May 23, 2011

Buenas!!!

Hey, I have a new Compañero! Aha, Elder Muzo! He is from El Salvador. He is very nice, and we have made some very impressive goals for this month of June that is coming. His name is Jose Muzo Martinez.  

He is a recent convert to the church. Which always earns my respect. He was baptized about 2 years ago. He was the example in his family and was the first one to be baptized. Apparently, before the missionaries showed up, he was a punk. He had the big boots and giant mohawk to go with it. But the gospel has changed his life. And what is really great is that because of his example and going on the mission, the rest of his family was baptized 4 months ago.

Also, he only took about a half an hour today to write President and then he got off the computer. He told me once that not too many people write him. It would be nice if you guys could send him an email introducing yourselves and welcoming him to the family.

Ah. So this week we found several very positive families. We have already taught them the Restoration of the Gospel and have put a goal for them to be baptized in this coming month.

We passed by the house of one of the families yesterday. Her husband wasn’t home and they couldn’t go to church, but, we asked her if she had read the LDM (El Libro de Mormón, Book of Mormon) and prayed and she said yes.

Then we asked how she felt, and she said she felt really peaceful. We read with her the Fruits of the Spirit in Galatas (Galations). And she felt that it was an answer to her prayers.

For Changes I sat with my "Father" Elder Coj. (Sue’s note: Your “Father” is the senior companion that trains the new missionary “Greenie”). But as far as fun activities, not too much. President has really cut down the time at changes so we can get back to our area and work.

It is rainy every day now! It hasn’t rained super hard but the climate has definitely changed.

No package from Uncle Rob!!! Apparently Aunt Jenny has sent a package too! I will wait con esperanza (with hope) for their arrival.

Well, that is good to hear the rainy season has come there. So this time the car trunk flooded, but how about the window sills? I can’t remember if I cleaned the rain gutters last summer.

Hey Dad, sorry it rained on your golf outing.

That is great to hear that Highland Rugby is still following its tradition! But sad to hear Coach Gelwix is retiring. He was a good coach.

Congratulations Emily and Hannah on your piano recitals.

Hey, I have a paper President talked about in Changes with 101 ideas for the missionary work. I wonder if I could scan it and give it to you. I asked Pres. after if I could get one. And the next day, he sent it with a couple of office workers.

Apparently, I was the only one who asked him about it and he was very impressed haha. I will think about using your steroids analogy with an investigator who is doubting the LDM (BOM) ha ha.

Hahaha Alexis, Dad is taking a running class with you? That is awesome Dad! You have inspired me to do better exercise in the mornings, thanks! And good luck, Alexis.

Yes Emily... Driving here is Crazy!!! Be careful. And don’t try to act like you need to get a job to buy a car. I know what little sisters are like. Dad at least has to do a 50/50 deal or something. I wish I could see your interesting Spanish video. Luh ya.

Hannah, I think there are movie theaters here. I don’t know for sure. I have never actually seen one. Love you, good luck with summer!

Thanks for praying for me.

The "flotador" is as good as done now.

Love,

Elder Hardy

April 11, 2011

Thank you for the Happy Birthdays! And thanks for emailing the Happy Birthday wishes from everyone on Facebook!

I got my Birthday Package!! On Friday we were in our Zone meeting and Elder Geddes, my Zone Leader, got a phone call and left the room. He came back in with a big package in his hands and gave it to me. Ha ha apparently Hermana Monestel called in a special land drop, and sent some missionaries from the office in one of the office cars to deliver it to me while I was at the Stake Center.

I opened it today after lunch, and set up the birthday banner and balloons, but I am going to wake up earlier tomorrow morning to open the presents. Thank you so much for the presents! There are a bunch and it is awesome.

And the office called today, and said they had another package from Aunt Annette and Uncle Bruce! They said they sent it to the wrong church or something last week and wanted to know how they could send it to me today.

But they would have had to have driven to a church and meet me there. They asked me if it would be alright if they sent it in the Bolsa (bag) this week and I told them it would be fine. Tell Annette and Bruce thanks so much, and I will enjoy a second birthday from them! They are Awesome.

But I haven’t heard anything about the third package still. But yes, Elder Coj told me he received his Jesus El Cristo. He was so happy and loved the photo and testimony too. He told me to tell you guys muchisimas gracias.

The families we are teaching are coming along well. It has been looking pretty tough to be able to baptize a family this month. But I have been praying a lot that we could miraculously find a family that could be ready to be baptized this month (which is almost impossible because for the least, they should have 3 times in church before they can be baptized).

But this Sunday, a familia came to church that has investigated the church before and has already come to church a bunch of times. They live deep in the cañon (canyon) but tomorrow we are going to go visit them and see if we can help them be prepared to be baptized the 23 of this month.

Another miraculously answered prayer and fast. Now we have to finish our part of the deal and teach them well. Then they will have to do their part of the deal, complete commitments and have the faith to be baptized.

Something amazing that happened last night is that we finally got to talk to the mom in a family who has been very closed. And now she likes us and we are bringing her a copy of The Family: A Proclamation to the World.

Tell Grandma, Sí. I have consecutively received all of her numbered letters up to 23 I believe. I have saved them all. There is just a little lag but I know I will get them.

This is the Motmot bird I saw, Hannah!

