Week 32: Mission meeting, bible-bashers, and MALLEY‏

 

Hello there!

This week was full of...interesting moments.

1. Sister Marshall and I got a perfect score on our car inspection! And we got to sign our names in this pretty sweet mission book for those skilled in the art of car cleaning.

2. We had TWO encounters with Bible bashers this week. One encounter was pretty intense and I was a bit scared, and I didn't bash back! Our ward mission leader was pretty happy when he heard that I didn't bash. I'll admit bashing is so tempting! But, I know we shouldn't, so I have a new resolve.

3. We had two mission meetings this week with President Toombs and it was awesome! At the first meeting, it was a zone conference and we practiced teaching the simple doctrine that "God is is our loving Heavenly Father." It was pretty incredible.

At the meeting there was a woman who had recently joined the church, Amy. She and her husband (Harold) were moving and she had packed up all their stuff and fit it into their car, and EVERYTHING WAS STOLEN. So, they tried contacting a whole bunch of different churches in the Denver area, and no one would help them. Well, they showed up to our church and President Toombs just happened to be there. Harold related the entire story to him and they started the discussions an hour later and were baptized in November! CRAZY! President Toombs even baptized them! How amazing is that?!

4. I had SUSHI FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS WEEK and I am absolutely in LOVE with it! Seriously. I have been missing out!

5. Sister Marshall and I went on exchanges, and guess where I went?! Oh, yes. MALLEY. My birthplace! It was incredible to see those I taught while I was there! I didn't get to see Michelle, but I saw her father, Mike! He got baptized last month and he talked about all of his missionary experiences! How incredible is that! He has been talking to his friends about the Book of Mormon and about the church and he is on fire! Spiritually on fire!

While on exchanges, I also got to see one of my favorite families--Shannon, Brandon, and Ethan! I didn't get to see James, which was disappointing, but it was so good to see the family again! Shannon was one of the first people I met while I was in Malley. Remember the chicken picture? and the bird pictures? That is at her house! Love them!

I also got to see Monique! (We found Monique in an apartment complex when she was moving out. Remember her?) Well, now she is expecting now! She has three boys and hopefully a girl on the way! Just kidding. She already has three boys and her husband, what's another one?!

Sister Moore (my temporary companion for the day I was in Malley) and I also saw Joe and Jessi! Remember them? Joe was my first heartbreak. He dropped us! But it was so good to see him again. I miss seeing them often.

It was good to go to Malley for a day, but I am happy to be back in Thornton! We have a lot of work to do here and we better hop to it!

I love you all, so much! Remember that Jesus loves you!

Love,

Sister Hardy

 

We went to this pizza place this week! (pronounced "Forget about it" in a NYC accent) The pizza was really good, too! There are only two things that would make Colorado even better: Wegmans and better pizza. 

 

 

WE GOT A HUGE BOX OF CHOCOLATES FROM A POTENTIAL. BAD. BAD. BAD! I think the worst part about it was that the first thing we did when we got home was open them :)

 

 

 

I am famous! This picture is while we were doing service at one of the best places! Park Regency! It's one of the assisted living centers. Jennifer, the head of activities, put this up on one of the walls so that the residents will know who we are when we come in! Pretty cool.

 

 

 

Week 30: You know you're a missionary when... AND Week 31: "And on the seventh day..."

Week 30: You know you're a missionary when 




This week was FULL of wonderful things that happened.

1. Our zone full of missionaries played capture the flag with nerf guns. It was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. Sister Holladay (my last companion) and I sat and watched. Seriously, it should be an Olympic sport. Maybe I'd actually watch the Olympics then.

2. RICHARD PRAYED. Hallelujah! Seriously, when we left the house, I jumped so stinking high I'm surprised I didn't rip my skirt.

3. We found out why one of our investigators hasn't been coming to church--AFTER FOUR MONTHS OF TEACHING HER. I thought I was going to cry because I was so happy after we left.

4. We helped a sister in the ward clean her house and I was SO happy that someone actually let us serve them. Also, I got to wear sweat pants, so I was really content.

