, just a tiny tiny bit in each. If I wasn't paying attention, I wouldn't have known. One (the birthday party one with the 5 year old) was at first really difficult to teach because he has some pretty intense theories about churches in general. Slowly, however, he is starting to change. Another is a woman has changed a bit too. Honestly these two people are some of the most opinionated and firm (kinda stubborn) people but it is wonderful to see how the Spirit can change a heart little by little and they can't even see that change yet :)

Something funny... Well we walked about 8 miles one day... (around that much, I had a ruler and a map and I had to convert meters to feet to miles) That was crazy. For the last 2 miles that we would have walked a woman picked us up. She was a 7th day Adventist (They are very firm in their beliefs). She and her husband saw us and said "Those are either Mormons or Jehova Witnesses, because no one is crazy enough to walk along this long road at night." They also called us hardcore and apologized for thinking that we were Jehova Witnesses. She was very kind and had taught herself English and was very firm in telling us that whatever we need we can call her so we never walk so far again and on. A lot of people in Puerto Rico recognize us as people of God and respect us for that even if they won't listen to our message.

Let's just say that with that one day of walking I will need a hip replacement by time I'm thirty :)

Our schedule: I wake up at 6:30 and exercise. Prepare and eat 7:00, personal study 8:00, companionship at 9:00, idoma at 10:00, doce semanas (my training) at 11:00, 12:00 lunch, 1:00 out the door! We return by 9:00 pm to plan and bed at 10:30.

After my training is over we will go out earlier in the day. We are technically supposed to have a dinner hour later in the day which we usually don't take. On Wednesday nights for the past 2 weeks we do take that dinner hour at 8:00 and go to Taco maker because it is their half off night. Best burritos EVER!!!!

Send me a pic of the duck house? I don't believe Dad when he says its the size of a barn. I don't really have a preference for a color watch! Suprise me! My favorite colors are green (not light or lime) yellow pink and red. and purple. ha, yeah.

I am glad Hannah is having a good time dancing and making lots of friends! The best part about that is linking friend groups all together instead of staying in just one :) That isn't me holding the lizard. I tried and it jumped away! It's living somewhere in our apartment. I DID catch a coquí though! Haha! I don't have a picture with it though :( next time!

Last Tuesday was an interesting day. We had a lesson with a woman. We handed her the Book of Mormon and before we invited her to read it she started saying no puedo no puedo no puedo. She downright refused. Eventually, it got to a point where I knew that I needed to bear testimony to her but it was so hard to get her to stop freaking out about how she isn't ready to read it. Eventually my companion said ESCUCHALE!

I was able to bear my testimony and I can't explain how strong the Spirit was in those few moments. I KNOW she felt it too. She admitted that we had the power of God but still refused to read. I think that was both the highest point of my mission so far, to feel the Spirit bearing testimony to her through me, but also the lowest so far because she wouldn't hearken to it. So she handed the book back and said that she wasn't ready to read it at this time in her life. It was very disappointing and discouraging to see someone downright refuse to listen to the Spirit but I suppose she's right, she isn't ready yet. Hopefully in the future.

It feels like so much happened to all of you this week! Good luck with your new job Geoff! Congratulations! Also, right on Jonny for moving out. I am sorry you have cold showers at the moment haha. I know I said I would send pictures from the house and town... that will be next week :D Baptism wise the goal for the entire mission is to have at least one baptism every month and at least one reactivation. We have been working super hard and the pressure is on to have one before the end of October but right now it looks a little thin. We had planned for a lot of investigators to come last Sunday but only one came... but it was still great! the testimony meeting was very spiritual.

Oh! Lexie and Geoff thanks so much for your package!! I also received a package from Aunt Jenny and the Robert's family! I was so surprised :)

I need to go. Just so you know there are a LOT of federal holidays on Mondays in the PR so it is going to be perfectly normal for me to be writing on a Tuesday especially coming up on Christmas season. Apparently the library is closed all the time then so we will have to ask permission from President to use a member's or something. We will see! I love you ALL so much. I know you will all be blessed for your service.