Well Hannah, as far as my birthday goes and what I have planned, we will be working hard tomorrow. We are going into the jungle valley Cañon (Canyon) to teach some families and hopefully find some new ones.

The best birthday present would be... yours, first of all. And then if we could invite the family that came to church yesterday to be baptized and they accept the date of the 23rd. That would be great. Hmm, I forgot to buy a Piñata but maybe a member will remember it’s my birthday and do something special.

Well Dad, thanks for the journal and for emailing Hna Monestel. I have been feeling so Isolated without a package ha ha.

And thank you Mom, I know you worked very hard to do everything. I cannot wait to talk to you for Mother’s Day!

Alexis, you asked, “What has been my most humbling experience thus far in the mission?”

Ask me again next time sis. But for now... Every day when the Lord answers my prayers.

Thanks Emily Poo, I do not feel old. But do you want to know something sad? Sometimes my comp. always asks people how old he looks because he still looks like a kid. And they usually say he is like 16 years old (he is 20). Then we ask how old they think I am... and people have said all the way up to 28! :(

I make myself feel better by saying it is because I am so much taller and bigger than them (that is what they say when I tell them I am 19), because I have an old man part in my hair, and because I am just so mature haha. But now I can at least say I am in the 20s.

Thank you so much Hannah. And thank you for your card... Robin. (I haven’t opened it yet). Good luck with your performances and Have fun at your First Sleep Over. I remember one sleepover when my friend Taylor Gunst turned into a werewolf...

con Cariño (with Love),

Elder Hardy

January 10, 2011

iHola Familia!

It’s funny that you say you wouldn’t mind some Nicaragua warmth & sunshine, because today it is all cloudy and has been raining. But it’s still really humid!

Hmm my favorite food... gallo pinto ha ha (just kidding). But I really don’t think it is that bad when it’s not too dry. When I change to somewhere like Managua is when I am going to get sick of it. (Gallo pinto is their rice and bean dish). 

No, my favorite food might have to be the fried plantains. They are pretty good when they get a little caramelized on the outside. That and a fresh banana con leche shake, Beto puts cinnamon and caramel syrup in it too.

And of course the pupusas (corn torillas filled with cheese, meat, beans & spices). You guys should try doing an El Salvador Day and make pupusas for dinner along with the plantains, banana con leche and gallo pinto!

I’m afraid have not received Jenny´s package yet. Either the ZL´s have it or hopefully I will get it Wednesday when we go to Managua for changes. I am pretty excited though. Tell them thanks for me.

Changes are this Wednesday. But I really shouldn’t say "when we go to changes" because we haven’t found out who is changing yet. But we are going to find out tonight! Not that I am excited to change.

Nicaraguan toys, Hannah? Excellent question. Well, a really cheap toy that you always see the kids on the street playing with are called Clackers. Ha ha and that is about all they do. They are these two balls connected together with a string. And you put the middle of the string in between your fingers and move your hand up and down until the balls hit above and below your hand and make this really loud clacking noise. Ha ha its actually harder than it looks.

What else... they like playing with cheap fireworks. Oh and we see them playing street baseball all the time. I have seen them play with all kinds of balls too. Including bottle caps. And of course fútbol.

Today we played fútbol in the little park on a cement basketball court. It was really fun and all the chebalos flocked to watch and we even let some of them play. Ha ha there was this gordito on my team (little chubby kid) and he was actually pretty good.

Oh and hey, in this server (internet café) they have a Wii and an Xbox 360, which you never see. And they are some guys my age playing on them and they are terrible! Hannah, you could probably beat all the kids in Nicaragua at Mario Kart. Or any other game for that matter!

I can’t wait to get the special package. I think it is really nice of everyone who helped out. But oh boy, something I would really like in it. I don’t know, I have forgotten about the things I don’t have. You all know better than me now. Anything from the states is really nice.

I know it sounds typical but corbatas (ties) are always good. They are like currency down here with the other missionaries.

Oh! Which reminds me. Ha ha to Jenny, Jim and my Cousins. The tie you guys gave me the day of my farewell (The really awesome vibrant violet/purple one with stripes and paisley)… all the other missionaries want it. They keep trying to convince me to trade them for it (for two or even three of theirs). But I keep saying no, I can’t trade it. Elder Bailey even stole it once. But Elder Mejia gifted it back to me in a present for Christmas ha ha.

Something else that I could use is tricks to show to all the kids. The kids in families love a good magic trick. But I still don’t know/have too many. Treats and snacks that are different from the States always taste really good.

Something Elder Coj really wants is a Jesus the Christ in Spanish. He has been begging me for mine but I really like it. I guess changes are Wednesday but he wants me to give him one the next change when we see each other. Really anything you put in a package is really special and appreciated.

To Stevie: congratulations on the mission in Uruguay. Ahora que ha ayudado las personas en Uruguay obtener la salvación, necesita encontrar su propio Exaltación. Jaja. ¡Buena Suerte!

This week I would like to share a message for all of the families. And it is about having Noches de Hogar (Family Home Evening). I am afraid I may have taken for granted Family Home Evening at times before the mission. But my testimony about the blessing of Family Home Evening, Family Scripture Study and Family Prayers has become very strong in the short time I have had here in the mission (well it feels short. It has been going by so fast).

I am not going to write any stories or anything but I have seen the wonderful effect on families and the blessings that have come from doing these things. And how not sharing the gospel in your own family every Monday and every day, and sharing your love with your family everyday gives room for disastrous effects to take place. I’m not sure if that makes sense. But please make sure to always have family home evening with the whole family.

