Elder Tanner Hardy: "It's a Wonderful Life!"

Family Mine!

Thank you for the wonderful letter! I really appreciate your writing skills--I feel as if I know everything going on...I am sorry if I do not do as well in return. I will try to do better! I love hearing about your lives, and imagining the light that you shed in the lives of those around you. Summer sure is a great time...I am glad to hear that you are all using it wisely!

This week has been a great week--I have been thinking a lot about what it means to really "walk uprightly before God". As I have pondered on it this week, and looked at the moments when I have felt confident in walking before God, and the moments when I have wanted to duck my head away, or maybe slump down in my seat a little bit, the difference really comes from a decision to take every command from the Lord's mouth seriously. I have never been much of a rebel, but I have come to realize that slothfulness in keeping the commandments and even suggestions of the Lord, while not open rebellion, leads to similar results. I want to always be able to walk before the Lord with my shoulders squared and chin up, because I know I have given my best effort in keeping his commandments.

This week I was on exchanges with Elder Wilson (my trainee!) and Elder Taylor (my MTC companion!), and we got along like three peas in a pod--they really are great missionaries, doing their best and working hard. I was also on exchanges with an Elder from New York, who studied at Cornell before his mission--between him and Elder Strobl, I was wrapped in Ivy all week! It was a wonderful week though, really. I'll give you a run down of my Friday, it was a good, normal (meaning exciting and awesome), day;

We woke up at 630 and exercised (sit-ups and curls mostly), then ate breakfast, and then Elder Renauld (from New York, in Sofia on exchanges from Yambol) and I headed out to the University with a Street Board to catch the morning crowd getting down into the Metro to go to work. We had some good conversations, then after about 2 hours, as we were walking home, we ran into a guy from California, and were able to bear strong testimony to him, and to get in contact with the random girl who, walking by and hearing our English, asked what we thought about the whole England EU thing, and then got interested in what we were doing there. After putting the stuff away, we studied, ate lunch, then street-taught (i.e. contacted) to the Train Station and bought their tickets for tomorrow morning, then taught on the streets back, had language study, and made some pasta with meat sauce for dinner. We got on the bus and headed out to Hadje Dimitur (a neighborhood of Sofia) to teach a less-active part member family about the Plan of Salvation, which went really well (huge blessing!), then contacted on the bus back home, planned, and went to bed. Just a day in the life!

Also, on Saturday I went to the Japanese Hospital here in Sofia (Tokyda) to get my ears cleaned out--I have been George Bailey from "It's a Wonderful Life" for the last two weeks ("hows that? That's my trick ear, don't ya see?")--my left ear was really clogged up from having a small cold a few weeks back. It was great to be able to hear again--a night and day difference, in all of about 10 minutes. You don't know what you have until it is gone!

Mother; that is so great to hear about Christian! I will write him for sure. I sure love that guy! Thank you so much for your example, and your testimony. This week, someone cited 2 Nephi 2 :14 (about acting, not being acted upon), and I thought about how you always told us, "No one can MAKE you sad, no one can MAKE you angry"...that really is the application of that principle--we have our agency to decide how we act according to the circumstances around them, we have the choice to ACT, and not simply to be acted upon like some in-animate object. Thank you for being a great Gospel teacher!

Father; BYD! Say hello to all the youth for me, and tell them that I think they are great. Thank you so much for your good example, and always loving my Mother. I love you!

Jordan; WOW! Zambia! That is really neat. I bet you will have an amazing experience. Fly safe, watch out for the слонове! I love you so much.

Rees; I hope that you are keeping a list of tips or something, because I am pretty much a caveman when it comes to cars--one of the mission cars got a plastic part broken off of it in the middle of nowhere, so we fixed it with Zip ties. No joke. Probably not in the regular operating procedures, but it worked! Love you.

Paige; dancing sure is fun, but tiring. You would do great at that program! I love you so much little Sister, go for gold!

Ronnie; whatever may happen on the field, just remember that who you are OFF the field is of much more eternal importance than any glory or success you can possibly win while on it. I love you so much!

Lizzie; Summer! I love you so much, enjoy it with all that you've got. Have a great week!

I love you all so much, the Church is true!

Elder Hardy