I would like to ask EVERYONE who reads this to find a friend that is not LDS and invite them to church and to meet with the missionaries before Christmas (because the best gift you can give is the Gospel to another person:))
Buena Suerte!

xoxo Hermana Hardy

P.S. If Jonny's emails get any longer tell him to send me a letter :) actually, everyone is welcomed to send lots of letters haha:) I also want to answer everyone's questions as fully as a can. Love you all!

Tender Mercies

Hello Family!

 

 

I cannot describe how amazing Conference was! The sunday morning session was totally all about prophets and authority and that was amazing for our investigator to listen to that! I loved how they had so many speakers who were able to speak in their native languages. I think that is so special. I liked Jorg Klebingat's talk a LOT. I have lots of other favorites. A lot of talks reminded me of things in my patriarchal blessing. There was some cool revelation for after my mission as well as during it. I also liked all the ones that spoke about light and truth. Absolute truth is found in God. Also, Elder Martinez who spoke in Spanish? He is totally from Puerto Rico. AND, he came to speak to us in the MTC (he spoke about obedience and I have lots of notes about it) and I was able to meet him and his wife and shake their hands!

 

We live with the other sisters in our district 2 streets away from the Plaza. It is a pretty nice place and we like it. We all sleep in one room (2 regular beds and 1 bunkbed) then my closet and study room is in another room. I'll send pictures next week! There is a huge catholic church right in the middle of the plaza. There are lots of stores all around and parking is crazy. As we move out from there it is more like regular neighborhoods. Cabo Rojo is a mix of crazy busy and lazy roads upish a mountain.

 

I eat a lot of bananas and mangos and aguacate. I need to eat the aguacate with other foods or else my mouth will start to itch but it is so amazing here!

 

 

Right now we really only have 2 or 3 investigators that are progressing. One is the man I told you about before with the 5 year old daughter (we went to her b-day party). He's a tough one but we had an amazing lesson yesterday in between sessions of General Conference. He was able to listen to Elder Bednar's talk. Wahoo! I made BINGO for his daughter. She only ate 5 jelly beans and then threw up. She felt fine afterwards though. I think it needed to happen so that he could see all of the missionaries (our entire district watched in English with him) take care of his daughter (we all sprang into action to clean up and make sure she was okay) I think he appreciated that a lot. We are certain that the way to open up his heart to the message of the Gospel is through his daughter because he loves her so much!

We are teaching a woman named Glory who is very special. She doesn't want to commit to a church though. However she does think that it's amazing and beautiful that families can be sealed together so we are teaching her L2 next and then maybe we can get into baptism. Hopefully after we baptize her she will be able to get to her husband. They have a very good relationship, he just has his own way of practicing religion.

Another woman is very special and religious. She accepted the entire plan of salvation easy. She won't however accept that the person who baptized her before didn't have the authority and she refuses to be baptized again because there is ''önly one baptism''. I tried to explain that one baptism means baptism is only valid with the one authority. She still thinks that she only needs to be baptized once though. We will continue to teach her.

Another woman and her friend fell off the grid the past few weeks but they came to the afternoon session yesterday! Wahoo! Hopefully we can start teaching them again.

We have some more but that's about it. The majority of lessons we have is with less actives. which is good, but we are technically supposed to focus on finding and teaching and baptizing and we need to find a happy balance.

Tender mercy this week. Well I will tell you about my favorite one. Monday in the cave we were having our zone meeting. It was a bit hard to follow all in Spanish and I just started thinking about how much I really wanted to hug dad. I miss your hugs so much dad. As soon as I had that thought I could feel the Spirit place his hand on my left shoulder. It was so specific down to the timing and the placement and I knew that the Holy Ghost was reminding me that He was there. I would then pay attention to the meeting until I thought about dad again and I had the same impression on my shoulder. This happened a couple times and I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost and the comfort that He gave me. He reminded me that even though I don't have dad right here I have his prayers and my Heavenly Father here to watch over me as well. I love you so much dad, thank you so much for everything you have taught me and have done for me. Thank you so much for the strength your teachings give me every day here in Puerto Rico.

About my watch: It was crazy raining on us and there is water still in it (after 2 weeks) I will try to find another one or a new battery.