And I am sure it seems hard at times but reading the scriptures daily as a family (even if it means waking up early (they do it here in Nicaragua, trust me you can do it) will give countless blessings to the family and your day is just going to be better.

And there is not an easier way to show your love to God and to your family than kneeling down every night before bed and giving thanks to your Heavenly Father for your family and the wonderful blessings in your lives.

Please try your hardest to always do these things. Because God doesn´t ask us to do something without making sure there is a way to do it. So if we try our hardest to do His Will, it is always going to work out.

I can testify of that, and write these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love you and thank you so much for your support and love. It blesses me every day here in the mission.

Elder Hardy

January 3, 2011

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Hey, my New Year’s was awesome. One of the coolest. Yes, we blew up a Muñeco (burning dummy). And it is officially my new, New Year’s Eve Tradition now. I am going to do it every year when I get back and hopefully next year too. It might be a little harder to find those kinds of fireworks ha ha... But don’t worry, I didn’t light any. I am sending a photo of the Muñecos, well, minus the head on the baby ha ha.

My week was OK. We are teaching the Mendez Jarquin family. They are pretty Catholic. Their Dad died a couple years ago which is pretty sad but I bore my testimony to them about the Plan of Salvation and how they can be with him again. We are going to teach them more about the Plan of Salvation next time.

We are running low on positive investigator families. We are focusing on trying to strengthen the ward. We need their help with references too.

The Rama (Branch) changed the Presidency this week. President Dias is now Hermano Dias. He has been serving hard for 10 years as the President of the Rama of Boaco. Sunday, the new President was called. President Moreno, previously known by me as Hermano Pio. He is a really great man. He is a hard worker, has a really powerful testimony and is incredibly humble. He will be great and will help the Rama grow and strengthen a lot.

Still don’t know who is getting transferred. They are supposed to tell us the night before which will be the 11th. That means Cambios (changes) are on the 12th. It is very likely that I will get a new companion whether I leave or stay. I think it is very rare to have your Dad (the missionary that trains you) for three changes.

I am really hoping that I get to stay. Elder Coj will have been here for 4 1/2 months which is pretty long. I love it here in little Boaco and want to stay for as long as I can to see it grow. And yes, Elder Coj has been an awesome compañero. I think we have helped each other out a lot. There is always a reason that you have each companion I am sure of that.

A great story this week was when we went with our new President to teach our new converts, Hermanos Roberto y Yamileth and announce our new President (I’m sure it seems like I talk about them a lot). Well, we have been worried about them because it has been hard for them to come to church.

But when we announced President Moreno to them they got really excited and started giving him all sorts of suggestions and advice and things we need to do better (Hermana Yamileth has a pretty strong personality).

Well in the end, they started saying how they are going to help out and support him and come to church. After the lesson, President Moreno shared his testimony too and it was really humble and powerful. That’s why I am so excited about him and know he is going to be a great aid to this area to get it going again.

Hannah, you asked about dogs? Well, first there are dogs everywhere. It’s crazy but every street has a couple. And yes, they have gotten mad at me a couple times. I don’t know why, maybe I smell different or something. Oh but Elder Coj is convinced it is because they can sense fear and then they get all excited and defensive. It’s not my fault I don’t want rabies.

I have only really been chased once. Ha ha and it’s not a very good story, because of a little punk Chihuahua whiner dog... When I turned around it stopped, looked up at me and ran away. Ha ha and every time I would turn my back to it, it would start chasing me again. Little chicken.

But a better story is with this big black dog that we were walking past. He was acting normal and calm but for some reason I was like, "watch out Elder Coj" and scooted us to the side a little more. And right then he freaked out. I slid my back pack off and started swinging it at him until we got past him. But his teeth were scary looking. That is the day I decided to buy a sling shot.

That was really awesome of the Woodruff family to send a Christmas package to you guys. They are really nice and their son is great.

I am missing the week break after Christmas to play games and goof off all day. Too bad it is already over! Hey, tell Rob I want a personalized golf ball for when I get back too. Oh! and I was looking forward to Tron Legacy so much ha ha.

That is so awesome that Kylie, Bryanna, Carly and Jamo stopped by. If they ever read this I say thanks! That is pretty cool of them to still remember me. I wish Carly luck with London!

Love you all,

Elder Hardy



Oh P.S. Emily! I attached a picture of this

cute little girl named Emily too!

December 27, 2010

!Feliz Navidad y un Gran Araña¡
(Merry Christmas and a Big Spider)!

Ha ha I'll explain the giant spider later.

I was so excited to talk to you all on Christmas. It was the best Christmas present. And I was so grateful that I could say hi to Grandpa and Grandma Weiler, Rob and Jeff. Maybe that was the reason that I wasn’t able to call you earlier like we planned.

That is awesome that you used my Christmas present money to help someone out in our ward. There are more blessings in that than any amount of Christmas presents.

I am glad Christmas lunch went well with everyone. Ha ha I think the pictures of Uncle Rob and Grant playing that game are hilarious. Thanks for the photos they are the best. I showed them to the Chapines (Guatemalans) and they thought they were pretty cool too.

