God Be With You Till We Meet Again

Hello Everyone!

A lot of things happened this week! I think my favorite was that our part member family made it to church!! They came a bit late, but they loved it and I'm so happy they came. The wife has a baptismal date set for February.

I feel strange writing this email today... I am writing about investigators and people we teach and I feel like I'm going to be teaching them this week and helping them to read the Book of Mormon and come to church. This is so unreal!

My favorite moment from this week was Saturday. We went to the part member family and Dachira- the non member, has been reading the Book of Mormon. I have always said like the introduction, anyone who reads the Book of Mormon and prays sincerely will be converted. The trick here is getting the PRicans to read and pray specifically. Sometimes they just don't get it. 

But Dachira gets it! She read so much, she kept on texting us during the week to ask for more passages to read. She read it all and marked it. She told us her favorite parts. I asked her if she prayed to ask if it's true. She said yes. I asked if she feels that the Book of Mormon is true and she said yes! I am so happy for her!

Out of all the missionary work and teaching and everything we do, my favorite part has been and always will be the Book of Mormon. I have such a strong testimony of this book. I love inviting people to read. I love explaining where the Book of Mormon came from. I love promising people that their lives will change if they only open up and read. Because as I have told a lot of people lately, all of this is either true, or it's not. And the Book of Mormon is the key. Christ is our Savior, Joseph Smith was His prophet, and the Restored Gospel is true. Writing that just makes me so happy!

I want all of you to know that I know that Jesus is the Christ. I feel that I have come to know Him better in many ways. One of those ways was through the example of the pure love of Christ that I have seen in the members here in Puerto Rico. They have taught me so much. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be His representative. 

I know that His Gospel has been restored by a living prophet. I will be sharing my testimony of this until the day I die! It's all true! The Gospel, the Church, the Book of Mormon, all of it! This message has made me so happy. I was already converted to Christ and this Gospel when I came on this mission. 

But little did I know how these 18 months would help my testimony grow into something a little bit more. I feel so much more sure in my testimony and my knowledge. I feel so much more prepared to face life head on. I can't imagine how I would pass through the rest of my life if I had not served. 

I have already shared this feeling with you before, but as I said several months ago I am sure of why Heavenly Father had me serve a mission. I feel that Heavenly Father kills three birds with one stone (or mission. About killing birds... see my second to last email :) ). 

He secures the conversion of the missionary, He converts and blesses others through this missionary, and He also prepares the conversion of this missionary's future family. I can't help but think that what a mission really is for the young youth of this Church is to not only bring others unto Christ and salvation, and not only teach selflessness to a generation living in a selfish world, but also to prepare our youth for the rest of their lives. 

I know that Heavenly Father did not just send me on a mission to bless the people here in Puerto Rico or just me. I can't help but feel that He sent me because He knows that my future children need me to be ready to teach them to live the Gospel and be prepared to be lights unto the world. So I may technically only have one convert up to date. But I know that my experiences in this mission will have a much longer and greater effect than I can see from where I am right now. 

I think the best and only way I can end this testimony is to say that I am grateful. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father, I am grateful to my Savior Jesus Christ, I am grateful for my wonderful parents who taught me everything I have taught the people of Puerto Rico, I am grateful for my loving family and their support, I am grateful for President Boucher and Hermana Boucher and what they've taught me, 

I'm grateful for each and every one of my companions who have also taught me something unique, I am grateful for the members and the people I have met here, and I am grateful for Puerto Rico, la Isla del Encanto. This isn't even half of what my testimony is and I know that I could not really give it justice here in an email. But I love you all very much. I love my Savior, and I this is my testimony of Him, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

xoxo Hermana Hardy

The Sabbath Day

Hello Family!

I love talking about the Sabbath Day! Do you remember the talk from last conference? I loved it. I had to think of ways that I could better keep the Sabbath Day holy because honestly it feels the same as every other day as a missionary. 

I make sure we only listen to Motab hymns on Sundays instead of the EFY music we usually listen to. I know that's small but it's made a difference. We are supposed to prepare ALL week to take the Sacrament.

I just think it's so important because it's the only day where we can completely focus on the Lord! The rest of the days we can serve in callings, study the scriptures, etc. but we always have something else like work or school that distract us from the Gospel. 

