Обичам Ви! От всичките изреченя които мога да пиша на Български, надявам се че ще чувствате искреността на онези две думи. I love you all so much! Thanks for the wonderful letters, Mother and Father. It is always so great to hear from both of you. This week was a great, if a little strange week. I was in Sofia Monday and part of Tuesday to do passport work (12 hours on a bus for 14 hours in Sofia...), and then the birthday. All in all, good stuff. The work is progressing here in Shumen as well--we found some new investigators this week that we are excited for (two families!), so life is good.
Mother, thank you so much for the wonderful package! It is absolutely perfect--I was a little frightened that I would open it and find that it had already been opened, but everything was in place! I am extremely excited about Dad's book of poems and stories (I don't have a lot of time to read it, but it is still wonderful), the candy is perfect (RAISINETTES!), and Elder Kingsley loves the BBQ sauce. I hid it under his pillow, and when he laid down, and reached under his pillow, he said he already recognized what it was before we could turn the light on. So great! again, thank you so much--it was everything that any missionary could ask for on a birthday. I have pictures, but I forgot my camera today (I am so sorry!), but will be sure to send them next week. Yes, when I say that I am 19, people usually are pretty shocked ("Чак от Щатите? Какво правиш тук?"), but it is great because it makes an easy transition into the Gospel. Last thing--I feel your pain about the whole Hymn-ordeal. I pick the Hymns (i.e. the ones that I can play), but whenever someone suggests that we sing a different song, my heart rate jumps up about 100 BPM. Little by little, I'll get the hang of it! I love you so much Mother, you are amazing.
Father! Thanks for your inspiring words: "Be honest with yourself and then be patient with yourself and then set some goals with yourself and then be happy!"--I really think that is a pattern that I need to work on with myself, and that little quote struck just the right chord with me. You really are a source of Sage advice, Father dearest. It is crazy that Seth is already getting ready to go! Give him a big hug from me, and tell him that I think he is going to be an awesome missionary. It is hard to describe everyday life, so I'll just give an experience from yesterday: we met with a guy named Danoil--he was walking home up the hill, and we were walking down the hill. We stopped to talk to him, and before long we offered to walk with him, and then we sat down on the bench of a bus stop, and we were teaching him the message of the Restoration. He is a soldier, and is very busy, so we are not sure how often we are going to be able to meet with him, but it was just another testimony of the Lord's promise that if we will open our mouths, no matter if it appears as though the man trudging up the hill would have no reason to want to listen to two young Americans, we will find those that the Lord has prepared. Dad, you are strong, you are wonderful, I hope one day to have the Lord trust me as much as he trusts you. I love you!
PAIGE!!! Wow, you are almost 16...crazy! I will write your Birthday experience next week, but just know that I am so proud of who you are, and that I love you. Make sure that if you come to any 4-Way stops on your drivers test, that you look to see if there is a left turn lane! Make sure and tell me how it goes. Also, I think you are going to be a wonderful Step-Sister--you never have had a problem being sassy in the first place. I love you, and Happy Pre-Birthday!
Ronnie, brother, I love you! I am so proud of you! The Title Role! In all actuality, it will be a blast. If you want a cool nickname for your group, you can call yourself Дървата (D-ur-vata), or "The Trees." All the other groups will be jealous. I love you, read PMG!
Lizzie, I love you a lot as well. Remember that! It sounds like you are blossoming into quite the young woman--always remember that you are a choice Daughter of God, that he loves you and cares for you more than we can understand. And I love you too! Keep being a ray of sunshine.
The title--this week, in Sofia, we slept at the apartment of the Assistants to the President, and in my rush in the morning, I completely forgot my bag of toiletries. Seeing as zone Conference happened recently, and Shumen isn't exactly a main thoroughfare, I don't really have much hope of getting them back for a few weeks. Thursday morning, much to my surprise, I found a present sitting on the bathroom counter from Elder Kingsley. A new toothbrush! Ever more to my surprise, Elder Kingsley then proceeded to jump out from the shower curtain with a camera to catch my surprise! We had a good chuckle about that. I have pictures.
Again, thank you so much to all for the wonderful Birthday wishes!
This week, I have really been contemplating about faith and doubts--it is so easy sometimes to get so caught up in our doubts that we allow them to block the faith that we have, to shade us from the power and spirit and blessings that the Lord is so willing to pour out on our heads. Family, we cannot let little doubts or minuscule pinpricks of apprehension hold us back from the joy that comes from the truth that we do have. We know our Savior, we know the Plan that our Loving Father has laid out for us, we know what we must do to live together again. Let that be our focus! I know that as we focus on the good, on our faith, doubts and fears will subside, and we will be able to press on.
The Book of Mormon is true!
I love you all so much!
Elder Hardy
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