I bet Grandpa Hardy loves his big light up U, I feel like I need one, all the Chele missionaries that I have met so far have been Y fans. I’m sure the Hardy Christmas program was awesome. I wish I could have heard Emily and Hannah’s duet.

Questions you asked:

How was your Christmas Day?

My Christmas day was just fine. The highlight was when I got to call you and hear everyone’s voices again. In the morning before that I opened my Christmas stocking and ate all the chocolate. Oh P.S. that is one thing that I guess I haven’t really had here that can be sent in a package.

Elder Mejia gave me a gift too. He is a pretty good artist and drew me this salvaje (slang term for tight, awesome, really cool) photo of a missionary (the placa says E. Hardy) with a sword in his hand. It was really nice.

What did they do for the Christmas Program at Church?

Well, for church the next day it was pretty much a normal day at church. Actually the asistencia (attendance) was pretty low which put a downer on the day. But we have a couple more weeks in this change to fix that.

Oh, but later that day we had a cita (appointment) with this lady who is evangelica. Haha it was great. So I didn’t know much about evangelicos before the mission. But I sure do now. They have a bad reputation amongst the missionaries as being exceptionally hard to talk to.

But she (Hermana Esperanza) was actually pretty nice. I went in thinking that she might want to try and bible bash with us but she listened to our message and wanted to learn a little more about what we believe.

Her only desafio (challenge) is accepting the Book of Mormon. Ha ha the best part was close to the end when she said that we are really good people and have really strong faith and that we are 90% there, the other 10% is that we believe in the Book of Mormon.

Ha ha that put a smile on my face and Elder Coj bore his testimony that we do have the 100%. At the very end I bore my testimony, and after that she agreed to come to Church next Sunday... if we come to hers.

Who plays the hymns for church?

Ja ja ja, who plays the hymns for church. Well we do, with our voices. How it always works is whoever is directing sings the first line so we all remember how it goes and then we all sing. I think we might have an electrical piano in the President’s office but unfortunately, I never completed Emily´s lessons, so we sing A cappella.

Can you sing the songs in Spanish?

Well, I suppose that depends. Jaja I can sing them, but I don’t know if it sounds good.

What was your most spiritual experience during the Christmas Season?

That is a tough question. I don’t really have a grand spiritual miracle to tell, but the most spiritual experiences were every time I shared my testimony and it really brought the spirit.

The most recent experience was with the Evangelica Hermana Esperanza. She was being pretty resistive after we had talked about the Libro de Mormon, but when I bore my testimony I actually felt like the whole attitude in the room changed. I remember looking at her and seeing her whole countenance change.

Even when I bore my testimony about the Book of Mormon she listened. And how she does not know the BOM. I read it and prayed about it and know that it is true.

What is your plan for New Year's?

The plan for New Year´s is to blow up a Muñeco (large dummy doll). We are helping Beto make some, his plan is to make a whole family, a Dad, Mom, Kid, and Baby. Today we went with Beto to stuff bags full of leaves to stuff them with. (We went to a river to find the leaves, that is why I sent the picture of me on the water fall.) Hopefully we will be allowed to stay up to watch them blow up.

OH! The story about the spider! So we hiked forever in the wilderness to get to this river where there are lots of dead leaves (for the Muñecos) and a waterfall also. Once we got there we ran around for a while, Beto and his family tried to catch the fish in the river with a tent they brought to wash.

I was walking along the side and passed a rock cove and almost brushed against this Giant spider web. I kinda freaked out and jumped to the side. But not as much as when I looked at the web to find the bugger responsible for it and saw this thing (look at the picture). (I almost fell into the river).

So I took a bunch of pictures, I hope you can see it. It is a creepy looking one and looks kinda like those pictures of banana spiders I looked up from Nicaragua before the mission.

But the best part is when I called Beto over to look at it. He was all excited when I told him I found a giant crazy spider and ran over. But when he got there he was disappointed and said it wasn’t that big of a deal. Sheesh.

Thank you for the pictures and the spiritual thought. When I looked at the picture of Christmas Eve dinner I felt like it was missing somebody but I know that there is no greater opportunity or blessing for me right now than going on a mission.

I also know that my family is being blessed as well. Most importantly is that other families are receiving the opportunity to hear the Gospel and receive the blessings from coming to Jesus Christ.

¡Espero que tengan un prospero año nuevo! (That’s the phrase here)

Hope you have a Happy New Year!

I love you,

Elder Hardy

December 20, 2010

¡¡¡Feliz Navidad!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

That is so nice of my Grandparents and Rob for the Christmas presents. I am going to try and thank each one of them individually but please make sure they know how thankful I am and my compa too.

For the call, that is great if you really want to call me Christmas morning. Elder Geddes called and asked what I was going to do so I said I was going to do the same thing as Elder Bailey which is that I call Christmas Morning at ten.

He said it is the best way because then I will get a booth in the phone place (which is open on the 25th).

He says it feels a little weird for some reason to have all the Latinos standing around you listening, even though they don’t understand. Jaja (this is Spanish for Haha) but I don’t know. If you really want to call I guess you can tell him that. P.S. I can’t wait!

This week went by super fast. On Tuesday, we had a meeting with the mission president and the elders that go around to teach the "eight lessons". They just taught us about how we can be better missionaries by focusing more on our investigadores and not on lessons. But it took the whole day.

We ended at like 7:30 p.m. and hurried outside to catch the last bus to Boaco. (The bus stop is right outside the church). But Elder Bailey has been having some bathroom problems lately and had to rush inside to go.

