Elder Tanner Hardy: July 2016

Prayer and Zone Conferences

Family Mine,

Thank you for that wonderful letter! Life sure is dynamic isn't it? I am glad that everyone got home safely from around the globe, that Jordan doesn't have malaria, that Rees is giving Handy-Manny a run for his money, that Paige is a Future-Ambassador, that Ronnie is discovering the wonderful maze of human relationship, and that Lizzie is being Lizzie! I love hearing from you all.

This week we had Zone Conferences, which were great--we taught about Focusing on the Key Indicators and how that helps us to fulfill our purpose, there was training about the Sabbath Day, Obedience and Trials, and President Barclay blew our socks off about prayer (as usual.) I really love those Missionary Meetings--if you think about all the times in your life, serving a full-time Mission has got to be one of the most condensed periods of spiritual knowledge of anyone's life. Great stuff. We were also on exchanges in Varna, and it was great to get to work again in that great City--good memories (and amazing weather!).

This week I really have felt close to the Lord as we have worked with our investigator--on Sunday morning I called him at 9:00 and he said that he was coming by 940, so we were excited. I was asked to play the piano for sacrament meeting, so I was sitting down early, warming up, but really just anticipating him showing up. 940 rolled by, 950 rolled by, 1000 rolled by, and I REALLY started to pray, just pleading with Heavenly Father to bring him to the building, to un-hedge his way. By the time the opening song and prayer had passed, my prayers had changed to pleas for understanding, for the strength to dispel the real bitterness which was condensing in my heart, to be able to understand his will and accept it. Then, just as my prayers were getting desperate, just as the young man who was baptized's confirmation finished, there he walked in, tie tied smartly, white shirt un-tucked, with a smile. My heart about burst with thanks, as it does even now as I write this letter. God lives. He DOES answer our prayers.

As I was reading in Mosiah 17 this week, another idea also hit me that I would like to share-- it stems from the 20th verse:

20 And now, when Abinadi had said these words, he fell, having suffered death by fire; yea, having been put to death because he would not deny the commandments of God, having sealed the truth of his words by his death.

Abinadi would not give up on his beliefs or on that what God had commanded him to say at ANY cost, even that of his own life. A little bit extreme, and certainly not an everyday or hopefully EVER experience for any of us, but there is a principle there that I feel is important. How much is our testimony worth to us? The more and more I have thought about it, in so many ways our BELIEF in something is in large part measurable by what we are willing to sacrifice because of that belief. I don't expect many, if any of us will be expected to give our life for our beliefs, but sometimes I feel we sell integrity to our beliefs at a much lower price. Do we believe enough to sacrifice the "popular approval" of others by dressing modestly? Do we believe enough to sacrifice status by standing up for "old fashioned" ways of thinking. Funnily enough, I think those sacrifices seem more frightening than that of Abinadi, if only because they hit a little bit closer to home. That hit me this week.

Mother; it sounds like I won't even recognize the Ward at this point! It should be fun. I love you so much. Can I get an absentee ballot to vote for you? You have my vote in any case!

Father; give Max and Jacob a big man-hug for me! I love them so much, and am excited to see how we have all changed. All I can think of is Alma 17:1-3. I love you so much, thank you for your example to me!

Jordan; welcome back! I love you so much, send me some of those Slide-show pictures!

Rees; I love you! You'll have to show me some of your skills (not that I am going to have money for a car anytime soon, but still!). I love you.

Paige; isn't it great when hard work pays off? I think that is one of the most satisfying things we can experience. I love you so much!

Ronnie; I would give you my humble suggestion to not pair off. I love you, and trust you. Have a great week!

Lizzie; I am sorry I don't have bigger variety of things to say to you Liz! I love you, and I hope that says it all. Have a great week.

I have the best family in the world, I hope you all know that. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Hardy

A Bulgarian Train!

Bulgaria! I think it is beautiful.

One of the District Leaders here in Sofia had a baptism on Saturday--the young guy in the middle. He is a great young man!

Elder Brady and I

Elder Jones (who Visa waited in Max's Mission with one of Max's former companions).

Elder Sharp--he's half Bulgarian.

Zone Conference!

Hebrews 12:6-11

Family Mine!