5. Sister Marshall and I spent a couple hours on Friday helping a family in the ward paint their newly finished basement. We had a blast. (I LOVE PAINTING)

6. We didn't have to tract on Sunday because no one cancelled our appointments! Oh yeah!

We had a lot of awesome things that happened this week. It was fantastic. However, we did have some stressful times this week because of the weather. On both Friday and Saturday, we received messages from the assistants to President Toombs (our mission president) that we were not allowed to drive our cars because of the roads. Luckily, I had handwarmers and a heavy coat and boots. But, the "driving ban" was lifted before we had to leave. (Fridays are our days to plan, so we were home until 3 and the ban was lifted at 2! oh yes. It was perfect.)

On Tuesday, we had a service project with about 5 other sets of elders. This service project consisted of making soup and cookie mixes, and tying bows. Luckily, we had some very skilled bow-tie-rs (bow-tyers?). Mom, I have you to thank for that. It was great to see the elders tying bowes. It was hilarious actually.

On Wednesday, we went to the old folks home to play bingo and Berta (my adopted German g-ma) was there like always, Well, she actually won Bingo! And I got so excited! I said, "Berta! You won Bingo! You finally won!" She looked at me and said sternly, "Control yourself!" Man, I still am laughing about it! Later, Berta was blowing her nose because she had a cold and well, she set her used tissue on the table, looked around, and used her elbow to push her tissue off the table. I looked under the table and there were several other used tissues under there on the ground, along with her candy wrapper!! It was hilarious! I thought I would die because she just looked at me and put her index finger to her mouth to shush me. Man. I love old people.

Then on Friday, while we were planning it was rather chilly because of all of the snow, so we wanted to used the gas fireplace to heat up the house. Well, I had never used a gas fireplace before, nor lit a pilot light (neither had Sister Marshall), so we called the woman that we are living with and she told us what to do. I lit the pilot light and Sister Marshall turned the gas up--still no fire. So I blow on it lightly--still nothing. Well, for some reason, my brain says, "Try lighting one of the ceramic logs." I did that and no stinking fire! I move the lighter back a litter farther and light it and whoooosh! The log lit up and it scared me silly, but we weren't hurt and the fire wasn't even that big. However, it was hilarious.

Back to spiritual matters. We tracted into this man named Thomas and he was the SWEETEST guy. So maybe I say that about everyone who talks to us, but still, this guy is like Stake President sweet. We said a prayer over his home for peace and safety.

We also met with with a couple people that we haven't met with before this week. Both of these members of the ward haven't been active in years and when we met with each of them, it was so interesting to see that their testimonies of the gospel are still so strong. They have different stories--one of them is a mother of two that hasn't been to church in so long because of life and then the other is an older gentleman in his sixties that isn't married and he doesn't have any children. He hasn't been active in church because of his work schedule and because he needs to just get back into the habit.

I love this gospel so much. It doesn't matter if we've been in the church for two weeks or if our families have been in the church since 1830. We all can have powerful testimonies of the Savior and His Atonement. All we need to do is what He has commanded us to do: have faith, repent, be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end--keep holding on, keep doing what He has asked.

I love you all so so much. I know that our Heavenly Father loves you, too. I have never loved harder than I have out here in Denver. These people that I meet mean so much to me. It's the strangest experience to go into a home where you have NEVER ever met these people and to leave feeling as if you have known them forever and all you want is for them to be married in the temple. It's incredible to be on the Lord's errand. I love this work!

You are in my prayers!

Love,

Sister Hardy

Elder Rampton (who came out with me), Elder Hansen (who just finished being trained), Sister Marshall, and then myself. We make up the missionaries in the Thornton ward! Elder Hansen is getting transferred today and we will be getting another missionary.


Sister Mailau (on left) leaves today for her last area. She will be terribly missed. Sister Moore is on the right, and she photo-bombed (she has been in Malley ward, my first area).






The snow. Need I say more? This wasn't even the worst of it!

 This is me with Elder Neppach, who goes home today. He and Elder Guzman were my first zone leaders. God speed, Elder!

Last one. ....

The couple in the picture with us is our ward mission leader and his wife.
 He's a goof (if you didn't notice). Also, his wife is the coolest. Love them.