When we came back outside we saw the bus driving away. And we were like... Great, now what? We were going to try and hitch a ride but it turns out another bus came that passed by Boaco. We got back to our house pretty late. Pretty exciting jaja.

Oh and for the better part of this past week Beto has been trying to get rid of the annoying pigeons that have nested on top of the windows of the restaurant. Jaja they are always pooping on the porch.

One time we went to leave the house and stopped to look at our agendas and Elder Coj got dinged right on the top of his head. It was great. Right, but Beto can’t seem to get rid of them and has resorted to trying to blow them up... but they still keep coming back.

Plans for Christmas. On Wednesday we are going to Managua for a big Christmas activity with all the missionaries in our mission. I’m excited. We also each have to bring a present worth 80 cords (cordobas). So we spent this morning looking for presents.

So Christmas happens on the 24th here and we are planning on having an awesome Christmas dinner at the house of Roberto y Yamileth. And obviously my Christmas call on the 25th.

President Henry B. Eyring, of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, told us that one of the greatest ways we can honor our Savior is to bear our witness of him through our testimony.

I know that my Savior lives. Why? Because He has shared a little bit of the love He has for each one of us with me. I cannot explain it but I have started to love every single person here in Nicaragua. And every time I start to teach them I feel the Lord trying to help them. I see how the Gospel of Jesus Christ can bless their lives and help them return to their Heavenly Father.

Have a great Christmas and remember what it represents to us.

I Love Each One of You,

Elder Hardy

December 13, 2010

Hola, hola, hola!

Yes, I got the Christmas package!! And the letters!! Thank you so much. I can’t express how much I appreciate the letters everyone has sent. And the package, well that just adds to the awesomeness and gives me a chance to share with my compa.

Ha ha yesterday, my Zone Leader had changes with the other companionship in Boaco and gave me more letters. He called me a spoiled jerk ha ha.

So, for the marriages… ha ha yes I paid for them. I figured its one of the things I can help out with because I'm a "Fachento Chele". Fachento Chele means “rich white guy”. They love saying that, even though I have less money in my wallet than my comp ever does.

For the marriages we had, you have to be a practicing lawyer for like ten years here or something before you can perform marriages. So no, I didn’t actually perform the marriages. I was actually really curious what you had to do to get a license to marry. I think that would be awesome if I could marry people. It would be a lot more convenient here in Nicaragua.

But, we did basically everything else besides talk and sign the papers in the marriage. I took out C$1,000 to pay for two marriages, baptisms and the food and party stuff. That’s about 50 bucks. I think I am going to come here for my marriage ha ha.

Hermano Roberto and José Noel are baptized, confirmed and good to go. But no, they haven´t received the Priesthood yet. I am not sure how long we are going to wait for that but I think it is good that they come to church more and learn more and understand the significance of the Priesthood too.

A cool story about someone getting the Aaronic Priesthood: One day we were leaving a cita (appointment) at the President’s house and this kid was walking up the hill with a bucket filled with cups on his shoulder. (He was selling arroz con leche: Rice with milk. I’m afraid I haven’t tried it yet but he says it’s the best here in Boaco.)

So we said hi to him and talked to him a little about who we are and everything. And he said, "Yeah I’m a member." So we talked to him about why he hasn’t gone to church in a long time and he said it's cause he has to sell his rice with milk on Sundays too. Well, Elder Coj told him if he came to church on Sunday and sanctified el día de reposo (the Sabbath) instead of selling, he would be blessed and sell more on the other days. He said, "Ok, I’ll come."

The next week he came... and hasn’t missed a week since. We asked him how his arroz con leche is going and he told us he had never sold more. A couple of weeks ago, he received the Aaronic Priesthood. Every week we ask him how his vendiendo (selling) is doing and every week he tells us he is selling more than ever.

He has even found more work, now he is working for Beto too so he sells his rice with milk in the morning like usual and works for Beto in the trade. He is super stoked about helping us too and is a poderoso (powerful) member missionary now. He has already brought a friend to church and now we have a steady schedule with him to go and teach with us.

Yes, we now have two more missionaries here in Boaco!!! I am so happy. Maybe the President noticed that our asistencia (attendance) in church has spiked up this last month or two and decided Boaco was ready for two more.

Their names are Elder Bailey and Elder Mejia. Elder Bailey is from Washington and... is a Ginger (a red head). He is really nice and a really powerful teacher and gains the peoples trust and confidence really fast. I am going to be honest, he reminds me a lot of Alex. I said he is a ginger which is true but even his hair is closer to Alex´s because he has been in Nicaragua for 6 months and it has bleached a lot.

I hate to admit it but I have been finding a lot of people that I have been relating as my friends and people I knew back home. Ha ha maybe it’s because I am subconsciously homesick but it made me remember how much I miss Alex and my other buddies.

I have gotten their emails that you mailed me mom and I love reading them, they are really great guys and I have been lucky that they put up with me as their friend.

Of course Alex is better, but seriously Elder Bailey is really similar. Except he played rugby instead of football. That has been fun to talk with him about. Elder Mejia is from Guatemala and is brand new out off the MTC there. He is really, really nice and has an awesome sense of humor.

