I love you so much! Thank you so much for the letter--it sounds like life is about as busy and wonderful as usual. Vocal Point at INB? Nice. Did you get to give out any copies of the Book of Mormon?
We traveled quite a bit during the middle of the week (Passport work and Zone Training), but still managed to get some good work done in our area. This week was all about learning from our mistakes--from learning about protecting personal documents (I "lost" my wallet with my Personal ID card and Missionary Funds card in it) to counting donations carefully, we made some classic mistakes this week. However, it was also a great lesson about God's Mercy--the passport office gave us no troubles, and besides a small fine, I will get my documents as if I hadn't lost them in the first place. After a little bit of tearing our hair out and some frantic prayers, we realized that we hadn't misplaced money, but the donor had simply done some bad addition on his form! All in all, it was a great lesson in the Lord's plan for our growth, encapsulated in a few separate incidents--he allows us to have the chance to make poor choices, and even allows us to go forward with them if we won't listen to his councils, but is ALWAYS willing to give us redemption, to give us a way to come back onto even ground, a little battered, but much wiser for the fall. I am so grateful for the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ, and the opportunity that gives us to get back up, to give it another go. What a blessing!
Mom, that sounds like a great activity! How is Brother Toone doing? Give him my love. I am glad to hear that you have had a chance to practice--as a missionary, you end up throwing together a lot of musical numbers, sometime in the last second, and I have come to appreciate the power of someone like you who can sightread amazingly. In terms of the package, I will be happy with whatever you send me. If you could, I would like another 6 months of missionary service! I don't know if they sell that in Costco, but if they do, I am sure you would be able to find it. All jokes aside, I am really doing well, enjoying, learning, stretching, and trying desperately to not repeat the same mistakes. I love you so much!
Dad, last night, we were talking to one last man before we ran into our apartment for the night, and I said something like "I remember my Dad would always tell me...". After we finished the conversation, Elder Raisor mentioned sort of off-handedly "you seem to say that in every situation! What didn't your Dad teach you?", but it really caused me to think about how grateful I am for all that you have taught me. I love you!
Paige, I love you so much! Keep working hard--I hope you like the pictures of some ruins. Everytime I see them, I think of you!
Ronnie; nice hat! I hope that you have a good chance to serve in the Teachers Quorum--here, we teach adults about the duties of these offices that you are serving in right now--learn them well, serve faithfully, and take joy from it! I love you little Brother.
Lizzie; I am sure that you are going to bring down the house! Make sure and pray before you perform, and I am sure that it will all go great. I love you so much little Sister!
I know that the Savior lives, and that he truly loves us. I have been thinking a lot about Matthew 10:32--how often do we bear testimony of our Savior and our Brother? I think of a saying from Dad's book--"If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?". May we bear our testimony more frequently, through our voices, and also through our actions. I love you so much, have a great week!
Love,
Elder Hardy
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| For Mom |
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| For Dad (it says "Midwife and Gynecology Center") |
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| For Paige |
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| For Paige (again!) |
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| For Ronnie (It says "Hall for Wrestling") |
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For Lizzie (The Little boy is just a little younger than you!) |
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