April 2, 2012

¡Feliz Semana Santa!

Happy Easter!

I don’t know if you guys remember from last year but Easter week is called Holy Week. And depending on your religion, you participate in activities during the week. The most common are the Catholic traditions. They carry a cross around the city every Friday for a month before Semana Santa and every day during this week has a specific activity of the life of Christ assigned to it.

It would be interesting to look up, I don’t remember the name assigned to each day. But the most common thing for everyone is to go to the beach! (Supposedly it’s the hottest week in the year). Too bad the missionaries won’t be participating in the cultural traditions of Nicaragua.

But Conference was great wasn’t it!?!

I got to watch all the sessions. Most of them I watched in English. But I watched the Priesthood session in Español because we came together with a couple of investigators and I didn’t want to just leave them.

From the Priesthood session my favorite phrase was from President Monson: Haz tu Deber, haz tu mejor, deja el resto al Señor. (Do your duty, do your best, leave the rest to the Lord.)  I liked that because I would like to be a good leader and fulfill my duty, but things never go perfectly so I just have to do my best and confide in the Lord for the rest.

But my favorite talks always seem to be from Elder Holland. I guess I just like his very direct, "machete" style. But this conference I received much revelation and I was also very pleased because various investigators came and had inspired leaders of the church talk about exactly what they needed to hear.

It was a great week. A couple issues with the District but in the end everything will be ok. I guess we could work on our unity. But we had a fun activity today for Pday with the whole mission that helped everyone have a little fun and relax.

We were going to go to the Vulcan Masaya (Masaya Volcano) but they closed the Volcano today, so first we went to see the Caterina Laguna. It was pretty. But not much to do for a missionary at a laguna. But I bought a cool Nicaraguan bag because I told myself I need to buy more souvenirs.

Mirador de Catarina, Laguna de Apoyo, Nicaragua

Fotos de la Carcel (Photos of the Prison)

Oh, and because all the mission was there, I talked to my comp. Elder Gaytan, who is in Masaya and gave him the down payment for a really nice Hammock. I told him to get one of the big ones (for like 2 or 3 people) and to make the colors like the Nicaraguan flag. He said I could put letters on it so I told him to put Hardy, and on the other side Nicaragua (so we don’t forgot from where it came).

This week was the best because with the most positive family we are teaching we invited them to be baptized and they accepted. For the 21st of April. The only problem is that I am probably going to get transferred before that. But it was a neat spiritual experience we had with them last night. We taught them the lesson of the Restoration.

But it was hard. Because their two year old little girl Emily, decided to be a big distraction this time. (Normally she is really sweet and shy) But this time she was running around throwing things on the ground and bugging her mom and dad ha ha. I think she was just tired.

So, as we struggled to have the spirit and their attention throughout the lesson we testified to them of the love of God and of the restoration through the prophet José Smith. After testifying, my companion asked the Dad if he would ponder about these things and ask his Heavenly Father in the name of Christ if José Smith was a Prophet.

We sat there for what felt like a long time but he didn’t answer. My companion repeated him the question and we waited for what felt like forever but he didn’t respond. I then explained to him again what it would mean to his family to know if these things were true and explained again how he could know through prayer.

Then I asked again, "¿Orará para saber si José Smith fue un profeta verdadero?" (“Will you pray to know if Joseph Smith was a true prophet?") This time he replied, with a strong, "NO". We were a little bit astounded by his answer, because they have been very positive and during the entire lesson they seemed to have understood and liked the message.

But we weren´t discouraged. I asked him, "¿Que le impediría orar y preguntar a Dios si José Smith fue un profeta de Dios?" (“What would prevent him to pray and ask God if Joseph Smith was a prophet of God?”)

And after thinking for a second he said, "No creo que debería preguntar a Dios, si ya sé que José Smith fue un profeta." (“I do not think I should ask God, if I already know that Joseph Smith was a prophet.”)

Ha ha ha, well after he said that all the tenseness left the room and me and my comp smiled and said, Well that’s great! We then continued to explain to them that they can still pray and ask their Father in Heaven to strengthen their faith and testimonies and help them to follow Jesus Christ. We then invited them to be baptized the 21st of April and they accepted.

That is so amazing to hear that Aunt Annette is going through the temple next week!

