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

 

  

A Few Weeks of Posts :)

Week of 7 April-13 April: Sunburn and snow ‏ 

          

This week was absolutely GORGEOUS! Sister Reynolds and I were outside a lot this week and I got really bad sunburn, which hopefully will turn into a tan. Let's cross our fingers! AND. You will never believe where I went on Monday?!?! PANERA. Yes. Reunited and it feels so good! We have a Panera in our area!!! #tendermercies. And Sister Reynolds experienced her first ever meal from Chick-fil-a! (There used to only be one in the other mission and now there is one in our district boundaries!!) Sister Reynolds also had her first 7-Eleven Slurpee! It was pretty great, but not as wonderful as the miracles that happened this week!

First thing is first. We met with Pascal--who is AMAZING. He has been very prepared by the Lord, but his wife isn't interested. She is trying to be more religious, but Pascal said that she is very far from her church and that he has come a long way. He told us that really wants to make this journey with her. Family is so important to him, as it is in our church. Missionaries will find him one day when he and his wife are both ready. I am sure of it!

This week we also met Joe and Simon. We were out walking on Wednesday and we saw a young guy taking a break from mowing, so we decided to talk to him! It was a miracle. He was so receptive. We introduced ourselves and he told us that his name was Simon and we just really tried to get to know him. He told us that he used to go to church regularly, but that he got out of the habit. He said that he is interested in getting more actively involved in church. Unfortunately, he doesn't live in our area! He lives in downtown Denver. It was a blessing to meet him though!

That same day, we were trying to contact a former investigator, Gene, and the address that was written didn't exist, so we decided to knock the doors closest to that house number. That is when we met Joe! AND HE IS A HIPPIE. HE EVEN HAS A HIPPIE VAN. Joe is pretty cool. He has a cool van and a ponytail and a sweet name. Anyways, Joe said that he very open to hearing what others believe. He talked about his belief in God and it was awesome. We are going to see him in 2 weeks! Holla. --SIDE NOTE: One of the coolest things about being a missionary is that you meet so many different people. I also figured that I wouldn't meet any hippies since I am so FAR from Boulder, CO.

On Thursday, we had an interesting visit with a woman, Pearl, and her son, Ron. They were in our area book and they totally wanted to bash with us, BUT it didn't work. We stayed strong and it was awesome!!

I love this work so much. I love missionary work. I truly have found myself by losing myself in this work. One of the many paradoxes of this gospel.

I love you all!

Sister Hardy

Funny quote of the week:

"Before I date, I want to court my future spouse." ---Hope (8 year old in the ward)

 

 

 

 

 

 This is me and Hope! She loves Duck dynasty just like me!! We have a special bond.

 

 

 

TRANSFERS! Bye, Willow Creek! Hello, Bible Park! ‏           

 

I was only in the willow creek ward for 6 short weeks! As opposed to my last area (Thornton--where I served for SIX months)! I have a new companion now, Sister Mata'itusi! Remember her from the MTC? Oh yeah. We are in Bible Park and this place is SO DIVERSE!!! I LOVEEEEEE it. (Remember when I went on exchanges with Sister Hand two weeks ago? Well, that place is where I am serving now!!!)

During our last week together, Sister Reynolds and I had a LOT of fun doing missionary work. We met with this one woman, Natalie, who hasn't been to church is quite sometime. However, she is so much more open to everything now! She is softening and she has been strongly fellowshipped by the women in the Willow Creek ward. SHE IS PROGRESSING!!! Can I get a "Hallelujah!"?

Then, Sister Reynolds and I went by a potential investigator, Sujai (who is from India); however, he wasn't home! But just a couple apartment buildings down, there is a less active woman, Debbie. So we tried her! And she let us in and we just really got to know her and set up a time to come back. AND THEN. She surprised us by coming to church on Sunday!!! AW yeah!!