Be careful biking mama! Do you and dad have new bikes for your marathon stuff? Send my love to the McBrides and the Lloyd family. Thanks for serving everyone you come in contact with mama. You are such an amazing example.

Hannah, you make me laugh! Be careful not to hit your heels on the floor. I know it's how you walk as a soldier but don't be too rough! Who teaches your rehearsals? I am glad you aren't stressed. Keep up the good work! Remember it is ALWAYS best to do your homework as SOON as you get home from school. Even if something isn't due until the next week. This will solve lots of problems and you won't lose any sleep. I know you're tired when you get home but if you put your mind to it you will be able to rest after you finish:)

I love you all so much! Please stay safe and enjoy the changing of the leaves! Everything is green and hot here.

 

 

Hermana Hardy

Testimonio de Jesucristo

Hello Family!
 

I am very sorry to hear that Perry is gone. It doesn't really feel very real right now.

I have some very random questions to ask first:

What is a bird dog from the exercises mom sent me? Where is the transmission and power steering levels in a 2011 Toyota Corolla because it's not in the owner's manual :)

YES we eat with members! Fortunately our weekly Sunday appointment Hermana Rivera always makes sure that she gives me the right amount instead of too much which is very thoughtful of her. Sometimes it's really hard to finish all the food people give us because they pile so much on and it is literally quite painful to my tummy to finish all of it. Sometimes Hermana Gawrych helps finish or if the Elders are with us they will finish. I am eating very healthy here when I fix my own food. Really all we eat with members is rice beans and chicken.

 

I am very grateful for the members though. This last Sunday we had a member who has decided that we have to eat too much rice and beans so she made us mashed potatoes and meatloaf and corn! Wahoo! It was the best meal I've had yet :) It reminded me so much of home. Of course we had puerto rican things too at that meal, we had avocado (aguacate). The aguacate here is unreal mama, you need to try it one day. It is so amazing and I think my body is used to it because it doesn't make my mouth itch as much anymore!

Honestly our P-days have been way different for the past 3 weeks so I will answer that question in a few months.

We walk a couple miles each day depending. There is one part of our area that is 2 hours walking so we haven't gone there yet. Sometimes we will get rides. There are places we have to get rides to but it's hard to find them sometimes.

Voy a compartir mi testimonio para ustedes en español. Yo se que Jesucristo es nuestro salvador y redentor. Yo se que El es mi redentor y salvador personalmente. Tambièn yo se que el Libro de Mormòn es verdadero porque lo he leido y orado a saber que es verdadero. Dios me contestò con el Espìritu Santo y sentimientos de paz y amor en mi corazon. Yo sè que el Evangelio de Jesucristo es muy sencillo. Dios tiene un plan para todos sus hijos y solo tenemos que guardar los mandamientos y seguir el ejemplo de Jesucristo. Es dificìl a veces a entender el amor de Dios y como podemos usar el Expiaciòn pero yo sè que todo es posible a travès el Espìritu Santo. Solo tenemos que escuchar a los sentimientos de paz que nos da. Me encanta mi familia y sus testimonios. Estoy muy agradecidas por ustedes y su amor para mi. Yo sè que el Evangelio de Jesucristo es la vìa para nosotros a regresar a Dios. Digo estas cosas en el nombre de Jesucristo Amen.

Women's Conference was AMAZING! I have thoughts and thoughts about it. I loved how Pres. Uchtdorf said that just because we are Children of God and we have a divine heritage doesn't mean we have a free pass to eternal life. We have to work for it!! Also, will you send me all the words to my favorite things? It's stuck in my head a lot and I can't remember some lines in one of the verses!

I am on my way to the post office to pick up my package from Lexie right after this!

I will get some pictures of the every day stuff :) We have around 60 people in church on a good day. We have to walk 30 minutes to get to our ward building, but sometimes we get rides on Sundays. To get there walking we have to go through el camino de perros which is realy sketchy and dank and nasty so we try not to walk through there at night (It even has bones from the meat that the dogs eat).