 







Week 31: "And on the seventh day..."

There are these two boys in the ward named Orion and Briggs. Cute names, right? Anyways, one of them came home from church and said that in Primary they learned about the creation of the universe. Well, when Orion got to the seventh day, he said, "And on the seventh day, God created technology!" Isn't that hilarious?! His parents had to inform him that God actually rested on the seventh day. How cute!

This past week was absolutely incredible! Can I just say that miracles REALLY do happen?

Sister Marshall and I have been praying for three things this week:

1. to get new investigators

2. to set someone with a baptismal date

3. to teach over twenty lessons

The answer to your question is yes. ALL FLIPPIN' THREE OF THESE THINGS HAPPENED. Hallelujah!

Among many miracles, we had some fun doing service with the senior population. Bingo and crafts again! It was awesome! This time though, Jennifer (the woman in charge of activities) had some jazz music on and Rhoda and I danced. It was awesome. We may or may not have had a dance off with Sister Marshall and her partner. (Rhoda and I won though). And before that Jennifer read off some trivia questions and this one woman was just shouting out random answers. It was HILARIOUS! She had one resident, Tilly, crying she was laughing so hard! (I really was worried that Tilly was going to pass out or hurt herself--she's in her 80s I think.)

After we did some service, we went to contact referrals and we met a man named Richie and he let us in! Woot. In the door--check! He asked us what we believe. Restoration lesson--check! Oh and did I tell you that he is in training to become a MINISTER?! Yes. He knows the Bible backwards, forwards, inside out, you name it! We set up a time to meet with him and the best part about all of this was that our mission president, President Toombs, came with us! We picked up Richie and his wife (Rachel) as new investigators! First prayer answered.

Second miracle or prayer answered, we went to Lisa and Richard's and retaught the Restoration--to clarify that Lisa understood. AND we invited her to be baptized and after resolving her concerns and teaching simply and clearly, she committed to baptism! Boom. Heavenly Father listens.

The third miracle this week was that on Saturday, we hit over twenty lessons! That NEVER HAPPENS HERE. AND the Elders numbers were high, too!

Side miracle: Sister Marshall and I were driving around trying to contact someone, when I saw a garage door open. I thought, "Okay. If there is someone in the garage, we'll stop the car and go talk to them." There wasn't anyone in the garage and so I kept driving. Well, that house stayed in my mind and on Friday we had some free time, so we went back to the house. We knocked on the door and a man named John answers the door. His

 

wife is in the back and he invites us in out of the cold. We sit and he asks question after question. He wasn't bashing, but he trying to argue and we weren't biting. BUT. We were able to clear up a LOT of misconceptions he had about the church. Once he even said, "Well my neighbor says that you Mormons believe..." I smiled inside because the best way to find out what Mormons believe is from a Mormon, preferably an active one.

I love you all and I know that Jesus does, too!

Love,

Sister Hardy

So I only took one picture this week. My studies for the past few days have involved me, a blanket, and my new best friend "Jesus the Christ" by James E. Talmage. I CAN'T PUT IT DOWN. Sister Forysth, the woman we live with, asked me if I fall asleep reading it. Unfortunately, I haven't been falling asleep while reading that, but when I pick up the Book of Mormon after, that's when I become a little sleepy.

Week 29: Sixty degree weather and snow flurries‏

We had a pretty good time this past week. We had a lot of fun. On Monday we went to a few different consignment shops and one of them is ARC (the best thrift store in Denver). It's HUGE and although they don't have a lot of good stuff, you can find some really nice stuff there.

Later that day we met with a less active who still has a lot of bent up feelings about the church, but she is so kind and she loves when we come over. She enjoys the company, she tells us. She also likes the help missionaries have offered in the past.

After we emailed on Tuesday last week, we had an appointment with Miranda and Ben. And GUESS WHAT? They ordered pizza for us! Isn't that so sweet? They are such kind people. We really just tried to get to know them and what they believe. We didn't have time to start the first discussion, but we are planning on doing that tomorrow.