Ha ha and while I’m talking about it, the first week he was here I realized he is the José (one of my good friends) in my mission. Close, José is Mexican and it turns out the Guatemalans (at least the ones I know) really don’t like Mexicanos. But close.

Yes, of course I get to call home for Christmas. My ZL will probably call you soon to set up an appointment. I told him I would call and I wasn’t sure what day was best, the 24th or the 25th but he will ask you when is best.

Plus, he said it might be a good idea if you guys call instead. I don’t know what he will say or what you want to do. I cannot wait to talk to my family, I am super excited. Oh and don’t worry, my ZL is from Casper, Wyoming so you will be able to talk to him... hopefully.

Hannah: Yes, I got my Sincere Tree!!! And it is Beautiful. I have already set it up on top of our water jug. I actually wasn’t sure if we were allowed to open the package yet so I made Elder Coj wait to open it for a while (plus I was waiting for a rainy day as a pick me up.)

But since you asked this question I can safely say that we opened it. But I haven’t gone through my stocking yet! I can’t speak for Elder Coj though... Thank you so much for the awesome package. And thank Grandma for the stockings. It was so sweet of her to make them. I got the Santa Clause letter too and it made me trunky. Ahh in my second change! I am sad I don’t get an ornament for two years. :(

I am running out of time right now.

Dad, ha ha if the fireworks you found were those giant sparklers ha ha that’s great. But other than that I don’t know what you’re talking about...

Besides, here they don’t have rules like that. They have already started blowing stuff up on every street corner. And the bombas are cheap too! But I haven’t bought any.

Ha ha and the Catholic church lights off mortar shells every couple hours starting at 5 in the morning. It’s great.

Alexis, I am sorry I can’t help with the trees this year. I am glad you are telling everyone I am having a blasty blast. Tell them I’m roasty toasty too ha ha.

Funny story... we played fútbol today for pday because we have two more elders to play with. So it was Cheles contra Latinos. Ha ha and they are really good. I was trying to go at it with Elder Mejia and get the ball past him and we were up against a stone wall.

So I saw the ball and I went to clear it out because I knew if I didn’t he was going to get it and score. But right before I kicked it he moved it and I kicked this really big rock... and he scored.

Haha but the good news: We won!!! We were all starting to get really tired because we are missionaries and out of shape so we said, next goal wins and I made it! But next week I will try to have a funnier story ready.

Emily, of course you can use the sweats. But only you, only the little sister of the player has the right to wear them. Good luck with school and everything I will pray for you don’t worry. Sorry about the tree, just take the top of the tree and make dad take the trunk and you will be good.

Hannah I am very proud of your talk. Excellent work. Pick a good tree for me.

Love you,

Elder Hardy

November 29, 2010

Hey!!!!

Guess what!!! We baptized two familias (families) this Saturday!!! It was soo Awesome! Ha ha and oh yeah, we married both of the families right before we started the baptismal service too!

Ok, so to start, the families are Hermano Roberto and Hermana Yamileth and the other is Hermano José Noel and Hermana Martha. We did exchanges with the Zone Leaders on Tuesday after District Meeting so they could interview them. So I served in Juigalpa with Elder Salgado for a day.

The next day, we met up with Elder Coj and he said that they were ready but needed more time. I was pretty disappointed but then they started laughing and said we were going to baptize on Saturday!

So we spent a lot of time throughout the week working with an abogado (lawyer) to get all the papers and stuff we needed to marry them first. It took a lot of time but we finally got everything we needed.

Ha ha but it was really funny as we went to government buildings and stuff to try and get the right stuff. We didn't need anything to get the information we needed, only a little money. The government works a little differently here. Maybe it helps that we are missionaries too.

So Friday night, we decorated the meeting house for the marriages. We had to wake up super early Saturday to go pick up the Baptismal clothes at the Bus stop in Empalme (The Zone Leaders sent them in the bus early in the morning).

So we got back in Boaco about 8 and we were walking back to the house when we realized that we didn’t have the clothes! So we ran back to the bus terminal but the bus wasn’t there. There is another terminal above Boaco so we grabbed a Taxi to see if we could catch the bus before it left back to Juigalpa. We got to the terminal and it was still there so we grabbed the clothes real quick and rushed back to the house to get ready.

The marriages started at 9 in the morning. When Hermana Yamileht got there, she told us that for next time, plan the weddings later in the day. I feel bad. I think she was probably a little stressed out getting ready. But Hey! I think it is awesome that two 19-20 year old kids managed to plan two weddings.

We were a little preoccupied that morning with something else... The baptismal font in the church only had about 2-3 feet of dirty water in it and there was no water for the city. Usually, if the water doesn’t work in the morning when we wake up, it works an hour or so later. But on Saturday, they said there wouldn’t be water for the whole day!!!

I think somebody didn’t want them to get baptized.

The weddings went well. Right after, we started the Baptismal Service. So... while we started, Elder Coj went on splits with Beto (I stayed with the President) to try and find a truck that could drive us to a RIVER to do the Baptisms. They did, right as we finished, and we all hopped into the back of a truck. We found a perfect spot on the La Presa River and it was Beautiful. I baptized all four of them and after, we returned to the Church for pupusas. The Best Day Ever.

I suspect that I am staying in Boaco another change with Elder Coj! I am so happy we get to be together here for another month and a half. We can keep making each other better and help Boaco. I think two more missionaries are coming on Wednesday. I think beds and stuff are arriving today.

