Saturday, March 22, 2014

Goodbye Denver North!!

Alas. I have finally left Zion, the promised land, my birthplace into the mission, aaaaand now I am serving in good ol' Willow Creek in the Denver Stake! I have been here for less that 24 hours and I really don't know much about the area or nothing. However, I do know that I have a fantastic new companion, Sister Reynolds, who is from England! And has a killer accent. Every time I hear her talk, I want to talk in a British accent. It's killing me! But so fun!
However, back to Denver North! My last week in Thornton was filled with MIRACLES and of course delicious food: example, SMOKED pizza. But the miracles were more impressive!
This week we saw Lisa almost everyday! She came to the magic show, to our scripture study class, to CHURCH, and she even fed us dinner! Lisa and her husband, Richard, AND their grandsons AND their mother came to the magic show!!! Isn't that incredible?!?! We had a full house! Sophie, their daughter, even came to the scripture study class! We read from the Book of Mormon and we were able to really get down to the nitty gritty. It was phenomenal! I also was blown away that SHE CAME TO CHURCH! AHHHHH! I wanted to scream for joy! I will really miss her. I will really miss their family. They were a huge source of hope for me when I was down on myself or how slow the work was. Lisa always seemed to pull myself back up.
We visited with Cindy and Sage again and it was awesome! I loved it! Cindy told us that she was so ecstatic for us to come over and that she was SOOO HAPPY. It was incredible! She even prayed at the beginning of the lesson and it was AMAZING. Later on, her husband came into the house and we asked if he'd like to join us and he did! He was so nice! They both sense that there is something more to what we teach. Cindy has told us that has studied with other people and that it wasn't right. She feels so good about listening to our message and it was exciting! We invited Robert to read from the Book of Mormon and he said he would! He was so excited about it!
I am really going to miss Thornton ward. I'll be honest, I cried like a baby at church. I felt SO LAME. Dawn, Randy's girlfriend, asked if she could talk to me and she thanked me for everything, which made me cry harder. I can't believe I left that place! I absolutely LOVE Thornton. I feel like I really came to know what is important there. I have grown the most there and I have really grown into a better missionary. Obviously I am still striving to become a more consecrated servant of the Lord. It's a continual process.
Willow Creek will have to watch out because this place will turn into dunk city in a short amount of time!
The gospel is true. This I know!
Love,
Sister Hardy
My new companion, Sister Reynolds!




Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Week of 24 Feb-2 Mar:2 AND March 3-9

For the first part of this past week, we enjoyed nice sunny days where it felt like spring! Then, the snow came and of course the cold followed. SO. Needless to say the end of our week included tights, boots, and our heavy coats.

This past week we had an appointment with Lisa and Richard and it went really well. She recommitted to be baptized on the 29th of March and she has gone two weeks without smoking!!! Holy cow! Isn't that incredible? She is doing so well and she really understands Heavenly Father's love. She is just a bit scared because she is afraid she'll mess up. We have reassured her that we are fall, but that's why we have the Atonement. I think we need to teach her more about the Atonement and about what it means for her.

We also contacted a couple, Kim and Mike, and their son is actually in the hospital right now. He just had heart surgery and it was very serious, but things are MUCH better now. The elders stopped by first and said a prayer with them. Later in the week, we stopped by and they are so kind! Very receptive. We set up a time to meet with them later this week and I am STOKED.

The week went pretty well, visiting our usuals. Barb, Gerry, Sherri, Miranda, and Maryanne.

Maryanne's lesson went really well. We talked to her about how God is her loving Heavenly Father and she just expressed to us how much she loves God, and how thankful she is that He sent His son for her. She told us about how sad she is that people believe that they have to suffer for their own sins in this life. I didn't even know that people believed that! I am so grateful to know that we don't have to suffer because someone already did that for us--Jesus Christ. We can be forgiven of our sins because of His sacrifice. Maryanne is really excited about the Book of Mormon. However, things might be difficult because her husband isn't 100% supportive of her decision to meet with us, but he is the KINDEST man. He's almost 70 and he acts like a teenager. He's so fun!

Yesterday, we went to go see Glenn (84) because we couldn't see him Saturday because he went to the hospital. Well, when we knocked on the door, we talked with a woman who helps him around the house and she told us that on Saturday night he passed away! Crazy, right? I was so sad to hear that. It wasn't unexpected, but it wasn't expected either. She told us how he'd always call us his angels and how he'd say, "Terry, you'd better get me my coffee before the girls come over!" Glenn knows we don't drink coffee. What a funny guy. He will be missed and perhaps this is the ward's opportunity to reach out to the rest of his friends/family. I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation. I know that I will see Glenn again and that things will be okay. We don't have to worry about where he is, because he's in a state of peace now!

 
I love you all! Just know that I have a testimony of this Gospel!
 
 
Me, Ryan,Hanna and her pet bunny.
Love,
Sister Hardy
 
 
 
 
Week 3/3/14 - 3/9/14

Hi All,
 
We had an absolutely amazing week that was full of miracles and excitement!

First off, remember Randy and his son, Dorian? WELL. The Elders in the ward have been teaching them AND Randy, Dorian, and Randy's girlfriend, Dawn, and her son, Michael, AND their friend, Jason, have ALL committed to baptism and they ALL came to church yesterday! #miraclesdohappen
Pictures of their baptism to be sent soon!!! All I have to say to that is HALLELUJAH. Man. This gospel is fantastic.