We did some service for the same assisted living centers we did last week. At one of them we made cute little football men to decorate the activity room for the Super Bowl. This one woman, Rhoda, walked around with us to get all the residents who were home to come down and do crafts with us. She was hilarious! We also met another woman, Faye, who would constantly say, "I just love yous girls." or "You girls are so pretty." Isn't that sweet? She was really worried that we wouldn't come back, but we reassured her that we'd be back.

We did some service for a family in the ward--helping them paint the walls, and it was so much fun. This coming week we have a time set up to help another family paint the walls in their newly finished basement. AND I AM SO EXCITED.

On Wednesday, it was Sister Marshall's birthday! Twenty three years young! Pros to your companion having a birthday: COOKIES galore! Cinnamon rolls for breakfast! Humongous cupcakes! Cheesecake! And TWO birthday cakes. Oh and we went out for lunch. Yes. I think I ate my weight in sweets this week.

Thursday and Friday, we tried contacting a lot of people that we hadn't met and we found that half of them had moved. While we were trying to find one man in this townhome development, we knocked on a few doors and only one person answered. We didn't have the best experience with him, but that experience really made me aware of Satan's influence in this world. I see it everyday, but not like that. I just hope that regardless of the differences we have, we will show kindness to those that we meet who believe differently.

Friday night, we went to a home looking for a young man named Julian, and found his grandparents who haven't been to church in a while and his two younger brothers who haven't been baptized. Anyways, we had been there for about 15 minutes before we found out that the elders have been teaching them! AND they came to church! It was awesome! Julian's grandmother, Sister M. told us that we should come visit soon. Her two youngest grandchildren are so intelligent and they love when the missionaries come over. How sweet!

On Saturday, we had a breakfast with all the missionaries in the stake as well as with our stake president, President Hellbusch. It was so good and afterwards two other sets of sisters came to our house to study. It was really fun and spiritual of course.

Later in the day, we were outside, meeting with Glenn, and we saw that a few houses down there were some new people moving in. Well! The entire time I kept thinking, we need to go help them! We need to help them! Would it be rude to end the lesson right now? But, instead, I was rational, and we waited until the end of the lesson to go over there. We met Bobby and Lasarha and they were so appreciative! They asked us to come by later to help. I felt SO good after that. I am excited to see them this week!

Well, that's all for now. I want you all to know that I love you and I pray for you constantly!

Love,

Sister Hardy

This picture was taken right after we made our last appointment on Superbowl Sunday! Oh yeah! We will not be tracting then! Heck yes.

 

 

 

 

Look at that cake! Mmm. Sister Langlois (from California) made it, and added sparklers!

 

Week 28: Filled With Service :)

This week was filled with service! And teaching of course. We helped a sister in the ward wash her windows and blinds. We helped another sister and her family move some stuff. We also volunteered at four retirement centers and I honestly LOVE OLD PEOPLE. ---Let me tell you about Berta. Berta is from Germany and she has lived in Colorado for the past several decades. She loves Bingo, sparkling punch, and exercise. She is the cutest woman. Mom, can we adopt her when I get home?

AND top everything off, we got to go to the temple this week. I may or may not have fallen asleep.

On Tuesday, when we did service for one of the assisted living cent Fiers, there was a deaf dog show and we went upstairs to get the residents to come down (knocking doors for service? piece of cake.). It was hilarious. We met so many funny people! I loved it! Maybe I shouldn't go to school for English....Kidding.

We met up with some former investigators and it was awesome. We met Miranda and Ben. They let us in and we sat and talked with them. We set up a time to go back! I am so excited. They have two little boys and they are the kindest most down to earth people you'll meet!

This past week three of our investigators were dropped. Two dropped us and one we dropped because she wasn't progressing. So, this week, we will be doing a lot of finding.

We also got to go to Lori's house! Remember Lori? She was baptized a few months ago! And we were able to have dinner with her and it was a blast. Speaking of baptisms! Remember Randy? Well, he and his son Dorian are on date to be baptized! I am so excited for them. (We gave them to the Elders because we felt that it was right. Although I fought God on that one, long and hard.)

An exciting thing that happened this week is that we finally got to contact a referral from some members. This referral wasn't ever home when we stopped by, but on Saturday they were! We went in and visited with them, asked about what they believe, and we prayed with them. It was a great experience especially when we almost didn't stop there.