That’s great that Elder Coj wrote you and he said your email and Spanish were great, Dad. I have his family’s email and I am going to try and write them in Spanish today.

I am glad to hear Thanksgiving was good, I miss the mashed potatoes. I haven’t taken Elder Coj to a Thanksgiving dinner yet but I would like to. I need to figure out where first.

Happy Birthday again, Mom. I love you. I have to admit, though, that the package hasn’t been sent yet. We have figured where to go to send it to you and I have a gift for you. But there was a store that we found that was selling unique hand made things of Nicaragua but when we went to go get your gift the store was Gone!!! (It was kind off a big tent store on the street and turns out it’s portable)

The AP told me the first day, if I found something cool I wanted to get, buy it then because I might not ever get another chance. So hopefully it will come back. Boaco isn’t one of the cities with a lot of cool stuff but I am going to find some cool stuff for you. I might send Christmas presents with your birthday present next week so I hope that doesn’t make it less special.

I am going to miss not having Christmas with you and I am bummed I am going to miss the German Christmas Eve Dinner. I am excited to have Christmas here in Boaco this change. Of course, I will get to call home for Christmas and I can’t wait but I don’t know the details yet.

Well Hannah, for breakfast we usually have some eggs and beans or something like that. Today, we had these really good pancakes but they are really different. I am going to try to get the recipe from la Doña. I actually did have some cereal in Juigalpa for breakfast but it was just plain corn flakes. I would like some cereal but it is ok, you don’t have to send it, packages are expensive!

Thanks for the updates!!! That’s great the U won. I am sorry I can’t help shovel snow. Good luck with the Molly Mouse performances this week Emily and Hannah, I am soo proud of you two.

Rob, thanks for the tip with the spiders. But do you have one for geckos? There is always a gecko if you look for one. Most of the time, I notice them when we are in a house teaching and I see one scurry across the wall behind the person we are talking to. Also, they make a really loud chirping noise.

My first week, I thought that people had birds in their roofs. But turns out they are geckos. One even found its way back into our room. Elder Coj chased it with a broom while I was just trying to take pictures of it. (I have photos but I forgot my cord, we are going to run and get it and send some really fast.)

Most of them are really ugly, all white and pasty and my compa says really dirty too. I bought a sling shot on the street to get them (and dogs if I have to) but it reminded me of 1 Corinthians 13:11 so now I’m thinking about throwing it away.

But oh boy, what I miss the most? I am sorry but I am really not sure what to say right now. Maybe carpet. But you wouldn’t want carpet here with the humidity and it would get really dirty so I will have to live without. I am going to have to get back to you on that, Rob, I don’t have much time. But thank you.

Thank you for the spiritual thought. I always love them.

Oh! I just remembered, I gave a talk on Sunday! I gave it about Missionary Work (for the members). I was pretty nervous preparing it and going to the Church. But I found out once I got there, I was fine. Maybe it helped that the branch fits into the first floor of a house. I think I made sense (at least they told me I did) and I think I helped them think about what they should and what they can be doing to help strengthen and grow the branch.

Just remember, you don’t need to be a full-time missionary with a plaque to help your family and friends come to find the happiness of the fruit of the Gospel. Like Lehi in his vision of the tree of life, after he partook of the fruit, he desired his family to also. And we are all hermanos (brothers & sisters).

I Love You,

Elder Jonathan D. Hardy

November 22, 2010

¡Hola!

 

Happy Birthday Mom!!! This is the last email before your birthday so you have to read it a couple days early. But I am sending your Birthday gift today (hopefully, we still need to figure out exactly how. But I know where the building that would be able to do it is).

I love you and am so grateful to have you as my mother. I’m sorry my present is going to get to you pretty late, hopefully not as long as it takes to get them here.

Which reminds me, I got my Package!!! And my letters!!! A companionship went to Managua and brought back my package with them. And the ZL´s gave me my letters. They have been sitting in the office for a long time. I loved getting them.

My Chele ZL, Elder Geddes, said he was pretty jealous because I received a bunch of letters and a package in my first change. Thank you so much for the letters.

Thank Grandma for me, I love reading her letters ha ha and it looks like Halloween had to have been pretty fun with the sweet looking ghost named Bertha.

Thank Jenny and the cousins too. I love reading their letters too and wish them the best of luck with the sports and broken arm (sorry to hear that buddy).

So the package was Awesome! Don’t worry, it got here in great shape with everything in it. I loved the clever Elder Verde theme. My companion thought it was great too and was really grateful that you packed two of everything so he got a package too. Thanks for the clever scriptures on the treats ha ha they are great and trying to explain them to Elder Coj was great too.

Thanks for the bath stuff too. I was about to have to go buy some. And this stuff is the best too; I don’t think we can get these brands here. But I think we can get shampoo and deodorant and stuff in the biggest grocery store here called Pali. So you don’t have to worry too much about that stuff if you don’t want to.

Hey! Awesome Highland took State, it’s about time. I wish we could have done it. And wish I could have been there.

Ok. Changes are December 1st. If we have changes, they will call us like the night before and we will have to go to Managua with one of our stuff. But I´m really hoping we get to stay here another change together. I am loving it.

I am actually a little suspicious that they might open a new area here in Boaco and send two more missionaries. That would be great because then Elder Coj and I would probably stay here in Boaco with new companions. But nothing is official yet. I just know that when Elder Perez the AP came he was asking questions like that.

