Week of 28 July - 3 August 2014‏

This week it poured here in Denver for a few days! All day everyday. It was a nice change from the heat, but I'm grateful the sun is back out for us to enjoy! That means that there are more people outside ready and waiting to hear the gospel!

Something very exciting happened this week! We were finally able to teach this man named Mike! We have been teaching his fiance, Alicia, (I think I wrote about her a few weeks ago. She came to church with her fiance and two children a couple weeks back) for two transfers now. We taught Mike very little of the first discussion, but he told us about how he was so excited to start coming to church more often. He also said that if his family had more of God in their lives that they would be happier and that their home would be more stable. How true is that! We have been promised that if we establish our homes on principles such as faith and repentance and prayer that we will be blessed in our families. Our homes become a heaven on earth, not just living quarters. BUT Mike got choked up a little when he was talking about bringing his family together through the gospel. It was really tender and I was touched. The spirit was so strong there!

We also were able to have dinner with a family in which four of them have recently joined the church and the mother is a returning member. The couple was able to go to the temple a week ago! and at the end of this month they will be sealed for time and all eternity! We shared a message about temples after dinner and the spirit was incredibly strong. Their home become a holy place.

---The best part about being a missionary is the change I see in the people I meet, both on a daily basis and long-term. I have changed so much on my mission. I have become more converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have come to really feel as Paul did, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth..." (Romans 1:16). I've come to see how much I love my Savior. As we were driving to the library this morning to email, I saw a man doing some construction work in the road and one of my first thoughts was, "I want to share the gospel with him" and "He needs to know of the Atonement." I can assure you that I never would have thought that a year ago. NEVER. This work has changed me through and through. AND I LOVE IT!

Fun fact: Sister Hanshaw and I are reading the entire Book of Mormon this transfer. We started two weeks ago and we are almost done with Mosiah! Wish us luck. I have already begun to recognize the spirit more often in my life. Blessings come to those who seek them.

We were able to have dinner with the senior couple in our zone! The L couple!! They are amazing! I love them so much! THEY HAVE 10 CHILDREN! Holy smokes. The crazy part is that they had ten children in 17 years. That must have been so hard! Also Elder L doesn't have a college education. He told us that he had to work between 3 and 6 jobs!! He has a great deal of faith. It was such a blessing to have dinner with them not just because of the food, but because of the stories that led them to a strong conversion and conviction. They have 41 grandchildren with more coming! There youngest sons are still in their 20s! Now that is an accomplishment.

Also, a tender mercy about having dinner with them is that they reminded me of the senior couple that taught my family nine years ago--the Hulls. I am grateful for their service everyday.

I love you all! I love being a missionary!

Love, Sister Hardy

Week of 21 July through 27 July 2014‏

 Look at that Colorado Sky!

 

 

 

 

And look who I got to see!!! Sister Mata'itusi! We had a leadership meeting where I saw a lot of other missionaries that I've served with.

 

We had to fill up the font, so I was pretending to baptize Sister Hanshaw. The plug doesn't work properly, so we had to get in there and try to fix it! And nothing worked. We ended up filling it twice!

 

 

 B got baptized!!! Her husband was trying to contain his excitement!

 



 



This past week was the first week of the transfer and so that means a lot of meetings and a lot of new goals! It also means a breakfast with all the missionaries in the stake!

There were a lot of things that happened this week. But I want to focus on one particular event that happened this week. B, a woman who I've been seeing since I got here in Bible Park, was baptized! A brief background on B: She has been attending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the past three years. A year ago she married a member of the church. She is super active in the church. She just wanted to make sure she wanted to change for herself. She wanted to know that this was absolutely true. And she does! She was baptized last night and right after she was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! And then her baby, Graham, was blessed.

I just want to share my thoughts of her journey to the waters of baptism. As she and her husband, Paul, were standing in the water (which was freezing cold and draining--hence why we had to fill up the font twice!), all I could think of is how this is the first big step towards them having an eternal family. I began to cry as I saw the joy in the eyes of all those who were present and especially the eyes of Paul and B. In a year from now, they will be able to be sealed for time and eternity in the House of the Lord. How wonderful will that day be! I know that families can be together forever, but the only way to secure that is by making special promises with our Father in Heaven in those special places called temples.