 

I'm also a bit more scared of dogs now. Our Mutual is Friday night after our English class. The Puerto Ricans NEVER stop talking. I have more thought on that and no time to write, but I need to be more bold in lessons because it's a time waster. I can understand sisters from Honduras and Peru and such. Puerto Ricans are so difficult to understand though. WAY too fast.

The flashlight story woman is nice. She is Catholic and isn't necesarily receptive but invited us back. We taught her part of lesson 2 last time because her husband died recently. We will see her again this week. Our guy from the birthday party came to church and we had a lesson with him after. He is a tough one. His daughter went to Primary with us. I am playing piano for their program in November. She hated singing time... Also she only really speaks English and that's hard for her and the Primary.

WAHOO SOLOIST HANNAH!!! That is so neat. I know that the plan of Salvation has a purpose for Perry as well. I am sorry that I can't be home with all of you, I know it's really hard. Take Spanish next year!!!

Funny traditions? Well the people are afraid of rain and of lightning and thunder. Which is weird because it's been raining a lot recently. Last Friday we had to cancel the English class because there was a storm and every one freaks out. A member drove us home and the Bishop told us that we had to stay inside for the rest of the night. That storm was pretty bad so we listened to the Bishop. But other than that the rain is fine. I don't know why they freak out!

Yesterday I was able to buy a pillow! I am really excited about that. The library was closed Monday because of the fiesta patronales that was in the plaza next to our apartment. We didnt'go at all because there were lots of drunk people. But they did light off fireworks and cannons. It's been going on for 5 days. But now it's over. Monday morning at 5 am they were lighting off cannons!! It was going on ALL night long. Ridiculous but all well. I also used the birthday money from Grandpa and Grandma Hardy to buy a yoga mat! I am so excited because the ground kinda bruises my back when I do my excercises but not any more!

I am afraid I have some things to ask for...
 

Could you send me my book of music arrangements? or a few of them. My favorite one has I know that my redeemer lives in the first page. I am also almost out of Epiduo and gummy vitamins. AAAND my watch stopped working! It wasn't water proof I guess and we were rained on a lot one day and it stopped :( I'm sad. I'm not sure where to go to buy a new one though. We are in the Pueblo and maybe once in a while we can go to Walmart in Mayaguez but not often. It's hard to find people to give us rides too.

Dad: maybe you could type and send your journal entries to me in the mail? If you use my Cabo Rojo address it is very reliable because it's the U.S. Postal system.

This past P-day we totally went to some national forest with our Mayaguez Zone for a hike and to visit a cave! I love you all so much. Take care!

Hermana Hardy

Feliz Cumpleaños Hermana Hardy!!!

Hello Everyone!!

 

 

Mom and Dad: Did you get the email from Hermana Boucher with the pictures? I hope so! [Sue: we didn't :( ]

There is so much to tell you, I cannot even think of where to start! Well, we left the MTC at 5:15 and got to the airport where I called you (I was so happy to hear your voices) and the flight to Puerto Rico was only an hour.

 

We met Pres. and Hermana Boucher outside and the first thing he said to me was "How's our favorite Titan". I totally fell for it too, he knows I'm a Ram.

 

But anyways. If you hold out your left hand in front of your face with your thumb held close that is a map of Puerto Rico. Cabo Rojo is at the heel of your hand :) other than that I have no idea where I am.

 

It was a 2-3 hour drive from San Juan to here. We didn't get in until 11:30 so I was exhausted. You will all be glad to know that my bag that I brought is water proof, tried and proven in the rain. I'm so glad that it is or else I would have found out the hard way :)

Also, when I arrived at the mission home someone said, "Hermana Hardy? Oh, you're the one with all the packages." So yeah, I have all of them :) I have not opened up my presents though! I am waiting for tomorrow! I opened the package from Jonny first because I had no idea what it would be. I almost started crying and I did start laughing when I realized they were his basketball shorts!! Thank you so much. Having these shorts brings me so much comfort and I am so grateful for you Jonny and surprised at how quick you sent them out! We also love the Greenie package!

My trainer is Hermana Gawrych and she is from Sandy Utah!! I will try to send a picture. She studied at UVU nursing before coming here. She has a twin brother who is serving in Mexico. She is very sweet and patient with me.