But on Sunday we can direct our thoughts at every moment to the Lord. The Sabbath isn't just a day of rest. it is a day of rest from OUR work. and a Busy day in the Lord's work! I am really grateful that He has given us a day where we can focus just on Him. In that way my vision on the mission has changed. 

My favorite question now is what sign do our activities show to the Lord? Everything we do on the Sabbath day should direct our thoughts to Him and show Him our devotion. So if there is anything that distracts us from that, we shouldn't do it. My goal for when I return home from my mission is to no longer watch TV shows, not listen to worldly music, and to no longer do my homework on Sundays. Better to do things with my family that are uplifting and try to do more work for the Lord on this special day.

Something I really appreciate that we do as a family is to visit our grandparents. I love that. I miss it a lot! I remember growing up that we would always be together. We couldn't go swimming in Grandma's pool, and we would read the scriptures all together!

Also, I love the Sacrament. I have developed a new love for Sundays because of the Sacrament. I love to think about what the bread and water signify as they are blessed and passed. I remember hearing or reading in a talk once about something I had never thought about. 

The bread, which is the body of Christ, shows that all of us have been unconditionally saved from physical death. The water, which represents Christ's blood that was shed for us, represents that He has saved us from spiritual death if we choose to accept Him and keep all of our baptismal covenants. 

We should think about our baptismal covenants not only on Sunday but during the entire week. (because it's our baptismal covenant to remember Him always!)

There are 5 Sister Traning Leader companionships in the mission. A companionship for each zone! So we are in charge of the Caguas Zone. I had my first exchange this week with Hna. Allan! I was really excited... because it was kind of like being with Sister Allen. Close! Haha. She is really awesome. I think I did an OK job. We didn't get lost or anything! For all the exchanges I will be staying in Guayama because Hna. Gallardo's license is from Mexico and so she can't drive here. Everything turned out okay and I didn't have to call her to ask for directions, haha!

One lesson we taught this week was to an atheist woman. Well, she was baptized a long time ago and has decided this past year that she is atheist. That lesson stood out to me in particular because we were actually there to visit her son who is less active but is preparing to return again. 

So I was able to share my testimony of our Living God and that was special because I don't meet a lot of people here who straight up do not believe in Him. I feel sad for her. But I was just so grateful for my family and for Mom and Dad who taught me to believe in God and in Christ. So that was a testimony builder for me. I invited her to pray to Heavenly Father and ask Him if He exists or not. She didn't seem too sincere to me. But at least I invited her.

Yesterday we were able to visit our recent convert who has been in intensive care the past two weeks. They finally moved her to a normal room and we were able to go. The poor thing. But the RS is doing an amazing job taking care of her. The only problem is that she doesn't want to eat the food in the hospital because it doesn't have salt. (she can't eat salt because of the problems with her kidneys). 

So I told her that the Word of Wisdom now has a sixth substance that she can't take and that's salt. So I definitely committed her to not eating salt and then we walked to a member's house to grab some lemons to give to her to flavor her food.

That's awesome that Hannah sang on Sunday! That's awesome.

I can't believe you ran 23 miles. WHAT??

Well I am out of time already. That went by crazy fast! I hope everyone has an amazing week and that Hannah has an amazing birthday!!!

xoxo Hermana Hardy

Book of Mormon Testimony

Hello Family!

 

 

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!! And Happy Birthday in two days Dad!!! Did you get my letter??

I received Jonny's and Hannah/Dad's letters this morning because we got lucky and the mail man saw us on the walk to the library and gave all our letters to us right on the spot! All the mail men/women that I have met love us.

I received the Pioneer Day Package!!! Thank you so much! I received it Saturday- JUST in time for our big road trip to Ponce Sunday afternoon/evening. I drove almost 160 miles yesterday. Which isn't much considering how far the Sister Training Leaders drive on Transfers but I thought it was fun.

We have transfers NEXT Tuesday. So we find out this Sunday night. 

 

This weekend we finished reading the Book of Mormon together as an entire mission and Sunday night we had a testimony meeting with ALL the missionaries (minus the missionaries on the islands...) It was an amazing experience!! There are around 200 of us so I made sure to go early so I would be able to share my testimony.