There are so many other things that happened this week, but all seem small in comparison to B's baptism and confirmation. I know that this church is true. I know that this is Christ's church. Our Bishop here in the Bible Park ward said something along the lines of "The church is true. If it wasn't the 19 year old missionaries would have run it into the ground years ago." With that being said, all who are members of this church have experienced some opposition, I know I have. It has made my testimony immovable.

Christ lives! He loves us and knows us!

I love you all!

Sister Hardy

 

July in Bible Park :)

7 July through 13 July 2014 ‏
We had a long drive home on Friday (we were up in Westminster), and this is what we saw!

Dana had her baptism date set for Sunday, but she has had some trouble recently. Her family is kind of pressuring her into thinking that the decision she is making is wrong. We talked to her this weekend and expressed to her our concern and how she wouldn't be experiencing the happiness she is now if this weren't true. Satan CANNOT fabricate peace. He can fake everything else: happiness, joy,

Dana had her baptism date set for Sunday, but she has had some trouble recently. Her family is kind of pressuring her into thinking that the decision she is making is wrong. We talked to her this weekend and expressed to her our concern and how she wouldn't be experiencing the happiness she is now if this weren't true. Satan CANNOT fabricate peace. He can fake everything else: happiness, joy, love, etc. But not peace. This woman is a beast. She can do this.

On Tuesday, we went on exchanges with the sisters in Greenwood Village and we taught a young girl who is 11!!! That's how old I was when I began learning about the church. I was sooooo excited for her!!! I don't remember the missionary lessons....except I remember the word of wisdom lesson :D. Anyways! It was wonderful! --We brought a laurel, Angel, from the ward with us and it was great!

Later that day, Angel came with us to another lesson with a woman named Lorie. It was cool because before Arlene's appointment, Sister Makasini asked Angel if she wanted to serve a mission and Angel was a bit unsure--had the desire, but hadn't made up her mind yet. Well, after Lorie's appointment eight hours later(!), Angel told us that she had made her decision about serving a mission! She began to cry and told us that she decided to serve! Isn't that amazing?! Tender mercies.

We had gumbo last Monday and yes, that is a craw-fish. And it still had eyes. I was a bit wary.

And of a lesser importance last Monday we had permission to go to Cafe Rio!!! and we had the chance to go to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science! Here is Rex.

Sister Liao and myself! She is from Taiwan and she is the cutest!

I don't have much time left, but I love you all and I know that your prayers are heard by our Father in Heaven!

Love, Sister Hardy

Week 14 July through 20 July 2014 ‏           

1. GUESS WHO I SAW AT THE TEMPLE!!?!? Part of my Thornton family!

 2. On exchanges, we taught a woman with a GORGEOUS view right down in the heart of Denver.

3. Bernard got baptized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 AND so did DANA! :)

Week of 30 June through 6 July 2014‏

 

I am finally starting to feel like I have the hang of missionary work. I've been out for quite a while now, and I finally think I'm beginning to understand what missionary work is. I think I am also beginning to more fully understand what Jesus meant when he said, "Man shall not live by bread alone" (Matthew 4:4). We cannot live sustenance for just our physical bodies. We must feast upon the word of Christ for our spiritual livelihood. Funny story with that scripture: We were at a member's home for dinner and their little boy left the dinner table and so the dad asked," Cooper, did you eat all your dinner?" and then the mom said, "Well, he ate all his bread!" The dad then responded. "Man shall not live by bread alone!" It was hilarious! Sister Hanshaw and I got such a kick out of that!

This week we have continued meeting with Annette, Dana, and B. We had plans to meet with Bernard this week, but he was really sick this past week! Soooo.... we are meeting with him tonight. Bernard is such a gem. He has accepted every commandment and principle like he learned these things all his life!

Dana was originally meant to be baptized last night, but we changed the date to the 13th of July! So expect some pictures! She is absolutely amazing. We started teaching her daughter this week, too, Meilani. She is wonderful she is a young mom of 2--Pedro and Melina. Let's pray that Meilani will follow in her mother's footsteps!

