Честита Свети Валентин на Вас Също! Thank you so much for the wonderful letter--it is great to hear your voice and to feel your strength. It sounds like the dance was a success all around. I'm glad it was a family activity--that was both Dad AND Ronnie could keep an eye on Paige for me! Jokes! (Sort of). I am doing fine, moving right along. Life is good, the weather cannot decide whether it is зима или лято, and the work is moving forward, little by little. I keep doing my best to try and improve in little ways each day. Eventually I'll get this whole missionary thing figured out! Little by little.
Mom, I agree--the treadmill is great, but there certainly is a different element to getting out there on the open road. It is tougher, but, in my opinion, more exhilarating. Keep it up! Also, thank you for keeping me updated about Sister Dilg--she might not be cringing at your playing, but she might get a slight twitch in the eye from my fanatics at the keyboard every Sunday morning. She truly was (and is) a wonderful lady. Tell Brother Dilg thank you for holding down that Men's Section--I love him. Alright, questions. So the group behind us were already here when we got here, but the group behind them is the one that is delayed. We didn't share an apartment with the other Elders here in Shumen, so they likely spent all day today giving their place a serious wipe down--the mission will still hold onto to it (because it is a very nice apartment), but it will just have to wait to be occupied again. Elder Kingsley has been serving for about 10 months (8 in Bulgaria). He has served here in Shumen and in Stara Zagora. We went to the store today to look at cameras, but they were all pretty pricey--I am fairly certain I can find a cheaper one that will do just fine, but it will have to wait another week. So sorry! I promise I will send lots of pictures in the coming weeks. Also, Elder Kingsley said that it usually takes about a month for a package to arrive, so you are doing just fine. If you have a chance, could you put some Day-Quill or something similar in there? Medicine isn't too expensive here, but that is one thing that is hard to find. Thank you so much, I love you with all my heart dear Mother.
Dad, I thought of you this week--we bought some Doritos (weird, right?), and I thought of the stories you would tell about eating Doritos with straight cheddar cheese. That gave me a good chuckle. I love you so much Father, and am grateful for the example of dedication to the Lord that you have provided for all of us children. Now, being on my own, I see more and more how who you are has shaped me and molded me. I still have a long ways to go, but thank you for your example, Father. I love you so much!
Grandma and Grandpa--I am glad to hear that you are coming back to the old country! I agree about the walking program--if I had realized JUST how much walking I was going to be doing, I would have done a training program too! I love you, and am grateful for your example. Обичам те, Дядо и Баба!
Paige, every time I see a car with a big У (за ученик, or student) on the top, I think of you. Be safe, I love you. Treasure the time you have now in High School--who you become now will be a foundation for who you will be in the future. Make sure it is a good foundation! Say hello to the Choir folks for me. I love you so much, and I hope you didn't get TOO much into the Valentines spirit! Eh.....bleh.
Ronnie, sounds like you are the star of the show--just make sure you don't "quack" under the pressure! Jokes! I'm sure you haven't heard that one a million times in the last month or so. In any case, I love you a lot, always be a good example--I promise people are watching you. Do all you can to always have the spirit with you, and you will be blessed with missionary opportunities. Seek them out, pray for them, pay attention, and they will come, I promise. I love you so much brother. Make the Hardy boy's proud! (Also, read Preach My Gospel!).
Lizzie, I just love the image of you running around in that little pack of ducklings, blond hair flapping around, a big smile on your face. Keep singing, keep being a great example. Always remember that I love you, and that as people see who you are, even now, they will want to know what makes you that way. Share it! I love you so much.
Valentines Day as a missionary...definitely not the same experience as in previous years. The celebration here is actually fairly large (many people had the day off from work, school, etc...), so we spent a good amount of time out on the streets talking to people as they enjoyed the wintery sun. We tried to talk with a LOT of couples that day. It was actually fairly funny--sometimes the man would stop, and the woman would brush us off, and sometimes vise-versa. It was quite funny. There were quite a few nervous looking young men with slicked up hair and roses tucked into back pockets running around that day as well--strange enough, they all seemed to be in quite the hurry. Funny how that works.
In any case, this week was a good week--it started off with a long bus ride to Sofia for some passport work. I spent the trip with Elder Slinker, our current District leader (he needed to do passport work as well)--he, even more than Elder Harkness (the other Elder I went on exchanges with) has very little fluency in the language (actually considerably less than me) even though he has been in country for a year; however, he is a great example of working hard, no matter what--he is absolutely fearless in talking to people, even though he struggles to understand what they say back to him. He talks with everyone and brother, and their dog too. It is inspiring. Great missionary. It is about doing our part, and letting the Lord make up the difference, without a doubt.
The work is moving along, with setbacks along the way, but it still moves forward--we had three baptismal dates for this month, but they have systematically fallen through or had to be moved back as the month has gone along--we had a great lesson with Silvia this week, but when it came down time for her to choose whether or not to be baptized, she could not gather the courage. She felt the spirit, she understands what it will mean for her life, but now is not the time for her. That was hard, but we will move forward. We are hopeful for Suzana and Georgi and Nickolai in the coming month--we have work to do with all of them, but if we are diligent, they all have the potential to make this wonderful covenant with their Heavenly Father, to show their love and appreciation and trust in Jesus Christ.
That is my testimony this week--the relationship that we have and make with Jesus Christ is so important. He love us so much, more than we know. I was reading in Isaiah 53:3-5 (and in Mosiah, 14:3-5 I believe), and I was just filled with an overwhelming sense of the love and care and desire the Savior has for us to be with Him again. He is there, waiting for us to turn to him, to just believe in him, to show a little bit of faith, and he will heal us. He will give us strength, he will give us peace. This I know. I encourage everyone to think a little bit more about the Savior this week, and what he means in our life. How lucky we are to know of his Gospel!
I love you all so much, I am doing great, sorry if I didn't cover everything. This Gospel is true, read the Book of Mormon!
With lots of love,
Elder Hardy
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