 

We were only allowed to bear a short testimony so I decided to share how one day we presented the Book of Mormon to three different people and for every single one of those people the Book of Mormon answered a different question or role all while testifying of Christ and the Restoration. I also shared how a couple we are teaching used to not have a lot of love or respect in their relationship and after reading the Book of Mormon for about 3 weeks or so the husband is now treating his wife differently.

 

I shared my testimony of how the Book of Mormon can change our hearts and how we act. as an addendum to all that testimony I want to share right now that the Holy Ghost works through the Book of Mormon to touch and change our hearts. I love the Book of Mormon so much. I never want to stop reading it. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to listen to everyone else's testimony and experiences. The Spirit was so strong in the meeting and I will always remember that experience!!

I was also able to see ALL of my mission friends!!! That was a very happy experience as well, especially as a few are leaving this next transfer. I am going to miss them. I saw hna. Pavon! She had a letter to me from Ana!!! WAHOO!! Ana is doing well. Her husband is going to be baptized soon! I also saw Hna. Palacios (well, I see her pretty often because she is still in Cabo Rojo in my zone!!) It turns out HER sister (who was ALSO married in May of last year in a temple in Utah) is also pregnant!! Her baby is due in November. Hna. Palacios and I both got so excited! My outfit was also really really really cute. (just so you all know...)

 

Well I had a pretty great week. Too many experiences! I think my favorite lesson was with Aida and Ismael who are reading in the Book of Mormon and we taught L2. They gave us breakfast and then they showed us a hidden talent/hobby they have! It turns out they make jewelry and they make bracelets and necklaces and everything! We were so surprised! Ismael is a pretty tough looking, acting, etc. type of man and it was just so unexpected that he likes making jewelry as a hobby and to reduce stress.

 

So they gave us a whole bunch of jewelry and it was really hard to get out of the house because they just kept on giving us stuff and making more things on the spot to give to us. Haha, they are so sweet. In their prayers they asked for neither of us to be transferred. To be honest they are just about the only ones with potential that we were able to teach this week. For some reason every one cancelled on us this week and they're all busy with back to school stuff.

 

I think a contacting story.... umm, I don't have a lot of stories for this week! We contacted a lot this week and only one person said we could come back and when we went back she was about to leave... We had some interesting contacts though. Usually people here are pretty nice but we found a few cases! Haha, it's okay, our testimonies grew. I will let you know next week about cooler stories!
 

Also, we celebrated my 1 year mark and all the other sisters made a huge party out of it haha! I thought it was great because earlier in the day I suddenly had a wish for a donut and I MAY have said a tiny prayer/wish for a donut that day and in the end I received 12 donuts for 12 months. I thought that was a very sweet, funny, tender mercy. Haha.

Have a wonderful week! Way to go on 20 miles! That's crazy! I am playing piano for stake conference this weekend. Wish me luck!! Love you all so much!

 

Hermana Hardy

Testify of Truth

Hello Family!

Good questions this week!

The longest walk I went on last week was at least four miles to get home one night (and that was just the walk home)... But we don't normally walk that route and we actually got lucky because on the way up someone gave us a ride just as it started to rain! We weren't so lucky on the way down. We did have the opportunity to do service and help someone so the walk was totally worth it.

So San Sebastian is split up into two areas. One area has the pueblo and the town center, our part is mostly a couple urbanizations and a lot of rural areas that we have to walk to. We want to branch out a bit and so we are contacting new areas the only problem is that these new parts are further away from us. I would say on an average we walk about 3 miles a day, sometimes more sometimes less. It is a half a mile walk to our chapel from our house.

The chapel was originally built for a branch so it is a bit smaller but it is nice nonetheless. It has a small chapel where we set up stairs, outside that are the offices and the Relief Society room that serves as a kitchen, baptismal font, and activity room, then there are the bathrooms right in front of the entrance to the chapel, then there are two primary rooms and three other Sunday school rooms. Sacrament Meeting, normal adult Sunday School, and Priesthood are all in the chapel.

 

It is the smallest chapel I have been in in Puerto Rico but it is also one of the nicest and newest. however, they did take out the fridge and microwave and everything in the kitchen and the piano is a keyboard that is so quiet that you can hardly hear but they appreciate me playing nonetheless. But it is very small. One hall, with the chapel, offices, classrooms, etc. The bathrooms are nice too!