We were teaching B on Tuesday and she is totally wanting to be baptized, but a bit afraid of committing. She really had some concerns about the Word of Wisdom--who wouldn't? Anyways, she was a bit concerned about tea and so we explained that really what is comes down to is if Joseph Smith is a prophet or not. Well, then we mentioned to her that she can drink Herbal tea--where it's actually not really tea. She then kind of stared at us dumbfounded and said, "What? That's all I drink!" This is something that she has been held up about for a long long time. Hahahha! Isn't that amazing how things like that work out? She is planning on being baptized at the end of the month so that her in laws can be there.

We also met with Annette! Oh my goodness SO MANY things have happened with her this week. First thing, she was driving out of a grocery store and her car broke down and the closest place that she could park was our church!! Isn't that amazing! Sister Hanshaw and I had planned to stop by her place Tuesday at 3--we didn't have an appointment--and so when we saw that her car wasn't there, we called her to see if we could stop by another time. We get her answering machine and not even a minute later, we get a call from Annette and she tells us that she just broke down! Is that a coincidence? I think not! So we ran over there at we taught her on the grass in the shade right at the church! Miracles happen if you believe.

AND. We finally got to meet our new mission president and his dear, sweet wife--the Mendenhalls!!! Fun fact: President Mendenhall served in my home mission!!! Isn't that amazing! He talked about the Hill Cumorah Pageant and his mission a wee bit. ISN'T THAT SO COOL? I am so excited to talk to him more about the area!

Well, that is all for now. I love this gospel. I know that it is true. We had the chance to teach a family in the ward last night and the spirit was so strong. I know that happiness only comes from this gospel and from Jesus Christ.

Love you all!

Sister Hardy

 

 

 

WE HAD AMAZING AFRICAN FOOD this week. A woman in the ward's mother made us a feast. I MEAN A FEAST.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is sweet Precious!

Great Happenings in Colorado

Week of 9 June 2014-15 June 2014 ‏           

Hi all! I am really sorry that I didn't send a email home last week! It was crazy. So my companion, Sister Mata'itusi got transferred. She is now in Malley! My first area! Isn't that crazy? And Sister Hanshaw is now my companion. She is an amazing missionary and have had an amazing week of miracles!

We have set several people with baptismal dates--Bernard, Dana, B., and Annette. Seriously, we have been experiencing miracles left and right! We have been so blessed.

Bernard is a referral from a member in the ward. The woman didn't really think anything would come from it, but we started teaching him. We went to see him on Friday and reviewed the first lesson, the Restoration, with him and he understood it all! Isn't that amazing? He really has taken this seriously. It is so wonderful to see when people truly understand why we come out and do what we do. Bernard understands that the message we share is meant to change his life. He actually gets it! He is set for the 13 of July. We are so excited!

Then there is Dana. Dana is set for July, too. Dana really understands the need for change in her life. We saw her several times this week and she has been through so much! You name it and she knows it. She is such a strong woman. When we met with her on Thursday, she rattled off a list of things that have been working out for her and she feels that it's because of her desire to change. All of these things are following through for her and she can see the blessings that are coming because of her renewed faith. She is so amazing!! (Mom and Dad, I cannot wait for you to meet her!)

And then Annette. Annette, too, was a referral from a family in the ward. Annette is on fire! Spiritually that is. We met with her this week and we received a voicemail from her that said, "I am so excited to become a Mormon." Isn't that amazing? She is amazing. She is one of the few people that I have met on my mission that understands that she was missing truth her life before we started meeting with her!! Isn't that incredible!?

I absolutely love missionary work! The Lord's hand is in this work. There are so many prepared people all around us!

 

 

This is what happens when the people we are trying to see are not home.

 

Week of 16 June through 22 June 2014 ‏           

 

These past two weeks have been incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had four people at church yesterday!! We had Veronita, Bernard, B. and Dana!!! It was amazing! And three of them are on their way to baptism!!