Ha ha ha NO! I have not gotten any Trunky Papers. But Mom, I think with the way the changes are going to fall I am going to come home with everyone the Thursday of the week of Aug. 18th. Is that going to be a problem? Do you think someone can go to my classes the first two or three days?

I remember the snow caves dad! And I remember that mine and Jordan Stewarts was beautiful! But as we were making it, Jordan was scraping away at the ceiling to make it higher and right as I said, "I don’t think we should go any higher..." The cave collapsed ha ha.

Thanks for the spiritual thoughts about conference Mom and Dad. It was great. And it had lots of advice and blessings for the family.

I have had a lot of faith building experiences in the mission, Alexis. But I would have to say that normally the best for me are the answered prayers. Especially a few that have been answered through the fruits of the Holy Ghost. How would you build faith in investigators? Through WORKS. Anybody here can listen to someone talk about Christ for an hour. But not everyone ACTS upon what they hear. Those that read, pray and come to church progress and receive a REAL Conversion. Those who don’t, stay in the same condition they are in for the rest of their lives. Unless one day they Work their faith and Act.

I love you all,

Have a Happy Easter & Spring Break!

Elder Hardy

ps I love you!

January 30, 2012

Hey Family!

My new son/comp. is Elder Kenneth Berkeley Batz Garcia! He is from Juchanep, Totonicapan, Guatemala. He is super awesome, pilas (strong) and nice. I am pretty sure he came pre-trained. He has a great attitude and is very tranquilo. He is doing great here. He has 1 brother and 4 sisters and his mom. His dad is working in the United States right now for the family.

Ha ha hey, that would be really neat if you sent him your famous Greenie Welcome Kit! Something like that to help him feel welcome and have some treats for the start of his mission. Remember, he is my son ha ha my legacy has to live on through him.

And I got to stay in Jinotepe!!! Elder Gaytan went, I think he went back to the Masaya Zone. Here it is great. The ward is starting to relive thanks to the Noches de Fortificación Plan (Fortifications Nights Plan) that Elder Gaytan started with me and the Elders Quorum President.

Ah! I can’t believe I am actually going to say it but it has been... COLD. I don’t know why but it has been really cold here in Jinotepe lately it’s great. It isn’t supposed to be raining right now but this last week has had a few showers. My comp calls it "Llovisna" (light rain showers).

Hey my new comp and I have had a couple great lessons about the Book of Mormon with a couple families this last week. In one family, we brought enough copies of the Book of Mormon so that everyone including the kids could read along as we explained the Book of Mormon and why it is so important.

They had a lot of questions. But in the end the whole family was able to understand why Joseph Smith said the quote that is in the introduction of the book. We were even able to show them how the Bible and the Book of Mormon work hand in hand by reading, Matthew 3:13-15 and 2 Nephi 31. 

Hannah asked why I was on a yellow tractor last week? Ha ha ha well, we are teaching a young man named Leonel. And right now they are fixing the dirt streets where he lives and they park the tractors in his yard when they are not using it. So I had to take a few photos.... But we did service the week before with the ward, mowing the futbol field (with machetes) of a local school.

I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to train. I hope I can do a good job and that Elder Batz will have the patience he needs to train me too. ha ha. He is going to be a great missionary here.

The updates are great. Good luck everybody with the stuff you’ve got going on! I am always praying for you!

Love you,

Elder Hardy

p.s. I love you

p.p.s. I like the obedience golf game idea.

Thanks Mom.

January 23, 2012

Dearest Familia,

Thank you for the notes about the funeral, family. Sounds like Grandpa's funeral was beautiful. I'm sure Grandpa was proud. I just saw the video of the military service at his funeral, that is really neat. I am so proud of my Grandpa.

Yes, I have changes. But not just that... I'm going to be a Dad!!! Ha ha that means I am going to train a newby this change! I am so excited, but nervous at the same time. Last week they told me because I had to go to a capacitación (training) to learn about the new training program. (Well I guess it’s not that new. But for me, sí.)

Now training a new missionary takes 12 weeks (two changes) and we get an extra hour and a half of study time! You guys need to send me ideas and tips for me with my new comp. so I can train him good and so he doesn’t get bored in our extra hour long companion study.