So guess what?!?! Two of our investigators came to church yesterday!!!!!! Aida and Ismael. They are a couple we have been teaching. Ismael is pretty serious about praying and finding an answer and he is already in 2 Nephi and understands everything really well. We are really excited for them! We also have a couple of people reading the Book of Mormon and so many of them are very sincere and want to know. It's just the trick to get them to church.

 

The people we teach are so wonderful and they treat us with so much love and they take care of us. They are important to me because not only are the Heavenly Father's children but they are also my friends and they treat us like daughters. It's been so wonderful to get to know people and understand what's important to them. I love seeing them love the Book of Mormon how I love the Book of Mormon.

 

This last week one of our investigators Gueimi prayed with us and asked if Joseph Smith was a prophet and it was so powerful! We have another family who has a nine year old daughter and they wanted to understand Lehi's dream so we went through it with them and the daughter and I drew the dream together. They treat us like their daughters too. There are so many amazing people here and they are so loving and they need the Gospel!

This week we also prayed specifically to find someone who is looking for the truth while we were contacting and we totally found her! She is really awesome and when I asked her what she feels about prophets she word for word told us the definition of a prophet as we define prophets and how they need to be chosen by God and she said, "I'm sorry if that seems weird or wrong to you, but that's what I believe!" Haha, we told her that she believes the same as us. We have another appointment with her on Wednesday!

So those are some of the things that happened this week! I also had the opportunity to testify to a pastor of another church who told us that if we were going to bring him another Book and tell him that it is the Word of God that we had better be sure that we know it is true. I told him that I am VERY sure that the Book of Mormon is true, that I know it is true, that Heavenly Father told me so and therefore I cannot deny that the Book of Mormon is true. :) He couldn't say anything to deny my testimony. So apparently he is going to read it and we will see what happens! His wife seems more receptive that he is.

Well my beautiful family! I hope all goes well this week! I hope Mama's knee and calf feel better! I hope Hannah enjoys dance camp!

To Mama's question: Of course we get discouraged sometimes! But tomorrow is always a new day and there are always miracles that can be found. We just have to look around and recognize those miracles that are already happening. This week was a very up and down week. The past two transfers have been challenging but look! We had two investigators in church for the first time! They are progressing. There are people reading.

 

I have to say that whether they accept the Restored Gospel or not that I gave them a full opportunity to read, ponder, and pray and that is the most I can do. I was studying in the Liahona this morning and I realized that maybe I have been depending on myself a little too much in the work instead of including the Lord like I should. Which is crazy and backwards!

 

This is the Lord's work and obviously He knows best how to do it. So I am starting a new process of really giving the work to the Lord and trying to do what He would have to do. I read an article of a member who was doing all she could to share the Gospel but nothing really came to fruit until the Spirit told her that she needed to include the Lord more in her efforts. Very interesting, and food for thought!

Also this week there was a fireside and I played the piano and an awesome member from Cayey taught us about the family and it made me miss you all so much! The same day, earlier in the day, we were walking up the mountain to an appointment when suddenly a big white Ford Expedition came around the corner. I forgot that I was in Puerto Rico for a moment and I thought, "Good!!! Mom is here to pick us up and give us a ride!" and then I realized that it wasn't Mom! Haha, I felt so silly and then so grateful for all the times Mom has given us rides from and to school, to dance, to pretty much everything all my life!

Also, this week I taught my companion how to hitch hike... Don't worry, we wait to make sure we can tell that it is a woman driving before we put our thumbs out. So it takes a while, and it's only worked once but we were on time to our appointment!

Well I think that's it! Have a wonderful week! Take care, enjoy the summer, don't wear yourselves out by running too much! Haha:)
 

xoxo Hermana Hardy

First Bautismo!!!

Hello Family!

Ana was baptized this past Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. We had a future missionary speak at the baptism, Hna. Pavon spoke, I played a special musical number, Ana was baptized by the Bishop. When she came up out of the water she was so happy and she thanked Heavenly Father out loud and said, "I did it!" then she cried and gave Bishop Busher a big hug. It was really sweet. I played piano and Hermana Pavon sang while we waited. Then Hna. Daniela welcomed her to the ward and bishop welcomed her and then Ana shared her testimony that she wrote down. It was very very sweet.