We met with Dana several times this week and it was such a blessing. There is a family in the ward that is amazing at fellowshipping!! You want to know what the most amazing blessing of it all is?! Four of the six are recent converts!! The J family. They are so supportive of Dana and have even invited her to their Family Home Evenings (FHEs area when the family gets together and has a short lesson on a principle from the gospel and there is ALWAYS a treat). Isn't that amazing? Anyways. We met with Dana and her son, Ricki and it was completely amazing. At the end of the lesson, we all knelt and prayed. The spirit was so strong. That home that has been scarred by the influence of the world was turned into a holy place. It was incredible. Dana has told us how she has felt so much peace reading from the Book of Mormon. MIRACLES HAPPEN. Brother J gave Dana a blessing and blessed her home after one of the lessons. Dana is progressing so much!!!!

Then there is Bernard. Bernard came to church yesterday and it was amazing! He was just smiling the entire time and he was so excited! He is so cute. I love him. He IS SO PREPARED. We met with him yesterday after church and we asked him about church and he was just glowing! He even went to a meeting after church for new people in the ward. What the what?! He is so committed. He understands!! We had our ward mission leader's son-in-law come teach with us, and it was incredible! When he found out that Bernard was getting baptized on the 13th of July, he was all over it. He is going to try to come! He lives in Utah. Crazy!! Oh and Bernard is still keeping all of his commitments.

FUNNY STORY: So my companion and I were trying to contact an investigator that we hadn't heard from in a week--AKA forever for a missionary. We knock on her door and she says, "Hi ladies. I'm sorry, but I can't pray wit y'all today. I can't lie to you. I have a beer in me." Her name is Tulonda and she has more sass than anyone can even begin to imagine. I LOVE HER. We haven't taught the Word of Wisdom yet, so I'll let you know if that goes well.

We also had the chance to meet with Melissa, a former investigator whose ex-husband is a member of the church. She is amazing. We made it a definite point to lay out why we were there. She was all for it. MIRACLES.

This week is President Toombs final week here. He leaves on Sunday and our new mission president, President Mendenhall will be arriving from Idaho. I am so sad to see President Toombs leave, but I know that this is what the Lord wants. I have learned so much from President Toombs and now it's time to learn from President Mendenhall. Fun fact: the movie, The Best Two Years is based off of President Toombs' mission. Remember the elder that sends tapes to his girlfriend?? that was President Toombs. Crazy!!!

I love you all!! The Gospel is true.

 

23 June - 29 June 2014 ‏           

 

This week was absolutely phenomenal and also quite sad. President and Sister Toombs left for home on Saturday!! So sad! However, President and Sister Mendenhall are now here to start their missions in Zion! and I am so excited to meet them!! It was a lot harder to say goodbye than I thought it would be. Sister Hanshaw and I cried in the car on our way home from saying goodbye for the last time. It's amazing how much you grow to love those that the Lord puts in your path, especially when you work with them so closely. President and Sister Toombs were our mission parents and I love them so much! But now I will have another set of mission parents to love just as much as the Toombs!

On a happier note, we met with Bernard several times this week, as well as Dana! There are progressing so well!! For example, we taught Dana about the Word of Wisdom this past week and she kind of was really indecisive of whether or not she was going to commit to live it. BUT. She did and she has not had a cigarette or a cup of coffee since last Tuesday! She told about how her son bought her a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and told her to smoke, but she wouldn't! And so she sat outside on the steps and prayed for help!! Isn't that amazing! She was also able to receive a priesthood blessing to help her quit. She is struggling more with coffee than the cigarettes. So we brought over a ton of gum--shout out to my family for sending me several giant packs of gum! Thanks!--and a bunch of hot cocoa. She is so strong!! She has accepted the commandments we taught her with so much strength and although we are not teaching her husband, he has been so supportive!! I have seen such a change in her since when I first met her! I am so excited for her decision to follow Christ. Miracles are happening here in Bible Park!

Bernard is also progressing. When taught about the word of wisdom, he was completely fine with it. He was like, "I smoke maybe two cigarettes a month." And he said that nothing else is going to be a problem! Isn't that amazing? He is such an amazing example to me! I love him so much!

Bernard and Dana were able to go to a baptism yesterday and it was just what they needed! The elders in our ward are having great success, too! I'm telling you Denver is the promised land! (Thornton is Zion though. Don't forget that :))

I love you all! Jesus lives and He loves us. He did what He did to allow us to overcome what we face in this life.