 

Why were mom and Geoff in emergency blankets?? Are you guys okay? I am so proud of you! Jonny, start running with Mom and Dad. [Sue: they gave us Mylar blankets to keep warm before the start of the half marathon. We looked like 2500 baked potatoes sitting on the ground jaja :) ]

As far as language: I don't understand what the Puerto Ricans are saying. I can speak Spanish at them all day long but when it comes to listening to them I have no idea. The only thing I can do is bear my testimony. So story...

We were contacting in the streets in between lessons. We started talking to a woman when a man came up and just went on and on and on. I didn't understand much but I did understand that he was a part of a different church and he has some pretty strong opinions about Joseph Smith and the like. He really did go on forever.

 

While he was talking I began to feel so sad that he would not pause and let us speak to him. I began to feel the Spirit so strongly and I knew that I needed to bear my testimony of Joseph Smith. I tried to when he finished talking but he didn't give me a chance. He shook our hands and ran off. So I bore my testimony to the woman that had been standing next to him. I think she felt the Spirit. I hope so.

 

It was very upsetting to me because how on earth am I going to be able to bear testimony and teach people if they won't even listen to me! However I have learned since then that it is my responsibility to talk and bear testimony to people and their responsibility to open their hearts. Since then there have been a few people who have listened to my testimony!

We had a lesson yesterday afternoon. It was to an older couple. All the lessons before that (besides one lesson about the Word of Wisdom) I hadn't been able to contribute much besides my testimony because I didn't understand what was going on. But this time I recited the First Vision and I KNOW that they felt the Spirit because they told us so. It was so wonderful.

 

Also, the WOW lesson I was able to help teach a lot! It was amazing because that morning this woman had run out of coffee and had a strong impression that she shouldn't drink it anymore. Then we taught her, and she was so receptive and accepting of it! Wahoo! That was amazing:)

Okay... I hate to gross you all out pero... Well, our living conditions are pretty good. We live on the second floor in an apartment. We have stairs that are pretty steep but not too bad. We clean and we are all clean people anyways. But there is a bit of a bug problem. I am used to all the little brown ants however and they don't bother me.

 

However, Sunday morning I was making my breakfast. I was really excited because it was my favorite flavor of oatmeal (apple cinnamon, in the instant oatmeal packs) and I opened it and poured it into a bowl. I don't want to underplay it and I am not exagerating. There was a SWARM of baby cockroaches all crawling about in my oatmeal. Now, before coming here I would have screamed.

 

Surprisingly, my first reaction to this was sadness because it was the last packet of apple cinnamon and it was a waste of food. We try to put most of the food in the fridge but now the fridge doesn't work so our milk (which is a whole six dollars a gallon oh mi madre) went bad so that is sad too. They have gone through 3 fridges in the past 2 weeks and now we have to call our dueno again. Fortunately he is really nice and helpful!

I am so proud of you Hannah!! Way to be a soldier! I am so excited :) Chikungungya comes from mosquitos. I am putting lots of repellant on. The only thing is that I sweat it all off. I have been eaten alive but it takes 12 days for chik symptoms to appear so I will let you know ;) I am feeling great.
 

I HAVE NEVER SWEAT SO MUCH IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. I cannot describe it. It does not bother me though. Beside mascara I have given up on makeup because there is no way. Makeup for church and pictures but that's it. My skin is fairly clear so I don't look too bad.

 

It is hard to find time to write in my journal. I am trying to do better because there is so much I want to write! Apparently this is a wait gaining mission. I will do those exercises and mark my words, I refuse to gain more than 10 pounds. I am keeping myself accountable for this by writing it in this email :) wish me luck.

Church was wonderful and a bit overwhelming. They made me introduce myself over the pulpit and all the old women (some just recently baptized) would follow me around and continually speak to me. !Linda linda linda! is what they usually say and they all think I am beautiful. I like it here. OH, the couple I was telling you about with the First Vision? She kept on staring at me and told my companion that I look really familiar. Then she said that she likes looking at my face too :) So that is nice.

I am out of time, I will try to send pictures really fast.

