Thank you so much for the wonderful letter! It is always so great to hear about your goings on, and to hear that you are all safe and well. This week was a whirlwind for Elder Hardy, but a really great one at that. It started with a tearful goodbye to Stara Zagora, a long bus ride to Sofia with my first-ever missionary companion (Elder Taylor!), and then...лудница! The day after getting into Sofia, I was in a car (weird!) with Elder Sharp (one of the Assistants) driving down to Plovdiv to attend his great-grandmother's Orthodox funeral (long story short--his mother was one of the first members of the Church in Bulgaria, she moved to America and got married, but all of her family still lives in Plovdiv, which means Elder Sharp has a very confused-about-the-Gospel but absolutely wonderful Grandma and Grandpa and other family in Plovdiv). It was a very, very unique experience, in stark contrast to the one that is sounds like you help this week, Father. Wine, bread, candles, Gregorian chanting in an ancient form of a once ubiquitous but now un-used Slavic language, incense, the whole bit. A few words of consolation for the family, a quick chat with the very kind and goodhearted Priest (he has a copy of the Book of Mormon!) and then the family treated us and a large group to a very large lunch. All in all, it was a very enlightening experience, and a unique look into the very center of a Bulgarian family and how they deal with hard times, much closer than the white shirt and black badge usually allow us to come. It was neat to be able to discuss it with Elder Sharp, and to see his immense love for his family members, good, good people, looking for that which was lost, and not realizing it is standing in front of them, being born by their own Grandson, a spiritual giant himself. A very reflective experience.
Wow, time flies when you are writing! In other news, Elder Jorg Klebingat came again and we had a two-day long Mission Council/ Leadership training with him, and it was...incredible. Too much to write about, but one of the things he trained us on was how to really begin to memorize scriptures like we mean it--in the course of a one day training, and through a method that he taught us, I memorized the verse and chapter, book, story and main teaching of 26 scriptures. And in all actuality, and we had learned the method, that took maybe a grand total of an hour and a half! He spoke at a fireside Saturday night, and then during the Third Hour Sunday, and Zone Conference with him is Tuesday, so I have heard a lot of his teaching, and know that he really has truly been called by a Prophet of God to serve as one of his 70.
Mother; I am in the same apartment, the Sister Training Leaders are here in Sofia for the first Zone, and we actually will not be traveling out to the cities this transfer, but the District Leaders will actually be traveling IN to work with us, so I probably won't be leaving Sofia for the next 6 weeks period! That will be nice. In Bulgarian, we say Честита прическа, which literally means, "happy haircut!". Is that a new haircut? In any case, thank you for your testimony and your service. I love you!
Dad; your pine-wood derby cars are sort of like yourself--they may not be fast, but they sure are good-looking! Sorry, couldn't resist. Thank you for the letter and for the pictures. How are the Whorely's doing? Give them my love. Thank you for all that you do for us!
Paige; what a great opportunity to act so closely with your little Sister...cherish that memory forever, because pretty soon you don't get to bump heads with your siblings every day! I love you so much.
Ronnie. I love you, you are a large man! You dwarf your dear sweet mother in one of those pictures. I love you so much, take care of your siblings.
Lizzie! Wow, what a neat opportunity! I love that show, and the wonderful music and dancing in it. Always remember who you are, little sister. There will be lots of voices telling you otherwise, very quickly. You are going to do great, my heart just bursts with joy and righteous pride when I think about you. I love you!
No more time to write, but I just want to leave you with my testimony that Christ lives, and that in actuality, this is his Church Restored upon the Earth. I know that it was lost, as prophesied by its first leaders, but has been restored in its glorious fullness. Let us stay with the Old Ship Zion! I love you so much!
With love,
Elder Hardy, Sofia
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| Elder Strobl! |
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