Well, that's all I have for you this week. Remember that Jesus loves you all so much. Oh and if you don't know yet, the Broncos are going to the Super Bowl. Yep. That means in two weeks, there will be a lot of craziness here.

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Hardy

 

 We received a Bible from a former investigator's wife. She told me to read John and that it would answer some questions.

 We went through the car wash! It's nice to get Monty (our car) all cleaned up.

We went to the temple on Wednesday! You can see all the missionaries outside. Love it!

Week 27: The Adventures of Sister Flash‏

There are some cons to being a missionary (e.g. We don't watch TV). Because we don't watch the news, I had no idea that back home had (or is still having??) a MAJOR FREEZE! Is everyone okay? I was told that the temperatures got to negative 40! If that's true, that is insane!

**Because I have a blog, anyone can read what's going on in my life right now. There are several members in my ward out here that are keeping tabs on me :D. Well, there is a man in the ward (remember the Christmas pickle? That's the same family) who has now given me the name Sister Flash because I ran a red light and so I got a ticket.

This week was a lot of fun. On Tuesday, a member in our ward took us to Chick-fil-a and of course it was delicious--(the only downside to the East Coast is that they don't have Chick-fil-a, but they have Wegmans). Anyways, I think I might have an allergy to something in the Chick-fil-a sauce because it has made me feel really icky. But it's so good!

Afterwards, we had some appointments fall through (three to be exact), so we tried contacting referrals. We knocked on this one house and the music was blaring!! It was so loud you could hear it from outside. Yeah, she didn't answer, but we knew she was home.

We went and saw this less-active woman, Sister T. She is hilarious! I can't remember if I have mentioned her in past entries, but she is this awesome old lady! She is in her late 80s and she is just so sassy and I absolutely LOVE it! We also give her chapters to read from in the Book of Mormon and she loves it. I love having a quality gospel conversation about the scriptures! It brightens up my whole day!

We had some open time in the evening because our appointment cancelled, so we went and tried to see less actives. It was actually a blessing because we got to visit a family that we haven't seen in a while. They are doing some finishing work in their basement, and they said they'd call on us to paint. Hopefully, they will! I love painting!

Wednesday came and we had interviews with President Toombs, which went very well. I had some questions about investigators that he was able to answer, obviously. I had to fess up to him about my ticket, and apparently, the vehicle coordinator (Elder Langford) showed him the ticket because it's a photo-cop ticket. President Toombs laughed and said that there was no doubt about me running that red light.

Later on Wednesday, we went to Elm's Haven (an assisted living center) to help the residents there play Bingo. Oh man. Who knew that people would get so excited about Bingo! It's hilarious! There was this cute old guy named Orlando that I helped out and he was just so adorable!

We also finally met with Christiana and we taught her a little bit from the first discussion. She is such a wonderful young woman! I am excited to go back this week and talk to her! Her two little ones are so adorable!

On Thursday, we had a meeting with our zone and one of the elders shared a scripture that helped me feel Heavenly Father's love. It's 2 Nephi 1:15. I'll let you look it up because I don't have enough time to type it.

AND to top off the wonderful morning/afternoon, we actually had people attend our scripture study class! Sister Marshall and I had to wing it because no one was really prepared to teach.

The next day, we went to an appointment with Glenn, but he was sick, so we asked Lee who we could go pray with out of his neighbors. He told us of three of his neighbors and so we knocked on all of the doors right then. We knocked on this one door and it was hilarious! Here is just a snap shot of what happened:

Me: "Hi! How's it going?"

Odd man:.................

Me: "Ohh...okay. Uhhh, well, we are missionaries and we are offering prayers of peace over people's homes. Could we do that for you?"

Odd man: "There are five people sleeping right now in here."

Me: [Thinking "Sir, it's 4 o'clock in the afternoon."] "Oh, um, we're sorry. We didn't know anyone was sleeping."

Silence for about 15 seconds.

Odd man: "Sorry." [He shuts the door]

I couldn't help but laugh! It was hilarious! Despite our bad luck with him, a couple doors down we were able to pray with this one boy, Logan. He was very appreciative. It was awesome!