We still don’t know who is going to change from the area, me or Elder Gaytan. But I am hoping I get to stay. Plus, if I left I would have to open up a new area and I don’t think that President will do that.

OK, so recently in our area here in Las Villas 2, Jinotepe, we have been doing great. We haven’t baptized for a little bit which is bad. But we are teaching about 9 families right now, and I am planning to baptize all of them with the help of the Light that is going to come with my nuevicito.

There is a future missionary that we have been teaching for the last two weeks. He is totally ready for his baptism. He tells us that he doesn’t have any more questions about the Church and he is reading and learning lots from the Book of Mormon. He was going to be baptized this weekend but he couldn’t come to church Sunday because everyone in his family left Sunday morning so he had to stay and guard the house.

Of the 9 families we are teaching, I think I already told you about our one investigator. Her husband is super pilas (strong) and after a month of being reactivated is now the Young Men President and is helping a ton. She knows the church is true and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. And she has come to church for the past two months. But she still doesn’t feel like she wants to get baptized. So maybe you guys could pray for her too so she can finally make the decision.

We have another new family that we have started to teach, a husband, wife and their two kids. They are very positive and the Dad wanted to go to church Sunday but he had to do an errand for his work and didn’t get back in time. The last lesson we had with them was very touching. The Mom started to say the last prayer and started to cry and the Dad stepped in and finished it. It was great.

Well this last week, I didn’t not have any baptisms in my area. But I got to go to the baptisms of two really pilas kids in El Rosario. I was able to get to know them and help them out a little bit before they committed to be baptized and I also got to go do their interviews and so they and their family invited us to the baptism. They are both really excited to be future missionaries. I could only help a little in their conversion, but it was really neat to see, from the first time we got to know them to the baptismal interview, the change in their eyes. And how strong of a testimony they could gain.

It started when Elder Buc and Elder Styles found them one day. They talked to the Mom and she confessed that she is a member for a long time and that she went inactive when she moved from her home town. When I passed by with Elder Styles and we got to know them and the Dad a little better too. We wanted to invite the family to be baptized, but the Mom confessed that she was still waiting on some divorce papers so it would take a while for her and her future husband to get married. But the kids were still excited and said that they wanted to follow the example of Jesus Christ. I told them as we left that I looked forward to the day when I could come back and see them (for the interview) and that day came a lot faster than I thought.

Hey I sure did get to meet Elder Nelson!!! Like most of the times every missionary got to shake his and his wife’s hand. He asked me what my name was and she asked me where I was from. And I said, Utah... Salt Lake City, Utah. Ha ha that is neat that Mom got a letter from him a long time ago.

I love you sweet family,

Elder Hardy

ps I love you.

January 16, 2012

Hey Dad,

Thanks for the email, and for sharing the message from Grandpa.

Of course, even though you know that I take a long time to think about things and write, I will try my best with the time I have.

 

In Memory of

Grant W. Weiler

1922-2012

 

Grandpa Weiler was a very special man to me. He really was/is one of the biggest parts of the pride I have for my family. Being able to grow up closely to him has been a very big influence in my life. Since I can remember we were able to go and visit Grandpa´s house almost every weekend and spend time with the family. It soon became a favorite thing to ask every Sunday afternoon, "Are we going to Grandma and Grandpa's house?"

Mostly I remember Grandma´s mashed potatoes, but I remember as a younger kid always wondering why Grandpa´s ear would make a high pitched beep noise every once in a while. As far as I was, Grandpa was always a highly respected figure Sunday afternoons, ESPECIALLY if he was taking a nap. I remember if we were watching TV, he would always put it on mute for the commercials, and I never understood because I always wanted to see... and hear the commercials.

I also know and continue to recognize Grandpa as a card shark. When I was finally admitted into the circle, he was always one to learn from.

When we pulled out the ping pong table, well I know I was never really good at ping pong. But losing to Grandpa was very humiliating and inspiring. He told me once a story of his ping pong championship days. He was really young and was in a ping pong tournament (I think it was of his Ward I can’t remember). He told me that in the championship match, he was against an adult who was like professionally good. And he told me the secret to how he won (that guy and me).

He was never one for smashing it really hard, and against this guy what he was just able to do was just barely return it each time. Nothing crazy, but constantly he was able to just barely return it. Each time, the opponent would get a little more impatient, a little more irritated. Until finally during the match his opponent got frustrated and lost his patience, hitting it too hard and losing his focus. And that is how he won.