What is my pin for my mission card? I think I have it confused with my normal one. I haven't needed it yet though.

I love you! I am going to miss you on my birthday!!

Hermana Hardy

Attack of the Chickens

Hola Familia!!

 

Okay, so proselyting. I cannot describe the things that I saw and I am just so grateful to have a wonderful family and we are so spoiled in our big home and big and clean streets.

My splits companion's name was Hermana Sanchez. She is from the DR and she speaks English very well. It was great because she would speak to me in Spanish and make me practice but she could also describe things to me in English. She has one week left in the field so hopefully I will have her again when we go proselyting again tomorrow! We were out from 1:30-8:00. We were set up with our companions and then we walked a bit until we got to the busiest road I've seen yet and we took a taxi van thing for about 10 minutes or so.

 

Let me tell you about this van. It has three rows of seats in the back and you can fit about 20 people in there by squishing everyone in without seat belts and then you hang on for dear life. It started to rain while we were in the van and when we were dropped off. We were by an intersection and Hna Sanchez grabbed my hand and started running through the crosswalk and I know there were lights but people don't really follow them here so that was an interesting and life flashing before my eyes experience.

 

Then it started POURING!!!! And we walked and walked and walked. Until we arrived at our area. The apartment for the sisters was nice but we were proselyting in the slums. The streets were skinny, rocky, dirty, and there were all sorts of animals running around. My companion would literally hold my hand anytime we didn't have a "sidewalk" to use so I wouldn't get hit by a car. She also wouldn't tell me what the men were yelling at me. I am not going to try to explain what the living areas were like but they were very humble.

Our first appointment fell through, but we were in a little alley way and I was almost attacked by a chicken and it was the skinniest chicken I've ever seen. There were a lot of chickens in the streets too.

 

Our next lesson was with a young man (maybe 15-16) and his father or grandfather. They were both so receptive and sweet. I was able to share James 1:5 with them (we were teaching the Restoration) and I bore my testimony to them. AND THEN Hna Sanchez had me explain the pamphlet that we were giving them for next time and I think I did an okay job because she nodded and said good job.

 

 

The super tall guy is Elder Parker and he is 6'9". Hermana Johnson is the other girl and she is the only person I am taller than! Wahoo! She is super sweet:)

 

We taught another family, a woman with her mother and grandmother and it was about the Plan of Salvation and the mother just kept on nodding and saying that it made sense that we lived with Heavenly Father and that He has a plan for us. I shared Jeremiah 1:7 with them!! I tried to bear testimony but a little boy was being super loud and so I think they understood what I said and they were surprised to hear that I had only been there 4 weeks because they think I am speaking pretty well!

 

Another family we taught was from Haiti! They are learning Spanish too and the husband spoke better than his wife. We taught her how to pray in Spanish and it was an AMAZING experience. I also bore my testimony about prayer and I can honestly say that I used words in Spanish that I have not learned yet and I know that the Holy Ghost definitely had my back. That was my most spiritual experience this week. Their children were super cute as well!! The little girl kept on wanting to shake my hand:)

Also, I was able to try some fruit! Do you guys remember the fruit that we bought at Harmon's and Jonny was super excited because he had them in Nicaragua? Those were spiky though right? Well I had some fruit like that only the outside was smooth and green, and the fruit was really sweet and there was a huge seed that you can't eat. I THINK it is called limonosa or something with an L.

 

I also tried manzana de oro. Hna Sanchez said it in English first and I thought she said goat apple. But then she said it in Spanish and it's gold apple. It was hard to eat because it had spines coming from the middle that you have to chew around but it was amazing!! Also, my clothes never really dried completely but I was never uncomfortable so that was nice. I wish I brought more light cotton blouses that are durable. 

 

 

Okay. Fun stories with these pictures. The other day our water jug thingies were all dried up. So I was bringing a new jug (you know, the big ones that they have for offices) down the stairs and down the hall because there were no Elders for Hna. Jennings and I to ask. THEN a whole bunch of elders walked into the hall and one of the native speakers flipped out because I was carrying a huge jug of water by myself and they were all shocked that a little sister would be doing that herself. They told me in Spanish that the only water I'm allowed to carry is my water bottle. It was pretty funny. So they took it from me and laughed for a good ten minutes about it and that's why there's a picture of me and Elder Mongaña showing off our muscles.