Then! On Saturday, the MIRACLE HAPPENED. Remember Michelle? I taught her when I was in the Malley ward and she got baptized! Well, her dad, Mike, got baptized on Saturday!! Isn't that incredible?! I was ecstatic! In a year, they can go to the temple together. How wonderful will that day be?!

Well, that's all for now. I want you to know that I love you all so much! And if I love you so much, how much more does Jesus Christ love you?

Love,

Sister Hardy

Week 26: My first ticket‏

This week was a week of firsts. We had to stay home for Wednesday night and some of Thursday because I've been sick. It also was my first New Year's Eve going to bed early on purpose--I was actually in bed by 9. I didn't accidentally fall asleep! And, lastly, it was my first ticket.

Story behind the ticket, we were on our way home from a meeting in Aurora (which is about an hour drive away from where we are in Thornton) and I ran a red light. Everyone who has been in the car long enough with me knows that I don't do well with heavy traffic for long periods of time. No one was hurt and the intersection was clear.

So remember Lee? Well, he dropped us, but that's okay! Because he said it was still okay to go over and visit his grandpa. It was really sad when he told us that he wasn't interested in meeting with us. His father told him to not have anything to deal with us and he trusts his father. The best thing to do in this situation is to show him love.

Now with the positive things that have happened this week! We were able to meet Christiana--a mother of two. She was really kind and said we could come back this week and talk to her. We will go see her tomorrow. It's kind of a cool story how we found her. Sister Marshall and I were trying to contact referrals when I made a wrong turn. I turned into a cul-de-sac and so we had to turn around. Anyways, there was this woman--she had just gotten out of her car and was heading inside. We drove off and I felt like we should go knock her door. Well, I pushed the thought out and again, I felt like we should go back and see her, so we did. I don't know if it'll go anywhere, but we'll see!!

Because Sister Marshall is so new and because we don't have a huge teaching pool, we've been teaching members in the ward as if they were investigating the church. It's been really cool. We've been able to practice and the members have been able to remember their conversions stories/see how it would feel without the gospel.

We met with the Lisa and Richard again this week. AND CAN I JUST SAY THAT LISA GETS IT?! We had asked her to read from the Book of Mormon and pray before reading and it made all the difference! She told us that she prayed before she read and that she believes in the Book of Mormon! Not only that, but in past visits she's expressed a concern about her dyslexia and how it's harder for her to understand what she reads because she is so focused on the words. BUT. This time she understood the reading! IT WAS INCREDIBLE. I wanted to cry I was so stinkin' happy!

We've met with Linda a lot this week. We've tried to emphasize the Atonement and the healing power that it has. She has been struggling and we've been trying to help her in any way we can. This week will be one of mighty prayer. You know Enos in the Book of Mormon? That will be me.

I love you all and I miss you. I know that the only way to find peace is through Jesus Christ. Rely on Him and everything will fall in place. I've said it once and I'll say it twice. I did not come out here on a mission to teach people about something that is a bunch of nonsense. I came out here to help people come to know Jesus Christ. I know that He can heal you. He has healed me.

Love,

Sister Hardy

 

The first picture is of Licorice. We call her "Lu." She mostly lays around and stuff. But, we love her.

While we were studying we found a sacrament cup in the couch. It's not everyday you find one of those!

 

Look at all the snow! Plows do not come to the back roads. We live in a cul-de-sac now and it's all iced over

 

Sister Marshall and I went to contact a referral and we saw this!! The weird part about it was that you can't see the face from the road. You can only see it from the porch.

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Week 25: CHRISTMAS‏

First, I want to say thank you to everyone who sent me cards/letters/packages! It made my Christmas so much more enjoyable!

Second, this week was full of fun! On both Monday and Tuesday, we went caroling and it was so incredible to see how thankful people were! It was awesome! On Monday, we also were allowed to watch a movie. Remember the Titans, anyone? We all went over to the Malley sisters' house (where I lived when I served in Malley) and yes, Denzel Washington made a guest appearance. We ate, we laughed, we cried (when Gerry Bertier gets in that accident, gets me every time)! It was so much fun.