That is how he beat me too. He sure wasn’t fast, and he could never hit it hard. But he consistently returned it until I made a mistake. That is a really valuable thing I learned from Grandpa that day. You don’t have to always hit it harder to win, that is how you lose control and make mistakes. You just have to be constant and diligent.

Some of the best Spring and Summer days I can remember in my life, I have passed in the garden of Grandpa Weiler. I learned a lot more than how to prune a bush or clean out the garden bed, (without cleaning out the flowers too). Something about diligently and patiently working with nature impacted me.

And I figured out why Grandpa told me he had always liked to work in his garden. I think it had been a secret to help him with everything from his physical health, to his work, and his marriage. A couple of hours in the garden with Grandpa each week would help any grandson become a man. And I had the privilege of taking it all for myself (and not having to share it).

The precious hours I could spend serving with him will always have a large impact on my life. I love him so much, and I guess I will have to wait until I finish a mission that’s a little bit longer to be able to give him that hug. But I can promise you that I am going to have a lot more than a beautiful garden in that mission, thanks to him.

I love you all,

Be at peace at Grandpa´s funeral and give him a tulip for me.

Love,

Elder Hardy

ps I love you

January 9, 2012

Dear Familia,

Hey! That is neat that it snowed for once! Ha ha I really have thought that it might begin to snow here in Jinotepe too! It is pretty cold and when it rains it’s not like a normal rain. It’s like you’re in the middle of a cloud or something. Because you get wet, but you can’t tell from what direction the rain is coming from because it’s floating around in the air. Kinda cool.

I haven’t used my artificial snow from Jacob yet, maybe I will try to use it tonight in a Family Home Evening.

Hey! You guys better reach your goal of reading the Book of Mormon before I get home. Because when I get home, we are going to have a Book of Mormon Question game. Maybe the prizes will be souvenirs. Ha ha.

Hey, this week has been great. We had 2 families in Sacrament Meeting. We have found a few really neat families that want to listen to our message. I decided to try and make it easier on myself to find "chosen" families. Yep, I decided, well, maybe I should just ask them if they think they are a chosen family. Ha ha and it is going pretty good. We present ourselves, we get to know them a little bit, and we present a little bit about what our message is... and ask them if they feel like God has prepared their family to listen to our message, change their lives and follow Jesus Christ.

This week I went on divisions with some members of the District to see how they and their areas are doing. The photos I sent are of me and Elder Buc playing "baseball" real fast with the kids of a family.

Ha ha oh but lots of exciting and spiritual stuff has happened. Something exciting is that the Adventistas, (Adventists of the Seventh Day) are trying to convert us. Last week, we contacted a really nice older couple. They let us in and talked with us and it turns out they are very strong Adventistas. The Husband is a smart good guy and likes everything about the Restoration (pretty much the only difference with them is who was the prophet that restored the church (and when is the Sabbath Day)).

He just wanted evidence of a prophesy that Joseph Smith gave to prove him a real prophet. So we talked to him for a while and presented him the Book of Mormon and told him that it was the evidence. He is literally going to read the whole thing, and I believe him. We invited him to church and well... he invited us to his.

Ha ha so guess what we did Saturday, we went to their Church! It was great! Everyone was very nice and welcoming to us, their meetings have many similarities to ours too. We went normal in our suit and tie and placa and everything. They recognized us like five times in the meeting, and three of the five times they asked us to stand up so everyone could say hi. The Sunday class was interesting, poor teacher had a stressful time with two Mormon missionaries participating, asking questions and reading scriptures. In the end it was nice, nobody tried to fight with us.

But after the meeting we went to talk to the five leaders in charge and they started inviting us to young men/young women activities ha ha and we invited them to our church. In the end, there were only a few things with their meeting that I didn’t like, but something was missing. And one of the things that I just couldn’t get out of my head is that there, my family can’t be eternal. And hey, the next day the family and another friend we got to know in their church came to our Sacrament Meeting. They even gave us a ride in their van!

PS to dad, no, no son los evangelicos que echan afuera los demonios (y casi su compañero) como me contó de su mission. (No, they are not the evangelicals who cast out demons (and almost your companion) like you told me on your mission). But I’m planning on going one of these days (to see the Evangelicos).