Also, we went to a member's home looking for their son and daughter-in-law who live with them (however, they were both sick :( ), so we talked to the member, Brother S and he is a BOSS. He told us to go see 6 of the neighbors on his street! And he took us over to three of them!!! IT WAS AMAZING. Miracles happened. We met one of his neighbors, Peter. We set up a time to meet with Peter on Sunday and we met with him yesterday and it was a miracle!!!! I loved it!

Well, that is all for now!

I love this gospel. I know that Jesus is the Christ and that He leads and directs the church today! I love you all!

Love, Sister Hardy

 

First off, Happy Easter!!

Secondly, Joyce got baptized!! Do you all remember Michelle? I taught her back in July when I was in Malley ward! Well, her little sister, Joyce, got baptized! Isn't that exciting! During the baptismal service, Michelle bore her testimony about the gospel and it was so powerful! She has completely changed. Remember Alma's words in Alma 5? "Have ye been spiritually born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?" WELL. Michelle TOTALLY has. She has a brighter countenance. I wish I could have you all see a before and after picture! It's incredible!! And her father, Mike, has completely changed, too!! It's incredible!! They are both SO HAPPY. This gospel brings a fullness of joy that no worldly thing can fabricate.

Third, I want to let ALL of you know how thankful I am for the Easter season. What a beautiful thing to celebrate! The Savior's Atonement!

Again in Alma, seventh chapter, we read:

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
Because of the Savior's Atonement, death has no sting, the grave no victory, and ALL of our sorrows can be swallowed up in the hope of Christ!! Of this I know. I have a stronger testimony of this since being out here on a mission!! I love the Savior, Jesus Christ. But more importantly, he loves us! If you haven't seen the "Because of Him" video, watch it now! http://easter.mormon.org/?cid=HPTU041514694 --you will not regret it!
Alright. So this week, Sister Reynolds and I came up with a goal. And so far, miracles have happened!! Let me preface it with, every time we park to go visit someone, we say a prayer. Well, our goal is that after every prayer we say, we have to talk to three people we weren't planning on talking to if the appointment falls through. It may not seem like much, but by the end of the day, we sometimes have met SEVERAL people who are interested............
For example, one day this week, we were trying to contact a woman, Charity, whom we have met before. WELL, not to our surprise, she wasn't home, so we still had to talk to three people before we got back in the car. So we walked for a bit and met a man named, Kyle, who happens to be a leader in one of the local churches here. Then we tracted into an active member family in the ward--I am embarrassed to say that that is not the first time. But, we still needed one more person, so we knocked on the door across the street from the family's house, and we met Adam! Adam is a tattoo artist and musician, whose mother just recently passed away, and he is interested in learning more about the gospel. We set up a time to meet with him on Sunday, but he forgot that it was Easter and called us back and told us that he really wants to talk to us about what we believe but that Easter Sunday wasn't a good day. Things didn't work out exactly as we had planned, BUT we are going to see him sometime this week!!!
We also met some other potentials! Evan, Sujai, Neha, Dalva, Gabbie, and Mitzi!! I mean we met a lot of other people, but these are the ones who are quite promising! I shall
We visited with a less active couple that the Spirit totally led us to--Olivia and Jim. It was incredible. We didn't even have their records. #miracles. Even though neither of them have been at church in quite sometime, they both have such an amazing testimony of the love of our Heavenly Father. They are amazing people!!
I am just about out of time. I love you all and I love this gospel! Jesus lives! And because he lives, we, too, will live again!
Love, Sister Hardy

 

AT JOYCE'S baptism! I have such a derp face on, but I don't care! Joyce got baptized!!! (Sister Knowlton and I were reunited once again!) o come later!

 

 

 

This week we gave a dog a bath for service! Pretty fun, eh? This dog's name is Major Paine, and you can see he is part bear.

 

 

 

Also! We had a visitor from back home! Kevin! When we pulled up to our ward mission leader's house, I saw a pick up truck with a New York license plate and I about died!!