Love, Sister Hardy

p.s. Funny story of the week! S. Hanshaw and I were leaving our apartment after lunch, I think, and we were walking to our car and we saw this man walking his CAT. And the cat was not having it at all!!! The man was seriously dragging him! And then the man said to us, "I'm taking him out for his furry drag." It was hilarious!!! I'm still cracking up about it!!

	

 

Week of 19 May- 25 May 2014: Killer Hail ‏ and Fanta Got Baptized!

Week of 19 May- 25 May 2014: Killer Hail ‏           

Yes, there was a tornado here in Colorado, but it wasn't anywhere near me! Instead, we experienced some CRAZY storms: pouring rain and hail. The best part of it was that I wasn't outside when it was happening. The first time, we were in an appointment and it stopped right before we left and the second time, we were in the car. The Lord provided!

Despite the insane weather, we had an amazing week. We were able to find SO many people to teach. Sister Mata'itusi and I set a goal to find a new investigator every day, so that would mean 7 new people to teach. However, we didn't find new investigators on Monday or Tuesday, BUT from Wednesday through Sunday, we found eight new people to teach!! Isn't that amazing?

One of those, Annette, was found through a member referral. We were at a district meeting and President Toombs showed up! He challenged each of us at our dinners with members to practice sharing the gospel. Example, we share a message about how God if our loving Heavenly Father, then invite them to give a copy of the Book of Mormon to a friend, or invite their friend to hear the missionary discussion. We would then pretend to be the friend or neighbor and the members would invite us to church, to read, to hear the discussions, etc. So Sister Mata'itusi and I accepted the challenge. That night, we went to the T family's home for dinner and shared a message about how the Gospel blesses families. Well, while we were talking and about to help them with their missionary work, Brother T turns and says, "Ya know, why don't we go up there right now and let you meet her!" Sister M and I are all for it--jumping for joy!

So we get up there, we intended to just say hi, give her our number, and see if we could do anything for her, but instead! She invites us to sit down and we shared the first lesson with her--the Message of the Restoration. She was so excited. We invited her to be baptized and she said something along the lines of "Absolutely! I've been waiting for this!" IT WAS INCREDIBLE. The entire time I was just trying to stay in my seat.

Another miracle that happened was that we met with Zoe again this week and President Toombs came with us, which was exactly what we three needed. President Toombs was able to testify so powerfully and help Zoe understand the plan of salvation. She even came to church on Sunday and it was just wonderful! We are praying that she will continue to understand the necessity of being baptized by the priesthood authority.

We also met an absolutely incredible woman, Dana. She is phenomenal. She has been looking for a church and she really has the desire to come closer to God. Her hold up is that she feels like some churches are really superficial--more hypocritical than spiritual. She wants to go to church for God and not for anyone else--which is the way we all should be. She is super receptive to the message of the Restoration and she understands that they way she will come to know if this message is true is through prayer! Score!

That's all I have time for today! But I love you all!

Love,

Sister Hardy

 

Holy Hail

 

 

 

 While on exchanges, Sister W and I came across a Buddha and so we rubbed the Buddha, mostly because Sister W told me to. I don't believe in that kind of stuff, but we had pretty amazing day. We met this family from India and they were SUPER receptive.

 

 

FANTA GOT BAPTIZED! Week of 27 May through 1 June ‏      

Yes. It happened! After years of the missionaries teaching Fanta, she got baptized on Friday!!! It was amazing!!!! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera back at our apartment, so I don't have any pictures to send!! Next week though! But the baptism was great!

This week, we met with Zoe a few times and she even came to Fanta's baptism! We are still trying to work through helping her understand the Restoration of the gospel. She received some hard news this week from back home in Liberia about her mother. When she told us about it, we brought a woman named Elisabeth with us, who is also from Liberia, and she was exactly what Zoe needed! She was able to help Zoe see the peace that the gospel brings. Later, Zoe was telling us about how a woman in the ward, Evelyn, who is also from Liberia, called Zoe and noticed that something was wrong and went over to Zoe's on her own. Man! I love these people so much!

We went over the Restoration of the gospel with her yesterday, and she still had some hold ups. We asked her if she has been praying about the Book of Mormon, and she said that she hasn't prayed about it. She's been reading about it, but not praying about it. So we invited her to pray about it and she said that she would. Pray and reading from the Book of Mormon is key. Stay tuned!