We had a District Leader Conference a couple of weeks ago and it was great. But actually there is a GA coming this month...Elder Nelson!

Hannah asked about my favorite food in Jinotepe? Hmm. I really like the Batidos. Ha ha the milk shakes. Umm and Nacatamales. We have some investigators that make really good ones.

I love you all so much,

Elder Hardy

ps. I love you

January 2, 2012

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! (Happy New Year!)

I hope it was fun!

Ha ha ha awesome photos of golfing family. Wow, what is up with that? Golfing and sledding in the same week? You must be in Utah!

Hey say bye and "buena suerte" “good luck” to Elder Poulson from me if you get the chance before he leaves!

Hey yeah! Aunt Debbie & Uncle Steve and cousins package. We got it this last week. And it was Awesome!!! Thank you so much Debbie, Steve and cousins! Two big packs of goldfish, a bunch of Gatorade packs, my favorite granola bars and a cool science project that makes instant snow. (I am going to figure out a way to use it as an object lesson or something with some recent converts.) And a nice Christmas card. It was very nice of them and helped keep us animated for this new year working in La obra del Señor. (The Lord’s work)

The Missionary Newsletter! I sure just barely got it! I read it last night in the house when we couldn’t sleep because all of the explosions outside! Thank you so much for sending that it was really great to see how everyone is doing and motivate me to do even better this year.

For New Years, well, we worked like normal! But an Older member of the Ward died the 31st and so in the late tarde (afternoon) we went to see her vela (viewing) with the other members and show her our support. We also took a picture with a "Viejo" (older man) and I gave him a Word of Wisdom pamphlet because he had a beer can in his hand, but that was about it.

New Year’s resolutions?! Ha ha ha good goals Mom and Dad (losing weight). But I dunno Dad. That is going to be a hard one, especially because I have one of the bodies that has actually lost weight in the mish. But I will try and make it easier on you. Me and my comp have also made an exercise goal. It’s called plan: "esposa bonita" (beautiful wife) and we are going to start tomorrow. And I am going to try and eat better so I can gain some weight too.

Thanks for the updates family. Sounds like everything is going great. Hey younger sisters, you have to finish up the school year strong ok? And I’m really not toooo worried about Zelda, you guys will probably get stuck anyway and have to wait for me to get back to help you out :) ha ha

I love you so much,

Elder Hardy

ps I love you

December 26, 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I am so Happy I talked to you guys Sábado!!! (Saturday) It made me so happy. I am so grateful to have such a beautiful family and an eternal one too.

Our Christmas was great. We ate and ate and ate a lot. It was great. We loved the Christmas package too! The song in Sacrament Meeting went really well. We even did a dramatic ending. I think I will be the Ward Choir Director when I get back ha ha.

The very wealthy family of doctors who own the house where we live invited us to eat. And it was SUPER nice. The first time I have eaten Pavo in 2 years. (Turkey). We got to talk to them about our beliefs too (like why we would not drink the "punch" they offered us.) And about families. We shared The Family Proclamation with them.

Rob asked if I have started dreaming in Spanish? Ha ha ha YES! Yes Rob, for sure I have noted that I have dreamt in Spanish. I was quite happy the morning that I realized that. I even dream about contacting with my companion. Thanks for the question.

 Ah, I have no time!

I am sorry, I wrote Annette an email and I took too long writing President. But I read the whole Email. WOW, sounds like a super fun Christmas this year.

I am so proud of Hannah. Too bad I wasn’t there to see it. (Her singing) I’m sure it was beautiful.

The pictures are awesome! And it seems like the presents weren’t too bad either. ha ha. (Fachentos! Spoiled!) Sounds like Uncle Rob is still pretty funny too with the shark blimp.

But most of all... ZELDA THE SKYWARD SWORD?!?!?! AH no way! Come on you can wait 8 more months to play it can’t you? Ha ha

Hey, say Merry Christmas to Grandpa Weiler for me and tell him I love him. I hope he does better. He has to stay in there till I get to hug him one more time.

I love you all so much and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Elder Hardy

P.S. I love you

December 19, 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS FAMILY!!!
¡¡¡FELIZ NAVIDAD FAMILIA!!!