 

I am so excited to start proselyting in Puerto Rico. I fly out this Tuesday!

Way to run 12 miles!! Good luck on the 14th! That sounds miserable but I am so proud of you Mom and Dad! Tell Mike and Anne congratulations for me! I am sorry I missed your dance concert and birthday Hannah, but I know you did amazing!

The food is pretty interesting here. I've had to be careful about eating somethings because they have so much onions and peppers but I am doing alright. I have been eating a lot of bananas lately. My living quarters here are now HUGE to me since going out in the field. They are also way way bigger than BYU dorms so that's nice too! Everything fits in nicely, our closets are small but it's not like I have a lot of clothes you know? I have never heard of Swiss Days before Lexie! It sounds cute.

Jonny, the thing about flies and bacteria is gross but that makes a lot of sense. There are always flies around here. There are also mosquitos but it takes 12 days to find out if you have Chikungungya so keep your fingers crossed. If you need motivation to work out then just think about me exercising at 6:30 in the morning!!!

 

FAMILY: If anyone could email me some ideas for short workouts (20-25 minutes) and a couple variations that would be great so I don't get bored with my workouts. Jonny, treadmills are awful. Try yoga. I have taught some Sister yoga classes here. It's pretty fun.

 

Emailing is interesting because the missionaries before our time go WAY over so I have to wait a while and then we go from 3-4 but dinner is at 5 so they let us stay in and finish. It's a bit sketchy. There are 54 missionaries here right now and we have 20 computers with 2 districts at a time. Right now all of the computers are taken but there are only 8 people per district. There are people who have been here for three hours.

 

I don't know what my email conditions will be like in Puerto Rico Jonny, but since we always right big sections for each other then you can do a separate email if you want! Puerto Rico also uses the US postal system so bring on the letters!! You can try sending letters from "different boys" but I don't think anyone will believe that I have that many guys writing to me. But thanks for the offer hahahaha.

I am so glad you had an awesome birthday Hannah! We are playing Lego Hobbit again in a few years kay? I am so proud of you and I am not surprised that you are dancing and singing well above your age. I am making sure to smile lots. I probably smile and laugh WAY too much because my district is HILARIOUS. We need to tone it down a bit. Sometimes they laugh at my jokes too but whatever. Alexis, I told your Benji (sp?) joke to the sisters we share a room with and I got some pity laughs!! Wahoo!

I love you ALL so much! I think about you everyday. It is a DR custom for women to kiss on the cheek before hugging and I told one of the sister teachers that that's what I do with my Mama! So she says that whenever I need a hug and kiss from my mama that I can go to her:)

Keep on rocking it familia. Enjoy school. Enjoy our countless blessings and keep the people of both the DR and Puerto Rico in your prayers.

Love you!

 

 

Hermana Hardy

Hermana Bonita

Hola Familia!

 

The language is going along pretty well! I still don't really understand the native teachers when they speak REALLY fast and they have to slow down for the rest of us.

 

We all went contacting at the University that is a few blocks away from us. We bore our testimonies to a lot of people walking around and passed out folletos and even a Book of Mormon! I really did not understand anything anyone said to me, but they understood what I was trying to say so that is good, yeah? There were a few men that may or may not have hit on me. We don't really know what they said but one of them wouldn't let go of my hand immediately after we shook hands and he kept saying bonita bonita! jajajajaja.

 

I am not dreaming in Spanish yet. However the second week in I would dream that I was translating English into Spanish so I would dream of the sentence in English then I would wake up and translate it into Spanish. It was exhausting. I didn't sleep very well doing that. Now I am sleeping like a rock! or a log. Take your pick!

