Thank you for the wonderful letter! It is always so wonderful to hear the happenings in the hilarious and happy Hardy Home. It sounds like summer is in full swing. I am glad to see you all having so much fun, learning and growing. Радвайте се, братя и сестри! This week has been extremely busy and more than a little tiring, but just wonderful, absolutely wonderful. On Monday, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Elder Slinker (I felt like I was back in Shumen!), and then Elder Howard came in, and we got to work--on Wednesday we had the opportunity to go down to Pleven, and I gave my first Baptismal Interview. It was a neat experience to feel the spirit confirm to me that he was ready to be baptized--it was a good reminder that even though we may not be perfect, have all the knowledge in the world, or always know exactly what to say, the Lord knows our hearts, and he knows those who are ready and willing to take that covenant upon themselves. I was so excited that he passed, I completely forgot to fill out the Baptismal Record with him, which led to some interesting last minute scrambling and document-signing as we were trying to run to catch a train, but it all worked out in the end. All is well that ends well, right? Other than that, Elder Howard and I have been seeing some incredible blessings in our work this week--new investigators have been coming out of no-where (one man walked into church out of the blue, stayed all three hours, and then stayed for a lesson afterwards!), and we are really excited to work with these neat people. As always, there is more work to do than we have time to do it, and I feel like I forget things at every turn, but I know that as we listen to the Spirit, the Lord will remind us of the things that we need to accomplish.
Mother; Jam! Those are some great memories. Eat a lot for me! I absolutely agree about Girls Camp--even if it is just one experience, it is always 100% worth it, even if it is just one spiritual experience. That is a missionary feeling as well! There was a man from Utah in Church two weeks ago, but I am pretty sure he was not Brother Vermillion--this man works with software--but I will have to keep an eye out. In terms of a box, Cliff Bars would be wonderful--there is actually some pretty good oatmeal here, but one that I could use is some more hair wax (paste? The putty-sort of stuff)--they don't really have that here (at least for a reasonable price). All in all however, letters are the best of all--it is so great to see your handwriting! Whatever you send, I promise I will be more than happy. Thank you so much! I love you, and look up to you!
Father--Both of your councilors are so tall! I love how you all are wearing checkered shirts. Thank you so much for the great letter. It really is true that we must be more than certain in the promises of the Lord, in His commandments. That is one thing that I have learned here as a missionary--the Lord truly is BOUND when you do what He says, he can and will bless us when we put Faith in Him first. A life-long principle. Thank you for all you do, I love you!
Rees--Bummer deal! That is no fun. Maybe flipping-patties isn't a skill the Lord wants you to adjust to--that is a good sign! I love you so much Brother.
Paige; congratulations! Working is a rewarding endeavor. I love you so much, and I love thinking about how you blessed the lives of those girls that you worked with. Keep looking to bless those around you, and you will certainly find yourself. I love you, you are beautiful!
Ronnie; what a neat opportunity! Sharing the Gospel is the most rewarding thing that I have done, and it truly is one of the best ways to make deeper that which we already treasure, to enlarge and expand our understanding and testimony. Neat things! I love you little Brother, keep it up!
Lizzie; a master swimmer as well? I should have guessed! I love you so much little sister--it is a little frightening to look at those pictures and see how much you are growing up. Keep being so wonderful!
This week we had a really neat experience--Elder Howard and I were with a member of the Church here (a younger man), and we ended up going tracting with this young man when our lesson didn't work out. He is a recent-convert, and is considering going on a mission, so when we started, and no-one was giving us the time of day, I started praying that this would not be this young-man's impression of missionary work--annoyed faces and slammed doors, but that someone would let us in to share the Restoration with them. We kept knocking; nothing. Finally, at the last door, at the end of the night, we knocked on a big, gray door. We waited, we waited...then all of a sudden the door flew open and an older woman quickly invited us in to her humble abode, asking questions faster than we could answer them. She was old, but a former physics teacher, and still sharp as a whip. We shared the Restoration with her, and she said that she would read the Book of Mormon. It was such a clear answer to my prayer, I absolutely cannot deny it, and never will be able to. As we walked away, my heart was full of gratitude that that young man was able to witness the beauty of missionary work with us that night. The Lord knows us, he knows what we need.
I love you all so much, have a great week!
Elder Hardy