What a letter! I love reading about your escapades and hearing about your faith. Isn't the Gospel just great? It influences everything that we bump into in our life. I am glad to hear about Paige and Ronnie going down to BYU--that will be an amazing experience for both of them.

This week has been great and very humbling. Elder Howard used to joke around that we should never pray for humility, because it was the quickest and easiest way to ensure a whole bunch of trials in the near future. I must have forgotten that, because I prayed for humility at the beginning of the week, and Heavenly Father certainly delivered.We had a fender bender in the car, which led to some experiences with red tape, which is always frustrating--in a word, I caused some inconvenience to people that I love and respect, which is never fun, but always humbling. I have felt acutely aware of my weaknesses this week. I am grateful for it though! I always feel the Spirit so much stronger, my prayers are more sincere, my reliance on the Savior is more urgent when I am humble (or humblED). I hope to be able to gain the ability to humble myself without TOO much help from Heavenly Father in the trial department, but I am willing to do whatever it takes. I am grateful for the Lord's plan to help us to become like him.

In other news, we had a great week teaching one of our investigators, and it really is a huge blessing to see his progress in the Gospel, and to see his hunger, literally hunger to come closer to his Father in Heaven. He really is reading the Book of Mormon, praying, and seeing real spiritual growth. Yesterday he agreed to quit smoking on Wednesday, and he just kept asking for more commandments, so he could "learn to avoid those darn sins!". I love teaching him, and feeling the stretching of my own Gospel knowledge and my powers of simple and clear explanation. I cannot express how blessed I feel to be able to be teaching him. Please pray for him!

Mom, I love hearing about your Young Women's lessons--I really am so grateful for wonderful Youth Leaders who took their callings seriously, who really cared about helping us youth to not only understand the doctrine, but to see it in our lives, to apply it day after day, to learn to love the Savior. I know I am a broken record, but the farther and farther I get into life, the more and more that I realize pretty much every good characteristic that I have is just a shadow of the way you and Dad live, and who you and Dad are. I love you so much, and am so grateful for you!

Dad, thank you for the letter! I am so glad to hear about your missionary experiences--Heavenly Father answers us in ways that we don't expect. As you were talking about testifying about the Restoration, I had the thought "man, I would love to be Dad's companion!". Then, I remembered--I was! Thank you for always being a good home-teacher. Love you so much!

Paige; you are going to be the most beautiful dancer there! I have had that same experience on the bike--that is one of the best feelings in the world, when you see that little inclination icon. You look fit enough to me in the picture. I love you so much!

Ronnie; with that sweatshirt and hair-do...watch out EFY! Go to all the classes, and listen closely--there really are some amazing teachers there at EFY, and it is a great chance to learn and grow spiritually. Look to serve those who are in your group, and you will have a great experience. Look for those who are sad, who are in need of a cool friend like you, who need someone to listen, someone to have a nice word for them. You are going to have a great time!

Lizzie; you look so adorable! That is an amazing show. Aren't you glad for such great and supportive parents? I love them a lot.

I sent a lot of pictures, so I am short on time, but I love you so much, you are wonderful!

Have a great week!

With Love,

Elder Hardy

(We were watching a lady's baggage at the Bus Station so she could run and buy a ticket...photo shoot time!)

Here are photos that Sister Barclay (not President Sister Barclay, but her Sister in Law, who is serving here too) took at our recording session that I thought you might enjoy. We were recording some hymns in Bulgarian. Neat stuff.

These are pictures from the Youth Conference that was held last week. They made me be Nephi when we acted out building the boat. I cannot escape it!

Elder Raisor, with whom Elder Taylor and I were in the MTC went home this past Saturday in order to start school on time; since Elder Taylor and I are both serving here in Sofia, we had a chance to snap some quick pictures! I will miss him, but he will be living in Provo, so I am sure we will be seeing each other.

I have spent SO much time on these busses...It's an interesting relationship!

Tuna was on sale at Kaufland last Monday...

Re: Hello from your little sister!