Another story I would like to share is when we were teaching our "investigator" last night. I had been feeling so sick and feverish right before teaching him but right after we started with our prayer I began to feel much better and my head went to a small ache and we were able to teach him. I can't remember what I said to him but it was such a spiritual lesson about the Priesthood and the Holy Ghost and it was absolutely amazing. After the lesson I began to feel worse but that's not the important part. It's that even though I am so imperfect in so many ways and my body is weak the Lord will still find ways to work through me because of the eternal importance and divinity of our brothers and sisters who have not yet received the Gospel of Jesus Christ yet.

 

My shoes are working out great! I wore my proselyting shoes out contacting and I have some very beautiful blisters that are now turning into calluses! Which I consider a blessing. Also, blisters don't bother me anyways so I am great. I did wear my comfortable shoes for a few days after though :)

 

I am fairly certain I have enough pesos thank you! It turns out that they can exchange money here but it takes a couple days and I am so glad that we were prepared and followed the instructions in our book.

 

I haven't seen any exotic creatures yet! But they do have beautiful flowers that Hermana Freestone puts in the hallway of the CCM. They make me so happy and I can name all of the exotic flowers because of my floral design class.

 

Something that brought me immense joy this week was a musical number given at the devotional on Tuesday. Hermana Jennings and I are in charge of all the music (some people call us the lady AP's but I'm pretty sure that's not a real thing) and we asked Hermana Johnson and Hermana Sorensen to sing a number for us. They sung "Have I Done any Good in the World Today?" in Spanish and it was so beautiful. The part that touched me the most was when they sung the chorus in French for the Haitian Elders and Sisters. The Spirit was so strong I felt like I had been hit by a wall (in a good way). Music is such a blessing that brings everyone together.

 

This past week our devotionals have focused a lot on prayer. I have been trying to make my prayers more personal and more of a conversation with my Heavenly Father and it has blessed me so much. Prayer is such a wonderful gift given to all of God's children. When investigators pray they will receive answers and they will feel the Holy Ghost telling them that the Gospel is true.

 

Vernal sounds fun Dad! That is a lot of driving for one meeting but that client will definitely be lucky to have you! I am so happy that you have given Anna a calculator! I feel like those things are not going to waste. Also, I don't think it is my calculator. My calculator is in my slightly disorganized yet organized closet. It should be in a gray chevron bin that has office supplies in it so if anyone else needs a calculator they can take that one!

 

I am pumped that you are doing a 10 mile on Saturday, you will be in my prayers! Way to go! There was a marathon here around the city! We heard all this shouting outside the window this morning and looked outside to see all these people running. It made me think of both of you!

 

It has been raining lately in the afternoons. Yesterday it looked like the streets were flooding! But then everything dries very quickly so that's nice. During gym time on Saturday it started raining on us. I had just worked out and then I was starting to play volleyball when it started to pour! It felt so good and we kept on playing and the rain made it even more fun.

 

Alexis and Geoff- your stories make my laugh out loud every time. Thank you!

 

A typical day here in the CCM goes like this:6:30 Wake up, 7:00 breakfast. 7:30 personal study 8:30 additional study, then language language language lesson lunch. then lesson language gym time dinner. Then progressing investigator language lesson, language lesson, family prayer (which we do the music for) then to bed at 10:30!!

Everything goes so fast here I can't believe I'm halfway because it is so nice and sheltered here.

 

I am so excited for your programming class Jonny!!! That would definitely be a cool app. I won't mention it here so people can't steal it ;) I am glad you are taking some fun classes because you always work so hard and you deserve to have something fun!!

 

Hannah: you are in THREE dances for choreography concert???? That is too cool!! Have you received the letter I sent? maybe you will receive it next week but you are not allowed to open it until your birthday. Have so much fun at school.

 

By the way I received your package!!!! My district bullied me into sharing my oreos with them :) it was fun! Also, there are a lot of new elders that look JUST like people from home. An example would be Elder Hasler who looks exactly like Jonny's friend Ethan. I will send you a picture. This is weird to ask, but Elder Hasler would like to see a picture of Ethan just to see because he doesn't believe me. I will try to put photos on the dropbox in just a minute!

 

I love you all so much. I am so grateful for all of you. Thank you for everything. I am learning so much about Christlike love and patience through my companion, Hermana Jennings, she is truly amazing. 

 

Con amor,
 

 

Hermana Hardy