Then Sunday there was a problem with the car and she arrived late to the meeting but she arrived! And she was confirmed. During the blessing I thought to myself, "My friend Ana was baptized!!" and I was filled with so much happiness. She is amazing. I am so happy for her and proud of her. She is on fire with learning and sharing and is so excited to be a member and a part of this ward.

 

This week was a crazy one! But in the end everything worked out the way it was supposed to. What a miracle. This is definitely the Lord's baptism but I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to be part of teaching her, answering her questions, and supporting her. She is a very special spirit and I have never been so happy in my life!

 

I have to tell you that all of your prayers helped. Do you remember that for the month of April we all prayed and fasted together for my investigators here? Well I know that the Lord answered our prayers and all of us have been blessed to see Ana enter into the waters of baptism! Thank you so much.
 

My testimony of prayer, fasting, and perseverance truly grew through this experience and I am so grateful for that. Thank you everyone for your faith and prayers and for always supporting me and my investigators. The people here in Puerto Rico are wonderful and they need the Gospel. They just need to listen with their hearts and I know we can help make a difference.

I am so grateful for Ana as well. She is truly converted and is a wonderful example to me and to all of us for a desire to follow Jesus Christ. From the beginning she never doubted that the Church is true. She wants to do all she can to serve the Lord and enter into the temple.

 

 

I am thankful to my Heavenly Father for giving me the opportunity to know her and see her progress. I know the Church is true and that this Work is the most important thing I can be doing right now! It'sa wonderful journey and I have learned so much already and I know that there is a lot more to learn. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Gifts from the Sea

I will share an experience from today that has been developing for a couple of months:

 

 

So my reasons for serving a mission have changed several times since I have started my mission. To be honest I never really liked it when people ask me why I am serving a mission because I feel like there is no right way to explain what I really feel and because we are all in the process of answering that question...

 

Well, a couple months ago we were walking in an urbanization and I am not sure what I was thinking about (I wasn't discouraged... but we weren't see a lot of success with people) but the thought came to my mind that maybe my mission here in Puerto Rico is not the most important thing I will ever do in my life. It really took me off guard. It made me think A LOT and change my perspective and my reasons for why I am here in Puerto Rico. It also made me think of what is the most important thing I will do in my life. So I made a list of my purpose here as a missionary, why I am here.

 

Also a couple months ago President Boucher told us in a talk that while baptizing is very important, the most important thing is that we as missionaries develop to become more like Christ. That also caused me to think a lot.

 

Then today we had a zone activity (that went REALLY long, that's why I'm writing so late) and it was neat. We went to some cool caves in Arecibo, saw the ocean, gorgeous! They gave us some personal study time and invited us to focus in our purpose as missionaries and why each of us is here. So that gave me time to develop my thoughts even more and to write them out a bit more.

 

So... Now we come to Sister Hardy's Personal Reasons/ Personal Purpose as a Missionary:

1. To invite others to come unto Christ.
2. To become more like Christ.
3. To prepare myself for my role as a wife and mother (my true purpose in life).

 

To be honest I made this list a couple months ago and while I was looking at it again today, studying more, comparing with my Patriarchal Blessing, it came together even more. The thought came to my mind "This mission is preparation for my life's mission" and I had the wonderful experience of feeling the Holy Ghost testify to me that this was true.

 

Now how does being a missionary prepare me for the rest of my life? Lots of ways! I explored a few today.

 

In Preach My Gospel, chapter 1, there are a lot of quotes from prophets in the latter days about missionary work. I think none of them actually mentioned anything about full time missionary work... they were more on member missionaries, lifetime missionaries. One by Brigham Young spoke a lot about living the Gospel principles so I can teach the Gospel principles and help others. I think that living and teaching the Gospel are one of the most important things a mother can do for her children. (Like how my mama has lived and taught all of us)

 

Well, one of the ways that my mission is preparing me is to prepare me to understand the necessity of the Gospel, to live the Gospel and focus in the Gospel, and to prepare me to teach the Gospel (in the PR of course... but more importantly to my future children).