Sounds like this week has been a hard week.

Please tell Aunt Annette that I am here for her too, even though I am in Nicaragua. Tell her that we are praying for her. And with that strong testimony that she has in Jesus Christ and in God´s plan of happiness for us, she can have an anchor of hope for her soul (Ether 12:14) and a firm hope of a better world at the right hand of God, where families can be Eternal and can live in eternal life.

Hey I got Married!!!

Ha ha no, not really. A member and the daughter of one of my recent converts just got married and they asked to pass by really fast and support them. Ha ha the guy she married is Evangelico so that is why it looks like we are in another church.

We are planning on talking to him. We gave them a wedding gift... a Book of Mormon wrapped up in wrapping paper and a video about Jesus Christ.

Elder Gaytan has been out on the mission the same amount of time as me. So he came here to Nicaragua one change earlier but we are going to leave together.

Before the mission he was studying in Mexico. He was studying Engineering in Refrigeration. And he was already working in that at the same time. I think he was repairing air conditioning and central air systems. Apparently, it pays pretty good too.

This season is a great opportunity for us to talk to people about Jesus Christ and why the world celebrates Christmas. I like to share a passage in The Book of Mormon in Alma 7:10-15.

It is one of my favorite passages in the scriptures. It talks about the birth of Jesus Christ from María the Virgen (it’s even great to share with Catholics) and that He will come to this world to suffer the pains, afflictions and temptations of all of us.

It talks about how He would take upon Him the pains and sicknesses of His people. And how He would take upon Him Death that He may break the bands of death that we might live again. And He suffered everything for us so that He could succor us and take upon Him our sins.

We should all reflect more about what our Saviour Jesus Christ has done for us, and how we can repent and "be born of nuevo" and come unto Him. So read chapter 7 and reflect what we need to do to come unto Christ.

Hey I will try and make sure that Christmas Eve at 4:00 pm here I call you guys. For the Last Christmas Call! Ah!

Hey! You guys still haven’t put up the downstairs Christmas tree!?!?!... or has that always waited until the last week anyway. Did you put up the Nutcrackers? I hope so, I think Grandma told me in her letter that she was still going to get me one.

That would be neat if you could send a photo of them and the house all decorated for Christmas along with photos from Christmas day of you guys. Just to make me a little bit more trunky.

NOOO, I did not receive the Christmas package but Wednesday is the MultiZona and hopefully they bring it there.

Hey Dad, proud of you for helping out with Annette and the funeral. That is what I like to see, Uncle Bruce doing missionary work, not only before his death but after too. Love you Dad, good luck with Christmas.

Hey Mom, it is great to know we have the truth and we have hope not despair. I Love you and can’t wait to talk to you in a couple days.

Hey tell Alexis I want to know what this Concert was like, I forgot to ask in her email.

Ha ha ha woo! Good work Emily. Hannah is still alive and the house is still there. Ha ha sounds like you did your part this week too. I luh you.

Hannah Banana. Thanks for putting up my stocking! Good work with school and good luck with shopping. Ps I love you.

Love,

Elder Hardy

Ps I love you

December 12, 2011

Oh no,

Uncle Bruce had a heart attack. Oh it makes me so sad to hear that. That’s good that Dad could go with Grandma and Grandpa to be with Aunt Annette and help comfort her. I hope she is doing ok. We will pray for her and the family here too.

The thing that actually makes me really happy is to have read their testimonies that they sent me. I still have them and I know that with their testimonies in our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Plan of Salvation everything will be ok. Please give Aunt Annette a hug and a kiss from me too Dad.

Oh, that’s too bad that they changed out President Fuhriman and the Stake Presidency before I got back. But hey, it will be ok still because President Newbold is Stake President now. You know he did my missionary interview before the mission anyway.

Tell Grandma and Grandpa Hardy Muchas Gracias por el regalo de Navidad! I will be sure to do something fun with my companion.

Hey I don’t know if I have the package yet. I image que sí. But they will give it to my zone leaders in changes Wednesday.

We get an hour to write now. Including 15 minutes writing to the Presidente. So... 45 minutes.

For the Christmas call, if you want to do it Christmas Eve that’s ok too. Tell me the best time for you guys next email and I will make sure it’s ok. Ahh! It is already the Last Christmas Call!

