¡Feliz Navidad!

¡Feliz Navidad! 

 

So this Thursday (Christmas Day) we do not have a very set time... I will call between 1:30/2:00 to 4:00/5:00 Puerto Rico time. (10:30-2:00 Utah time) I will try to have the member we will be with to shoot you a text so you don't have to wait around. We have 45 minutes to skype! I cannot believe I will be on the big TV in the living room, haha!

Christmas Eve we will be eating dinner with a member who invited all the missionaries over. Christmas day we will do the usual studying and our weekly planning until 1:00 then we will go over to a member's home to skype and eat and whatnot. No one who had the technology to skype could have us over so we will be going with the other sisters to a family in their ward.

 

I have all of my Christmas packages! I started laughing so hard when I saw that you sent me a REAL tree. I still can't believe it. I might have opened the package and things from Lexie's package already... :D...

 

Last week was rough lesson wise and I needed something to pick me up! I might have peeked at Grandma and Rob's, but the rest of the presents are still wrapped and waiting for Christmas Day! I spread them out over the days and enjoyed looking up each scripture to guess what it was! I received the letters from the Bishopric and Stake Presidency but I have not yet received the letters from the Ward. Please tell them thank you and that I love them and Merry Christmas!
 

I saw Megan Cundick last night at the President's home! I was so excited, it was so awesome to see her and see baby Maggie! I also saw Ms. Boucher, Hannah's teacher! It was such a wonderful experience being there as a zone and to feel the Spirit.

In my studies this morning I was reading in the December Liahona. I believe the author was Pres. Uchtdorf in the main article this issue and he spoke about how Christ was the perfect example of humility and giving gifts. My testimony grew so much from reading about how we can become like Christ by sharing as He did compassion, love, patience, comfort, and more. I realized that we can never give such a gift of the Atonement and Eternal Life as He did but bringing and inviting others to partake of these gifts is something that we can give to Christ and to the people we meet.

Yesterday our ward didn't really have a Christmas program per se but they did have members come up and share what their favorite hymn is and why and then everyone sang 2 verses. I didn't really have all of the numbers or time to practice so I learned some new hymns yesterday during Sacrament Meeting!

It wasn't too bad, The Lord has blessed me in my sight reading. I realized as the meeting started that because our schedule is backwards that our Sacrament Meeting starts at 11:00 Puerto Rico time, which is 8:00 Utah time. So Mom, Dad, and Hannah- we were performing musical numbers all at the same time!! That thought made me happy:) I hope you guys aren't tooo excited for the things I sent! haha, they are all small and a bit silly but I hope you like them! (for mom- have you guys tried the candy yet??)

We met a really cool family this week- I will tell you more about them next week! I am trying to send photos right now but for some reason this computer is really laggy and so I might just send them all next week.
 

 

Thank you so much for the beautiful Christmas you sent me! The smell of pine is so wonderful! I cannot wait to talk and see everyone on Thursday! Enjoy your Christmas and know that the best present you can give is the love of Christ and the Gospel!

Take care my beautiful family! I realized last night that around this time next year I will be returning (we will have to postpone Christmas so I can spend it with you in January haha). I am so grateful for the opportunity to dedicate all of 2015 to the Lord. Everyone says that after 6 months (Jan. 30 for me) that the time flies even FASTER I can't believe that because it has already gone by so fast.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Love

Hermana Hardy

Halloween

Familia!

Today for P-day we woke up, exercised (I just stretched and used a tennis ball on my muscles), cleaned, we're doing laundry, trying to find a ride to go grocery shopping and we are planning on making cookies for tonight to take to a lesson and help a girl pass them out to neighbors for a service thing. It's a pretty laid back day this week. Last week we did souvenir shopping so I might be sending a package to you guys for Christmas:)

They do Dia de los Muertes here but that's in Spring time. For Halloween I don't think it's as big as in the States but people use it for sketchy business like drinking and celebrating dark stuff. We have to go home early for Halloween. There is a cool house we passed by that keeps on adding decorations for halloween! Haha, it's hilarious. The first time we saw it there was just their big Christus on a fountain/waterfall thing, then the next time the pool at the bottom was red and there was a zombie laying in it. Every week we pass by the zombie moves further out of the pool and now their entire house is decorated and there is a haunted house in their yard. It's pretty sick.

I think the best use of a scripture this week was James 2:17-18 about how faith without works is dead with a woman who is less active. She totally understood it and accepted it and even continued on with her testimony about it. It was awesome because some people just don't get it when we teach them, or they just don't try. She did and she was very sweet about it. She didn't come to church but we will keep on visiting her.

To find new investigators we contact on the street, we ask for referrals (hard to get those), and we try to ask members (who are shy about it) and we try to talk to everyone we can.

Gospel Principle this week. Well, the importance of having the Spirit in conversion and in lessons to help teach. Our one inv. (we have to give him to the Elders but we will still see him sundays) even understands that now! Yesterday we had a short lesson with a 14 year old girl who was very sweet and we gave her a short overview about the Restoration pamphlet which we gave her to read. I could feel the spirit there as I told her that Heavenly Father loves her and she can pray about anything she needs help with and how there was a 14 year old boy that had lots of questions and God answered his prayers. That was pretty awesome. She even prayed at the end! Wahoo!!! I can't wait to see her next time.

Transfers are this Tuesday and we found out last night that our ENTIRE zone is staying the same, just an Elder in our district is getting a new companion to train (our elders have been in a trio this transfer). Next transfers are December 2, and they'll probably take Hna. Gawrych away from me then because she's been here a long time and my training will be finished. These past 6 weeks went by A LOT faster than they did in the MTC, which is insane because those 6 weeks went by pretty fast too. Í'm coming up on 3 months which is weird.

I am jealous of your hike! that looks BEAUTIFUL! Lexie go ahead and wear my dress! way to get all A's Hannah, remember that even though you are busy reading a chapter in the Book of Mormon EVERYDAY will help you so much. Make sure you make time to read it and make it a priority. Some chapters are long so you can split them in two. I am 1/3 through the BoM in Spanish! I love reading it, I notice different things in spanish, pretty cool. Make a goal and a calendar and it will be easier for you. I hope Jonny gets furniture soon :)

I am out of gummy vitamins and that's all I can think of! oh, and epiduo is almost gone. I am going to miss the ward party, we are just having a big service party the day after Halloween!

This email is short because I am sending pictures!!

Hermana Hardy