Dear Lizzie,

Thank you for the letter! I love seeing your pictures, and seeing your smile. You are beautiful, did you know that? I love the Music Man! It really is a great show with some clever lines and some great songs. I am glad that you get to be a part of it. Summer here in Bulgaria is really hot, but wonderful. Lots of people go out to villages to be with their aging parents, or they go to the Black Sea when they get a break from work. There are some people that work all week in Sofia, then drive 6 hours to the sea Friday night, they drive back Sunday night! They really love the Sea, and they have a good reason. I am so proud of you, Elizabeth, and of your testimony. How is your Book of Mormon reading going? Do you have any neat insights to share with me? I would love to hear them. I LOVE YOU!

With a smile,

Elder Hardy

On Mon, Jul 11, 2016 at 6:10 AM, Ronald Hardy <rjhardy8@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Elder Hardy,
How is Bulgaria? The summer here has been a little overcast but overall it has been a pretty wonderful summer so far. What is the summer like in Bulgaria? Mom has probably told you but these past 2 weeks I have been practicing for my play The Music Man! $25! This week is tech week and tomorrow I practice for 12 hours! It has been a crazy but fun experience! I love you!

Love,

Lizzie

Karlovo! A village in the center of Bulgaria, near to Plovdiv.

Elder Abbott, the Pink Palace's newest resident.

A Little closer, for Mom.

Potatoes

Family!

I love you so much! Thank you so much for the wonderful update! Today is Elder Strobl's last day (thus the title), so I don't have a ton of time to write, but I hope all those pictures I sent will make up the difference!

It really has been a great week; we visited a LOT of members, taught a lot of lessons, and even found time for exchanges in Stara Zagora (my old area!), which all in all made for a great week. I was able to work with Elder Wilde, who is from Portland and has red hair, so you can imagine which cousin I was thinking of for the whole exchange! I also had a chance to teach some members there, and help make some progress in sorting out some unpleasant situations there, so I was very grateful that the Lord let me make it back there.

Transfers were this weekend, and I am staying in Sofia, in the same area for yes, what will be my last transfer. I will be with Elder Abbott, from Tennessee. I really have come to appreciate serving with Elder Strobl, and after 4 and a half months of being with him (almost) constantly, it will surely be weird to be with another companion, but I am really excited to work with Elder Abbott as well. As I have pondered the things I have learned because of Elder Strobl, I really thank the Lord that he sent someone that exemplifies so many of the traits that have wanted and still want to gain. I have learned to appreciate silence a lot more, and more than just talking about it, I have been given the chance to see it's power in action. I can honestly say that I have made more ground on sincerely dealing with my tendency to speak when I should be listening in the last 4 months than in any other time on my mission, and I am grateful that the Lord put the right catalyst in life to help me to change. No one can convince me that the Lord is not close to his servants, that they do not hear his voice.

Mother; I didn't want to mention it, but the Zip-Lock bags are for packing. There is a summer youth activity for the 14-18 year-olds in the whole country, and also for the 18-30 year-olds in the whole country as well. I actually will be at the Youth Conference this Thursday, just for a little bit--we are taking a Family History specialist from Ukraine from the Sofia Airport to the little village the conference will be held in. That should be interesting! The nearest Temple is in Ukraine, but the Temple trip this year will be to Germany, due to certain factors. I love you so much--thank you for keeping me updated, you are amazing! Thank you for loving my crazy Dad for 26 years!

Father; Snow? That is hilarious! I am glad to hear that you haven't lost your wit! I wrote Sister Alley a letter--I will be praying for them and their family this week. I really love them. Thank you for your good example! The Lord has blessed us with lessons these last few weeks, so we haven't had too many of those 10 hour days, but I will always be grateful for what they have taught me. The Lord supports those who do his work, of that I am certain.

Jordan! You go Sister!

Rees, I love you.

Paige--I like the pig-tails! It makes you look younger, which I like. It softens the blow a little bit! I love you so much!

Ronnie, I can't remember how many reps I could do, or what my max exactly was, but I could rep with 45's on both sides. I think the max was 45's and 25's? I am not sure. You are looking large! I love you Brother.

Lizzie--it really gets fun when everyone really can not only hold a tune, but sing where they should! You are going to do great.

I want you to all know that I know that this Gospel is true. Death has lost it's sting, because of our Savior Jesus Christ. He is the perfect example not only of strength however, but also the perfect example of submissiveness (Mosiah 15:1-6). I know that as we submit to the will of the Father, it always turns for our good. I love you all so much, have a great week!

Love,

Elder Hardy