Our week was great!! Me and my comp are getting along great. We are finding chosen families and teaching the gospel. We had three investigadores in church yesterday.

One was a guy that tracked me down outside the church and asked me for money for a "fresco" and I told him that I didn’t have and fresco to offer him. But that if he drank a fresco he would thirst again. But if he came inside and learned about Jesus Christ and the gospel he would never thirst again. He came inside and sat down for sacrament meeting! ha ha.

My shoes are doing ok. I say they will last the mission. My backpack is a little torn at the shoulder, but that is easy to fix in the market. My glasses have nice battle scars, and I would like a new pair just to mix things up. But they have glasses stores here in Jinotepe, and I am starting to use contacts again every once in a while because President said I could.

Hey! Well I don’t know how much stuff Elder Sessions has bought already. But you know what recommendation I would give for shoes? The Eccos will last, and they are nice. But it seems like the RockPorts are lasting longer here in Nicaragua. But something that I wish I brought to Nicaragua...

Miracles? Oh come on Mom that is not a fair question. There are way too many to pick from. But the best are the miracles that have happened in peoples lives.

Like a really neat family in Bluefields that got baptized the week after I left. Before, he was living a reckless life and he and his wife had problems. After the first time we visited them in their house you could see the change that started. He still fell a couple times before getting baptized but in the end he and his wife are happy and have a goal to be sealed in a temple this next year with their little boy.

There are also more physical miracles, like one time praying about the weather and having it instantly change ha ha. But the best are about the people.

I love you all very much and am very grateful to be part of an eternal family,

Elder Hardy

ps I love you.

December 5, 2011

Hey Familia!!!

¡¡¡FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS¡¡¡
!!!ALEXIS!!!

No, I did not forget, I just forgot that last Monday would be the last time I could write it to you before it was your actual birthday.

I am sorry to hear that Cousin Gary Burt passed away. I hope his son copes with it alright in the mission. It is good to have a strong testimony of the plan of salvation. Let´s all pray for the family.

Ah! Crown Burger is buying pricey athletic shoes at our expense! That won’t do.

Hey! That is so neat that you attached a clip of Hannah in her mouse suit dancing. I don’t know how you guys do it with those big mouse heads on! Congratulations on your performances, by the looks of it I’m sure they were great.

Sounds like the Ward Christmas Party was neat. You know, I’m not really sure what a posada is... But the favorite dessert here in Nicaragua would be a great helado or Eskimo ha ha. Helado is like a natural frozen popsicle made from whatever type of fruit here. And Eskimo is ice cream you all eat when the ice cream truck passes by ha ha.

HEY!!! Don’t have to worry about bothering Mamá Monestel anymore! I got my Package! WAHOO! Ha ha last Monday I bugged the office missionaries until they went to go talk to Pedro and get the package Thursday.

And it was Awesome!!! Thank you so much for the Ipod touch and the speakers! Now we have spiritually edifying music playing in the house as we plan. Ha ha and the other stuff was awesome too! The letters from the family, even from the GV1 Young Women!

Oh, the jungle bookmark and the New York pens were awesome. My comp can go around now telling everyone, look, I’ve been to NY. The cool brain teaser puzzles were great... for 10 minutes when I finished them all! Haha then I shared the two hardest with the sister missionaries and told them to give them back to me when they solved them. Ha ha they haven’t mentioned them to me yet so I imagine they are having a hard time.

I can’t believe it... you sent me MASHED POTATOES! Ha ha that is great. Everything was excellent my comp was very happy too. I shared everything but the ipod and letters ha ha. The ties are really nice, and thanks for the shirts. My comp decided that they were too nice and put the shirt and tie in a zip lock bag and put it in his suit case and said he was going to wear them the last day when he goes home. I am still trying to convince him to wear them now.

Wow there are a bunch of missionaries coming home aren’t there? Ahh!

Our apartment? Ah! I forgot to take photos today! I wanted to show you. Well our room is pretty pretty small. But it is nice, and the house where we live is very rich. Our room is separated by a courtyard from the rest of the house. Well it is actually a doctor’s office. The Husband and Wife are both doctors and do their consultations there.

They are very nice and there is even a nice maid that comes into our house and cleans sometimes even though we told her not to. They are not members and I haven’t ever talked to them much because they are always busy. But I will send you photos next time.