So I don’t know if you mean District Conference as missionaries or as the District of Juigalpa in which Boaco is a Branch. But the Branches meet every six months, I think, in a District Conference.

We have a Missionary District meeting every Tuesday if that is what you are asking. It is great we get to get together every week. But the traveling really stinks. We are two hours away from the Church in Juigalpa so every Tuesday we have to wake up at 5 in the morning. The bus leaves at 6 and we travel for about a half an hour to Empalme where we get on a bus to go to Juigalpa.

Now depending on the bus this ride can be Ok or very miserable. The trick is to get a seat. Otherwise you have to stand for an hour and a half sandwiched between people in the aisle. And people are constantly trying to squeeze by.

Ha ha a couple weeks ago Elder Geddes told me a joke as we were about to get on a bus back to Boaco. He said, "Have you ever broken the Law of Chastity before?" and I was like, "What?!" and he said, "Well you will" (As we squeezed into a bus full of people).

Anyway so we get to the Church at 8 and do all our personal companion and language study there. Language study is great because all the Latinos are together. Ha ha they usually just want to try and learn pick up lines and stuff in English.

Then we have the District meeting and Elder Coj teaches us about a subject and then we practice. When the meeting is over, we have to take another two hour bus ride home, but we go to the bus terminal so we usually always get a seat. When we get back, we eat lunch and then get to work. I feel like a lot of the day is wasted traveling but that is how it is here.

Ha ha we actually call our Zone the, "Zona Olvidado" (The forgotten zone) because we are so far away from everyone else. The Zone meetings are every 3 months, but the zone leaders are in our district and they usually talk anyway.

Yes, we have stores and stuff here to get stuff. We went around one Monday to pharmacies because I wanted Vitamins. But we didn’t find any I wanted to trust. I wanted name brand like One a Day Men’s or something but it’s ok I am eating pretty good so I don’t think I need them. I haven’t looked for contact solution but I will now to make sure it is available.

Don’t need anything yet, thank you. P.S. I´m sure packages like the one you sent are pretty expensive so I don’t want you to spend a bunch of money sending me a ton of stuff.

So I think the first day in the little package they gave us it said how many missionaries we have in the Nicaragua Managua Sur Mission. But I am not sure what it is for sure. My compa says it’s about 150.

Little miracles that happen everyday... I´ll tell you one. It’s actually pretty cool and has happened twice for me. And it put a big smile on my face both times. So I have already said I have no doubt our prayers are answered. Also, I know that we (the Missionaries) have quite a bit of authority. But did you know Missionaries have the power to turn off TV´s?! Everyone here has a TV, and they are always on. And we want them off so they will pay attention and to create an environment for the spirit.

Obviously the best way to do this is to politely ask them to turn it off. (I usually point and make the noise of a TV turning off). But one time, a family didn’t want to for some reason and just turned it down so it was a little quieter. While Elder Coj talks, I am praying in my heart to help him, help the investigator feel the spirit and help me understand and be able to talk.

So this time in my heart, I also asked that somehow we could turn the TV off to help feel the spirit and to help me understand because it is much harder when there is more than one voice. (I was hoping that they would change their mind and turn it off)

But as I was thinking "amen" suddenly there was a pop! And the TV turned off!!! The little girl said, "Oh no the light went out!" Ha ha it turns out the bulb in the TV went out (don’t worry, after we were done with our lesson, it started working again. It was kind of like what was happening with our TV). So we kept on teaching and the spirit was there. I thought it was Awesome.

The next time it happened was a few days later in another family´s house. We were teaching and the grandma walked in and turned the TV on, watched it for like 30 sec. and then left... without turning it off. Kinda weird. But I said a silent prayer again and the bulb went out on that one too!!!

We are going to get a reputation for ruining peoples TVs.

Hannah: some people take siestas in the afternoon but we don’t. Hey, we were going to go take pictures with monkeys today for you but we will have to do it next week.

Thanks for updates but sadly I am out of time again.

I Love You

Elder Hardy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Email from Elder Coj:

Hola soy elder coj .. compañero de su hijo solo les escribia para saludarlos y desearles todo lo mejor , bueno espero que me entiendan porque no se nada en ingles , lo lamento .... solo quiero decirles que estoy muy agradecido con mi padre celestial , y tambien con ustedes por tener a elder hardy como compañero el es un buen misionero .. he aprendido mucho de el en estos ultimos dias .. adimiro el animo que el tiene y su diligencia y su amor por esta maravillosa obra ..

anque no me paresco nada a el fisicamente ,pero el es como mi hermano para mi, filicidades por tener a un hijo como el sientance orgullosos por el ... animo en todo lo que hacen ..

no los conosco pero los aprecio muho...

Att... ELDER COJ ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello, I am Elder Coj, your son’s companion.

I am writing to say hello and wish you all the best. Well, I hope you understand me because I don’t know any English. I am sorry. I only want to tell you how grateful I am to my Heavenly Father, and you, for having Elder Hardy as a companion. He is a good missionary. I have learned a lot from him the last few days. I admire the excitement he has and his diligence and his love for this marvelous work.

Even though we don’t look anything like each other, he is a like a brother to me. Congratulations on having a son that you should feel proud of and happy about everything that he does.

I don’t know you, but I appreciate you.

Sincerely,

Elder Coj