On Christmas Eve, we had dinner with these family who is Japanese--well, the father is--and it was so much fun. They made chocolate covered peanut butter balls. MY FAVORITE THINGS (that and lemon bars--which were made for me on Christmas!).

We then watched "Joy to the World" with our ward mission leader and his family. It helped me to remember my gratitude for the Savior and His sacrifice. I am thankful to know that Jesus came here so that we might live.

CHRISTMAS DAY. Well, obviously, I got to call home! It was so wonderful to see and talk to my family. The girls have grown so much. It's crazy! We had dinner with the Packer family and I guess the picture went viral. I found the Christmas pickle in the tree after all their kids looked forever. I got my flash light and went under the tree. It was awesome! That thing was really hidden. Then, we played the game speed Uno. It was hilarious. So basically, it's like regular uno but you can lay down even when it's not your turn.

That night we went on exchanges and so Sister Mailau (the sister from Tonga--my great-grandmother) came here to Thornton and Sister Marshall went to Malley. We saw Glenn (the 84 year old man) and spent the first twenty minutes practically yelling so he could hear us--turns out his hearing aid batteries were dead. After we got him new batteries, we were able to talk to him. Then, we went to see Lisa and Richard. Lisa really wants to know if the Book of Mormon is true before she does anything. Sweet, right!?

After we saw Lisa and Richard, we went to the Forsyths (we are actually moving into their house today). We went over there and their oldest son had a friend over visiting him (because their son leaves for BYU-I this week). So, we were able to teach him the first missionary discussion and it was awesome!

The next day, after we had a training meeting with our mission President, we were in our car and I had already started driving when we saw a woman walking her dog. I pulled over, parked, and we got out to talk to her. Her dog was really defensive, so we didn't get to share the gospel with her. But we knocked on a couple doors and saw these two men outside. I about ran over to them and said, "Hi!! Did you have a nice Christmas?!" To which they responded, we aren't Christian. We talked to one of them for about ten minutes about what he believed and it was awesome. But then, what topped it off was when we noticed that lights were on at this one house that had been referred to us. We went over there and we actually saw the woman, Tara, outside. She let us in and we said a prayer with her and her family (her cousins and their children were over). Cool, right?

I love this gospel and I know that Jesus loves all of you. Have a Happy New Year! Make some resolutions that will bring you closer to the Savior!

Love,

Sister Hardy

This is me and Sister Marshall!

First, I want to say thank you to everyone who sent me cards/letters/packages! It made my Christmas so much more enjoyable!

Second, this week was full of fun! On both Monday and Tuesday, we went caroling and it was so incredible to see how thankful people were! It was awesome! On Monday, we also were allowed to watch a movie. Remember the Titans, anyone? We all went over to the Malley sisters' house (where I lived when I served in Malley) and yes, Denzel Washington made a guest appearance. We ate, we laughed, we cried (when Gerry Bertier gets in that accident, gets me every time)! It was so much fun.

On Christmas Eve, we had dinner with these family who is Japanese--well, the father is--and it was so much fun. They made chocolate covered peanut butter balls. MY FAVORITE THINGS (that and lemon bars--which were made for me on Christmas!).

We then watched "Joy to the World" with our ward mission leader and his family. It helped me to remember my gratitude for the Savior and His sacrifice. I am thankful to know that Jesus came here so that we might live.

CHRISTMAS DAY. Well, obviously, I got to call home! It was so wonderful to see and talk to my family. The girls have grown so much. It's crazy! We had dinner with the Packer family and I guess the picture went viral. I found the Christmas pickle in the tree after all their kids looked forever. I got my flash light and went under the tree. It was awesome! That thing was really hidden. Then, we played the game speed Uno. It was hilarious. So basically, it's like regular uno but you can lay down even when it's not your turn.

That night we went on exchanges and so Sister Mailau (the sister from Tonga--my great-grandmother) came here to Thornton and Sister Marshall went to Malley. We saw Glenn (the 84 year old man) and spent the first twenty minutes practically yelling so he could hear us--turns out his hearing aid batteries were dead. After we got him new batteries, we were able to talk to him. Then, we went to see Lisa and Richard. Lisa really wants to know if the Book of Mormon is true before she does anything. Sweet, right!?