We found a lot of new people to teach this week! We met Bernard, Nikka, Connie, and Rikki.

All of these people are amazing! The way we found Connie was a miracle. We were stopping by an investigator's house, but she wasn't home. So we were on our way out of the apartment building, but we felt the impression to knock on a specific door and met Connie and her daughter Gina. Connie is amazing! We shared the Restoration with her and while we shared Joseph Smith's experience, she was amazed! She said that she is going to pray and read to find out for herself. YES. She is so fun! We love her! She is genuine and honest. We appreciate that so much.

I want you all to know that I know that this gospel is the Lord's gospel. I know that the message we teach and share with those we meet is true. I haven't a doubt in my mind about it. I know that Jesus Christ lives.

Love, Sister Hardy!

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello From Colorado :)

Week of 28 April through 4 May: Bible Park, AKA the Promised Land ‏        

 

 

• Johanna Hardy
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• Johanna Hardy
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Hi all!! This week was absolutely amazing! Bible Park ward is phenomenal. I LOVE IT HERE. There are twenty-six apartment complexes and soooo many people from other countries! It is sooo cool! Just in this week, we have taught people from Iraq, West Africa, and several people from Liberia!! Isn't that amazing?!

We met this woman named Soe this week. She is from Liberia and she is a very strong Christian. That woman is also very passionate and can quote scripture like no other! She is amazing! We had Evelyn, a recent convert, come with us to her lesson and it was the more miraculous thing! Soe was not understanding the purpose of the Book of Mormon and due to her HEAVY accent, which is beautiful by the way, we were missing something. We could explain clearly enough to understand her concern. Well because Evelyn is from Liberia and could understand her, Evelyn was a huge help in aiding Soe and her understanding! Not only that but Soe and Evelyn were so loud in that lesson, it was hilarious! It was amazing! The Spirit was there.

We also met this woman, Veronita, who is from Liberia (whom Evelyn knows--everyone from Liberia here knows each other! It is amazing!). She feels that the message that we share with her is true, but she doesn't feel that she needs to be baptized again because she has already been baptized. We tried to help her understand the importance of the priesthood, but she wasn't understanding. It was very hard, but what we should have done was open the Book of Mormon and we didn't! SO next time that is what we are going to do!!

Also something that I have recently discovered that doesn't have anything to deal with missionary work is that I cannot stay still. REALLY bad. Something also completely unrelated to missionary work is that I had African food this week for the first time in my life and it was super spicy! But it was soooo good!!

Back to business. We met with Cisse (whom I have met before when I was on exchanges with Sister Hand last transfer) three times before he was baptized on Saturday! It was amazing! We had a few commandments left to teach him--like the law of tithing, the law of fasting, keeping the Sabbath day holy, etc. And he committed to keep them all! Without even second guessing! It was amazing! He was pretty excited to be made clean at his baptism!! It was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

We also had a mission leadership council meeting. It was fantastic! Basically what happens is the leaders of the mission get together and hear trainings by our mission president and his assistants, and his wife. It was amazing. My testimony of this gospel was strengthened tremendously. I LOVE THIS GOSPEL. Something that President Toombs talked about while we were there was that if we don't experience trails, how will we ever grow? How can we grow if we never experience hard times. The answer? We can't. We cannot grow unless we have hard times. Jesus lives! I know it!

Love you all!

Sister Hardy

 

 

Week of 5 May to Mothers Day! ‏           

 

 

First off, Happy belated Mothers day to all the mothers out there! Secondly, it was so wonderful to talk to my family! It's crazy. It doesn't even seem like I've been gone! I'm grateful to know that families can be together forever!

This week was pretty busy. We had two zone meetings this week---since Sister Mata'itusi and I are over two zones of sisters, we needed to go to both. It was really good. We also got to go on our first exchange of the transfer with Sister B and Sister F. It was great! I stayed in Bible Park with Sister B.