Our daily schedule? Well, on a normal day. Wake up a little before 6:30. (I would like to say I get up at 6 but I can’t. That is just when the alarm goes off and usually takes about 20 minutes to wake me up ha ha). I take a shower and then change.

At 7:30 we go to Eddy´s to eat and at 8 we are in the house starting Personal Study. At 9 Comp. Study and at 10 to 10:30 is language study and then we are out the door. Lunch at Eddy´s is at 12. We visit all day and in between our appointments we have our eye peeled for any families that we pass, because we are always searching for familias escogidas (chosen families).

Dinner is right before we enter the house for the night. We plan from 9 to 9:30 and then everyone from the District calls me to report for the day and give me their numbers. I call the zone leaders and give them the numbers and lights out at 10:30.

To be completely honest, I don’t think very many leaders in the mission get to bed on time because they are reporting. We are working at it as a District to get the numbers in on time so everyone can go to bed on time.

Our weekly goals? Well, one of our weekly goals was to get 2 of our families to come to church... and they ALMOST came. The Dad of one family came and brought a grandson and said sorry but that next week for sure his wife is coming. And the other family even had it planned to borrow a friend’s truck to bring all the family but things happened and they couldn’t come. So pray that next week they can!

Hey I am sorry but I have to go. We got late to write and now the whole district is waiting for me to go the church because we are doing "mini changes" in the zone to build unity.

I love you!

Elder Hardy

ps I love you

November 28, 2011

Gobble Gobble!

Looks like Thanksgiving dinner was delicious! And how was Mom´s Birthday?

I think that is great that Grandma and Grandpa Weiler were able to come too. I am so grateful for my Grandparents (from both sides) and for their examples and their love. I hope Grandpa Weiler is doing good. I could never be able to repay the blessing that I had to spend I little bit of time with him before going on the mission. It really helped me out, and I enjoyed the company of him more than anyone knows.

I am really hoping and praying for his health, and that he can make it around for a bit more so I can give him a hug and tell him how grateful I am for him. He has fought a good fight if you ask me and his legacy will live on through me, he has left a lasting impression on my life.

My new comps name is Elder Axel Antonio Gaytan Real. He is Nicaraguan! Ha ha well, by birth only I think. He told me he left Nicaragua when he was very little and grew up in El Salvador. He is a big guy, and we are getting along great. He also eats a lot. He is a convert, and is sealed in the temple with his adopted family. And has a great testimony.

Being District Leader is fine. I don’t think I am doing all that great. But I think that is one of the problems, I should have more confidence. So I am going to work on that this week.

The missionaries are good, but we haven’t had any families come to church for the last couple weeks. So that would be great if you guys could pray for us here. (I know you already do). There are 10 missionaries (2 sisters) in my District, including me. And yeah, actually Elder Valenzuela and Elder Muzo are in my District ha ha. So that is great.

Well, I actually haven’t made any plans for Christmas. That might be tough to work out with the converts and investigators. We will probably have to go to various houses Christmas night.

What am I thankful for? Well, I was waiting for that question because it is Thanksgiving. But it is tough, because I don’t actually have enough time to type all the blessings that I am most thankful for. But thanks to your spiritual thought from President Uchtdorf I think I found a way.

First and foremost and forever I am thankful for my God. For my Heavenly Father and the relationship I have with him. This blessing obviously involves my Savior Jesus Christ as well, and the infinite love they have for me that I can still not comprehend.

After God, the blessing most grand and marvelous in my life is my Family. And what is even better is that this family is not a temporal blessing, it is an eternal one. And the eternal blessings and exaltation that we will receive together is a blessing that is too great to describe.

I am also grateful for the opportunity I have to serve mi Prójimo (my fellowman). The opportunity I have as a missionary right now to serve God and my Fellowman is something that I will always be grateful for.

Ya que (As) I am serving my God with all my heart might and strength, representing my family, bringing more families to the fullness and blessings of the gospel and at the same time, it is changing me to be ready to be faithful to God for the rest of my life. Really there are very many blessings temporal and spiritual that I have in my life and above all I have to thank my Heavenly Father for his love.

Love,

Elder Hardy

P.s. I love you!

P.p.s. Yes I still have the sincere tree!