After we saw Lisa and Richard, we went to the Forsyths (we are actually moving into their house today). We went over there and their oldest son had a friend over visiting him (because their son leaves for BYU-I this week). So, we were able to teach him the first missionary discussion and it was awesome!

The next day, after we had a training meeting with our mission President, we were in our car and I had already started driving when we saw a woman walking her dog. I pulled over, parked, and we got out to talk to her. Her dog was really defensive, so we didn't get to share the gospel with her. But we knocked on a couple doors and saw these two men outside. I about ran over to them and said, "Hi!! Did you have a nice Christmas?!" To which they responded, we aren't Christian. We talked to one of them for about ten minutes about what he believed and it was awesome. But then, what topped it off was when we noticed that lights were on at this one house that had been referred to us. We went over there and we actually saw the woman, Tara, outside. She let us in and we said a prayer with her and her family (her cousins and their children were over). Cool, right?

I love this gospel and I know that Jesus loves all of you. Have a Happy New Year! Make some resolutions that will bring you closer to the Savior!

Love,

Sister Hardy

This is me and Sister Marshall!

First, I want to say thank you to everyone who sent me cards/letters/packages! It made my Christmas so much more enjoyable!

Second, this week was full of fun! On both Monday and Tuesday, we went caroling and it was so incredible to see how thankful people were! It was awesome! On Monday, we also were allowed to watch a movie. Remember the Titans, anyone? We all went over to the Malley sisters' house (where I lived when I served in Malley) and yes, Denzel Washington made a guest appearance. We ate, we laughed, we cried (when Gerry Bertier gets in that accident, gets me every time)! It was so much fun.

On Christmas Eve, we had dinner with these family who is Japanese--well, the father is--and it was so much fun. They made chocolate covered peanut butter balls. MY FAVORITE THINGS (that and lemon bars--which were made for me on Christmas!).

We then watched "Joy to the World" with our ward mission leader and his family. It helped me to remember my gratitude for the Savior and His sacrifice. I am thankful to know that Jesus came here so that we might live.

CHRISTMAS DAY. Well, obviously, I got to call home! It was so wonderful to see and talk to my family. The girls have grown so much. It's crazy! We had dinner with the Packer family and I guess the picture went viral. I found the Christmas pickle in the tree after all their kids looked forever. I got my flash light and went under the tree. It was awesome! That thing was really hidden. Then, we played the game speed Uno. It was hilarious. So basically, it's like regular uno but you can lay down even when it's not your turn.

That night we went on exchanges and so Sister Mailau (the sister from Tonga--my great-grandmother) came here to Thornton and Sister Marshall went to Malley. We saw Glenn (the 84 year old man) and spent the first twenty minutes practically yelling so he could hear us--turns out his hearing aid batteries were dead. After we got him new batteries, we were able to talk to him. Then, we went to see Lisa and Richard. Lisa really wants to know if the Book of Mormon is true before she does anything. Sweet, right!?

After we saw Lisa and Richard, we went to the Forsyths (we are actually moving into their house today). We went over there and their oldest son had a friend over visiting him (because their son leaves for BYU-I this week). So, we were able to teach him the first missionary discussion and it was awesome!

The next day, after we had a training meeting with our mission President, we were in our car and I had already started driving when we saw a woman walking her dog. I pulled over, parked, and we got out to talk to her. Her dog was really defensive, so we didn't get to share the gospel with her. But we knocked on a couple doors and saw these two men outside. I about ran over to them and said, "Hi!! Did you have a nice Christmas?!" To which they responded, we aren't Christian. We talked to one of them for about ten minutes about what he believed and it was awesome. But then, what topped it off was when we noticed that lights were on at this one house that had been referred to us. We went over there and we actually saw the woman, Tara, outside. She let us in and we said a prayer with her and her family (her cousins and their children were over). Cool, right?

I love this gospel and I know that Jesus loves all of you. Have a Happy New Year! Make some resolutions that will bring you closer to the Savior!

Love,

Sister Hardy