Second, we finally got to visit with this woman, Cindy, whom the Elders found back in November and said we should try seeing in January. She is incredible. Her husband and son left when we got there, so they weren't there for the lesson, BUT she and her daughter, Sage, both listened and actively participated in the discussion. (Man, these sentences are full of run-ons!) Anyways, as we were talking to them, it was just incredible! Neither of them have been polluted by anti-Mormon nonsense or if they have, they don't believe it. Another miracle with them is that they actually believe that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three SEPARATE BEINGS! We rarely ever run into people who believe the same as we do about the nature of the Godhead! Pretty sweet, huh?

Third, we met this man named Rob who has a friend that's LDS and she has been being a missionary out the WAZOO! She has invited him to take the missionary discussions several times and talked about the Church with him AND he told us that he is meeting with the missionaries on Wednesday!!! (So what will probably happen is that those missionaries will teach him and then pass him unto us or the elders--so stay tuned for more about Rob!) He was such a nice guy! He talked to us for about twenty minutes outside in his garage and asked us a whole bunch of questions. It was pretty neat.

Fourth, we met with our dear friend, Maryanne, AND wowzers. SHE IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. She LOVES reading from the Book of Mormon and more importantly she doesn't have any preconceived notions that it's not true. She has opened her heart to the possibility that is can be true and because of that, if she prays with a sincere heart, God will answer her prayers. Maryanne has such a strong testimony that Jesus is the Savior of the world and that God is really watching out for her. Isn't that incredible?! I can't say how much I love being a missionary ENOUGH!

Then! Drum roll please! LISA HAS NOT SMOKED IN THREE WEEKS! Isn't that fabulous? She still is having a hard time getting to church. We are under the impression that she needs more fellowship in the church. SO we are having an amazing ward activity/party on Wednesday and she is coming and so is Richard AND their two grandsons! I am so excited! VERY VERY EXCITED. There is going to be a world renowned magician there and a lot of our friends from other faiths will be coming. Super cool experience. (Apparently, the magician owes a man in the ward a favor and so he said that he would do this!!!! Sweet, huh?)

Along with meeting with all of these wonderful people, we met with one woman at the Elm's Haven nursing home where we do service, Gerrie. Gerrie doesn't respond to conversation, so we just sat and visited with her. Kept her company, you know? Well, Sandy, one of the caregivers there, told us that she loves music and loves people. So we sang hymns for her. The Spirit was really strong and it was great. It was a tender mercy from the Lord, especially because a lot of our appointments had fallen through for that night.

On a slightly less happy note, Glenn's funeral was on Friday. A sister in the ward and I sang "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" for the meeting. I have just been comforted by the fact that I know Glenn still lives. Although we can't hear his voice, or his throaty chuckle, I know that I will hear it again. And even though I can't see him, I will see him again.

I love this Gospel and I love my Savior. I know He lives. He lives and loves all of us.

Love,
Sister Hardy

Only picture for the week. We were teaching at the church!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Week Thirty...something. Why am I counting?

Hi everybody!

We had plenty of adventures this past week. On Tuesday, we were in charge of a service project at one of the Senior centers....and well, that was a bit of a disaster. No one wanted to come down and play balloon volleyball. But! Sister Marshall and I got to paint nails, color pictures, and make bracelets. Hopefully this week we will have a better turn out!
Later that day, we went and saw Lisa and Richard! AND GUESS WHAT?!! She is trying to quit smoking!! Isn't that incredible! We tried to meet with them later in the week, but they were sick! Rats. However, we were able to meet with a young woman in the ward who isn't active and it was really enjoyable! We going to meet with her today, too. Hopefully.

On Wednesday, we went to the temple at 5:30 in the morning. Picture it. 5 Elders, 2 Sisters, and a sister in our ward. Hilarious. We heard a bunch of funny mission stories. For example, one of the elders told us about an experience that he had when he knocked on a door and said, "Sorry to ruin your day, but we are missionaries...." what he meant to say, "Sorry to interrupt your day, but..." How hilarious! Also, I didn't even get car sick. Another sister gave me this stuff that's like Dramamine, but non-drowsy and I was walking on sunshine in the very backseat! How awesome! It's the little things in life that bring happiness :)

Thursday, we had an interesting experience. We were driving home from something and we saw a woman walking her dog. I knew that we needed to stop and I really didn't want to, but we did anyways. We got out and started walking her way, pretending that we were heading that way. We stopped her and pet her beautiful dog. She didn't want to stop, so we asked if we could walk with her, and she said we could, so we did. And man, she was booking it! My short legs were doing what they could to keep up without running.
We basically taught her the Restoration (the first missionary discussion) on our walk and asked if we could give her a copy of the Book of Mormon, and she said no, but it was okay! I felt so good after talking to her and just giving her the opportunity to hear the gospel. Even if people say no, you can still walk away on cloud 9. I know because it happened to me!

That's all I have time for, but know that I love you!


Love, Sister Hardy


So Sister Marshall and I got these sticky hearts in a valentine. Well, I tossed mine in the air and it got stuck to the ceiling. It's still there...Oh the things that make missionaries happy!


Yes. We got girl scout cookies! For free. BEST THING EVER.

 
Guess who I saw this week at the Temple?!!? Sister Knowlton (she trained me!)