But on to the more important details of missionary work. We met with a young woman, Princess, who is from Liberia three times this week and it was very much needed. We met with her on Monday and we needed to teach the first lesson again to help her understand the authority. However, things still weren't clicking for Princess so we drew it out and it worked!! We drew a little stick figure that represented Jesus Christ and drew out 12 more stick figures to show that Christ gave His authority to the 12 apostles. And then we continued to draw out how Christ established one church, but how after his death and then the death of his apostles the authority--the priesthood--was gone. And now we have all these different churches! Well, she really understood then! It was amazing! (Sorry for my horrible story telling and grammar).

On Tuesday, we saw Fanta and her family! Her mother, Annie, made dinner for us which was DELICIOUS and super spicy! In Liberia, they eat everything with this tiny little, VERY HOT peppers. Anyone who knows me knows that I love spicy food and that it doesn't bother me. Well, this spicy food made me drink about 2 liters of water. It was SO HOT. But it was soooo good. Sister Mata'itusi had one of the peppers on her plate and put it in her mouth, but luckily, Annie stopped her before she died!!! All of us were relieved and the kids, Fanta's children, were hilarious! Fanta is still set for her baptism on the 30th of May and two nights ago she set up her baptismal program! We are soooo excited!

 

On Wednesday and Thursday, we had our zone meetings and that was a great spiritual boost for all of us. We heard trainings on discouragement, conversion, gaining member trust, and how to help those we teach keep their commitments. I learned a lot. After one of the meetings, we went on exchanges and that went really well. Sister B is from Hawaii and she is an amazing young woman! She is just incredible. She has a strong conviction of her need to be out here on a mission! I love her strength!

While on exchanges, we went to see a man named Isaac, whose wife joined the church back in August. The missionaries have been teaching Isaac for quite some time, but we can't seem to find what Isaac is having troubles with. We brought a man from the ward, Brother K. It was just what Isaac needed. We talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ--faith, repentance, baptism, confirmation, and enduring to the end. The spirit was in that lesson and I believe that we are another step closer to helping Isaac come closer to Christ!

We met with Zoe again this week (in last week's email I wrote "Soe," but it's actually Zoe). We asked her how her reading has been and she responded with a synopsis of the first few chapters of the Book of Mormon. It was extremely impressive! She has such a strong understand of God and Jesus Christ, but not only that she understands the role of the Holy Ghost--as a bearer of the truth. He testifies to us and he can teach us! She has a very strong understanding of the Godhead! Amazing!!

There was so much more that happened this week, but these are the highlights and the miracles!

I love you all!!!

Love,

Sister Hardy

 

 

 



 

Week of 12 May to 18 May: ‏           

 

We had some really good days this week. What am I saying? Everyday is an amazing day on the mission! We had zone conference, exchanges, and a baptism! This zone conference was President Toombs's last zone conference, as well as many other missionaries. It's so interesting to see the change that comes from spending our time in the service of the Lord. It is amazing.

Here is some highlights from the week.

--We met with Fanta this week and she is still set for baptism on the 30th of May. It is amazing to see how ready she is for the gospel! I absolutely love her! She is just an amazing example to me of what faith means! She hasn't even been baptized but she KEEPS all the commandments--the word of wisdom, the law of tithing, you name it! She is absolutely amazing. We are so excited to see her get baptized. We asked her children if they could do the stanky leg and Fanta's daughter could and they all made me do it! It was terrible. And then they laughed at me. (If you are reading this and wondering what the stanky leg is, google it.)

--We met with Zoe this week again and it was amazing! I absolutely love her! She came to our ward Barbeque and it was so much fun with her being there. We were teaching her about the Plan of Salvation and she knew SO MUCH ABOUT IT! IT was absolutely amazing! The spirit was so strong in the lesson. She feels that the Book of Mormon is true. She is still very apprehensive about coming to church, but we are trying to resolve her concerns! She has an amazing new friend named Evelyn, who like Zoe is also from Liberia! Evelyn has such a strong testimony of this gospel it's just extraordinary!

--THEN. On Saturday, Michelle's mother--do you remember Michelle? all the way back from August? Well her mother got baptized on Saturday and it was amazing! Since August, she, her father, her sister, and now her mother have all joined the church! I think of the scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants, "Mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts!" It is so true!

That is all the time I have for this week, but remember that Jesus loves you!

Love,

Sister Hardy