To be honest every missionary is different. And there are a lot more reasons and purposes and even sub reasons and sub purposes that we can't see or recognize. Everyone has their own reasons for coming on a mission (and everyone's reason changes while they are on the mission) and I realize that my purpose as a missionary may not be the same as others'. Furthermore I think it is more important to realize that Heavenly Father has His own reasons and purposes for each and every one of us.

 

But this is mine! And I will own it to the best of my ability.

 

Maybe there is more to Heavenly Father's purpose for me that I can't see. For now, I feel like I am on the right track.

 

So, that's my motivation. There are people here for me to serve and to teach. There are also more spirits that I will teach in the future. So for all of them present and future I will work my hardest to give them my best and prepare with all I can to do that.

 

Thank you so much for your wonderful example to me, Mama! I am so grateful for you and for everything you have taught me. You are the best and I owe everything to you and to Dad. I have been so blessed to have been able to be born in your home, with parents that would live and teach me the Gospel so that I would have the opportunity to develop my own testimony. To be honest I have never doubted that the church is true. I feel that is a gift of testimony that my Heavenly Father has given me and also the firm, strong testimonies of my parents that built that foundation for me. Our family is rare. The world doesn't have a lot of families like ours, where the parents are united. Even in the church it can be rare to see a family where all of the children are actively living the Gospel and not straying from the path. I've never realized how spoiled I've been to have this family and to have her for forever! So it's our purpose to stay strong and to help other families do the same.

There are a lot more ways that I can see (and can't see) the mission preparing me. I was only able to share a few but please know that I am so grateful for this opportunity and for the many blessings I have received and the many miracles I have seen.

 

So that is my testimony. That the Church is true. That our families will be together forever. That Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us. And I am so excited to learn more about what He has in plan for us. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

xoxo Hermana Hardy

All Back 110%

Hello Family!

 

Progress report on injuries: completely gone! Well, slightly discolored and tender but I am back 110%!

Stories about lessons and memorable experiences: Well, we had to recommit our lady who was going to be baptized to read the Book of Mormon and to pray because she doesn't have a testimony yet:( but We are back on track! We had a slightly paranoid lady tell me that I look like I would be a nun in another life (she has some pretty neat conspiracies... and thinks the neighbors have a vendetta against her and pay men to through stink bombs at her house)

 

At one point she said : "there! they did it again! can you smell that?!?!' (we couldn't smell anything...). Someone thought Hna. Gawrych was my mom. Our WML almost got my name right this week! He called me Hna. Gardy. The funny thing is is that the Elder Boren in our ward transferred and we have another Elder Boren that transferred in and the WML still can't remember his name. haha.

This Sunday I actually understood what was going in in Relief Society! (well, I usually understand other Sundays but this one more than others). Our lesson was on prayer and how it is a blessing and commandment. The Gospel Principles class (we had lots of people this week!) was about the Signs of the Second Coming. People on the street talk to us about those sometimes and get way into it and worked up and all I can really say to them is that if you are righteous, you don't really need to worry! Also, I suppose I can say that the signs about the Restoration and BoM have come to pass!

Testimony was amazing this week. We have a less active who is very old and can't come to church sometimes because she just physically can't but her testimony is so strong. She tries to come as often as she can and I was sitting next to her during the meeting and she decided to bear her testimony and we all had to help her get up there. Her testimony was amazing and the Spirit was so strong in that meeting. She is so sweet and firm in her faith.

They decorated the plaza with lights! Some people decorate their houses but not many. They have pasteles for Christmas, and lots of treats and dulces. There is one called Tembleke which is like a coconut pudding and it is my favorite! I have the recipe and I am going to make it. I also sent a package with some of the treats inside for everyone to try.

I received the package from Aunt Jenny and cousins and the letter from Family Beck! I am so happy to hear that Natalie is doing well and I cannot wait to read her emails home!

Good luck everyone with finals and with Christmas decorations! Keep your eyes out on the mail. I cannot believe that it is Christmas already because I feel I left home last week! I love and miss everyone but you all feel so close to me anyways.

Hannah can take my converse! Be careful that you don't hurt your ankle dancing in them! They can be tough to dance in sometimes. When is the Nutcracker for you?!?! Pinky Luck!

I loved the pictures from dad! did Jonny and Hannah run too??

I love you all take care!!

 

Love 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