Happy Thanksgiving to all of you wonderful people! Those were some wonderful pictures--it is sure great to see all of those awesome cousins together. Everyone is so large! Strange. Strange. I especially enjoyed the pictures of the gun range--Uncle Brandon has a nice looking beard, Grandpa as calm and collected with a firearm as always, and Ronnie was looking pretty lethal...to the ladies at least! He was carrying a gun too!
Mom, I glad that you got to spend some time with your sisters--it looks like you guys had a great time. I am doing well in terms of supplies, and am still working through the Halloween box (so much candy!). What a neat story about Ruth--the Lord truly does look after His children. What cracks me up is that she had the biblical knowledge, astuteness, and sense of humor to relate the story to that of Jesus--I had a good chuckle about that one! Thanks so much for your diligence in calling--I got an email from the Visa office today reassuring me that they were doing their best, and would let President Brown know as soon as the Visa came. It was a little bit of a let-down to see that email, then realize it was just a note of encouragement, but it was still good to hear. The prediction (according to Elder Taylor) is sometime this week, but who knows. Such a funny situation! I can't wait to look back at this and ponder the lessons I have learned, and chuckle as well--if I could count the number of people who have taken double-takes at my tag...it would be really high. I get a kick out of it (especially when they try to read it). I love you Mom!
Dad, I appreciate your advice and council every week--it truly is needed and appreciated. I really agree about the whole put-yourself-in-their-shoes thing. I need to apply it! And thanks for your faith in the Bulgarian government--I believe your faith is enough to move mountains, so getting a few measly slips of paper across the Atlantic should be no sweat. I love you Dad, I admire you, I want to be a missionary as good as you were and are. Glad you didn't break anything at the Turkey Bowl!
Paige, you look remarkably like Jordan in those pictures, but different in your own wonderful way. This is a complement. I love you, keep singing. Ehhhh....Bleh! Ronnie, I have already harassed you sufficiently earlier. You are a great guy, keep sticking to who you are. And don't lick any more train floors! (Don't ask--I have my ways. It's a trick they teach you in the MTC). Lizzie, keep all those boys in line for me, ok? Keep being so wonderful! I love you.
Thanksgiving on the mission is a weird thing--for us it was just another normal proselyting day, but nobody wants you to just drop by their house with a bunch of family in town, so we planned in the morning, then set up a route to go and leave messages with as many member families as possible. In total, we ate three thanksgivings (though the third was mostly dessert by the time we got there), and shared some messages about gratitude. It was a LOT of food; the whole hollow-leg-as-a-missionary thing gave out after the second dinner, and it was pure will power from that point on. It wasn't as good as your's, Mother Dearest, but it was still good. More than I would have gotten in Bulgaria! Louisville is good--my companion has been here for about 6 months however, so we are working on getting new leads, having exhausted many of our previous options, but there is work to do. We share the ward with a set of Sisters (which is a good and tough thing), so we have to coordinate with them a lot, but we make it work.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, my thoughts were turned to the story of the 10 lepers this week (St. Luke 17:11-19). The last leper, he who returned to thank the Lord, received more than just his physical healing, but was also healed spiritually. Gratitude can do that for us! As we live in a grateful way, we will be happier, because we will see the good things in our life as gifts from God, and that is a great way to live. I am grateful for all you!
With Love,
Elder Hardy
No comments:
Post a Comment