Thank you so much for the wonderful letter and picture--it looks like Spokane is as barren for snow as is Colorado! It has actually been fairly warm here for the last little while, which has been strange, but good.
Mom, thanks for the help with this whole deal--I sent it off to Chicago on Thursday, so it should be coming back to you fairly soon (sometime this week). I thought of you when we went in to get the fingerprints, of shuffling through the corridors of the Spokane Courthouse to get to that little tiny back room. I am also grateful Sister Davis was able to get in touch with you--going through the mission office was good, but they are just a little bit (understandably) slow, and I wanted to get it in the mail that evening. The Davises are a wonderful family--I enjoy living with them. Thanks for the update as well--it sounds like I will be here for a week or two longer at least, which is good to know for one's sanity. I love you and love reading about your gospel learning. You are a great example to me!
Dad, maybe it is just the picture, but your hair looks whiter than ever! Before long, you're going to reach the esteemed status of being one of those Temple workers who sports boldly a well-groomed shock of white hair. What a privilege! That is one of my own personal goals (the bald Temple workers are wonderful too though). I'm glad to hear you got pick out the tree as well--I hope it was plenty large! I love you and think of you often. Thank you for the important lessons you taught me about hard work!
Paige, it almost seems surreal that you are taking your drivers tests...crazy! Don't pull an Elder Hardy and fail the actual drive the first time--believe me, it's not as fun as it sounds. You'll do great I am sure. I found some wonderful surprises in my suit coat pocket the other day, that made me think of you (see the picture) I would hand them out if they weren't so precious to me! I love you--say hello to Mr. Saccomanno for me!
Ronnie, with that hat, you are as tall as our esteemed Father. Frightening! I see that you took the liberty of wearing that jacket pull-over thing...don't worry, I "borrowed" it from Dad in the first place, so no hard feelings. I hope you enjoy singing that song as well--it is a great one! Love you Brother Dearest, keep up the good work!
Elizabeth, get better! I am sure that you will--I have never known something as little as sickness to get in the way of your success. You are going to knock that audition out of the park--I can just imagine you singing that hilarious, wonderful song. I love you!
This week has been a good one, and a strange one--for starters, we did something that I found hilarious and wonderful for a contacting idea: dog park contacting! We take the Davis's dog to the park and let him run free--dogs are a BIG thing here in Colorado, so the place is usually hopping with people, no matter the weather. You go up, start talking to them about their dog, they ask about yours, you laugh at their funny dog stories, then they ask who you are and where you are from...and boom! You are talking about the church. At that point, we either engage in a gospel conversation, or the person suddenly becomes VERY interested in what their dog is doing, and are suddenly needed at the other end of the park. Not a flawless approach, but a good way to talk to people. Strange, slightly smelly, but good.
The strangest part of the week however, was the whole FBI clearance thing; Wednesday morning, Elder Christensen comes storming up the stairs, holding out the phone: "It's from the mission office for you!". At that point, my heart jumped into my throat--I had gotten my visa! The office missionary started off, "President Brown got an email this morning..." my heart rate accelerated the more, "saying that you need to go to the library and read your email--you have to renew your FBI Clearance because you have been waiting here so long." Plummet! The adrenaline drained out of my body faster than...something very fast. After a little bit of reading,a few phone calls, and some filling out paperwork, we got the whole situation figured out, but it was a strange experience. The Lord really knows how to test us thoroughly. It's all good though, because a miracle happened this week.
We were knocking on some doors, and actually having some success in passing out the "He is the Gift" cards (which you all should watch and share if you haven't), which was a miracle in it's own right. At one door, everything went pretty well, and we left the card and our number, and were walking away to get more cards when we heard a "Hey!" "Hey you!" from down the street. Startled, (someone is initiating a conversation with US?), we turned around to see a young woman jogging up the street after us--after a little discussion, we found out her Mom had told her "some boys from some church" had been on the doorstep, and she should go meet them. She had just moved from Chicago, and was looking for a youth group, and was wondering if we knew of any good ones in the area. As a matter of fact, we did! She seemed excited about coming on Tuesday, and we actually got her involved with some of the youth this weekend for a get-together thing, and she seemed to enjoy it. So cool! The Lord blesses us as we go out and do His work!
This week, I studied in 3 Nephi 1 and 2; aside from making me think of Tanner Law kneeling under the light of a weakly powered flashlight in an old Jedi robe with a towel on his head, it made me realize the vital importance of remembering. These people were given sign after sign, wonder after wonder, testimony after testimony...and yet in just the space of a few years they would forget all and sink into iniquity. If only they would have remembered! We must always do our part to remember the knowledge and blessings and witnesses of the spirit that we have received. Remember, remember, remember! Don't pull a third Nephi!
I love you all so much, and I have faith in the Lord's plan. He's got one, and He's sticking to it, because it is the way for us to have the MOST happiness ultimately. His perspective is not our perspective, His ways are not our ways. Just as Jesus was not sent to do His own will, but the will of Him that sent [Jesus], we are here to learn to do the Father's will always, to bring our will in line with His, to learn to do things HIS way, so we can learn and progress. A tough lesson, but a true one. Funny how those two always seem to go together.
With Love and a Big Smile,
Elder Hardy
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| Wow! I am so happy! Thanks Paige! |
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| Two colors! I such a yucky boy. |
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