Man in a Suit...We Got Stopped By the Police and Had to Give Our Identity!!!

Tuesday, November 28^th, 2013.

Whats Crackin Ya´ll?!

Hello there everyone, thank you again for the email! Just so you know, even though I can't reply to every point, I always print it off and think it over throughout the week. So I really do think of you all tons out here!

This week has been so amazing. Holy. I have so much that I could write, but I need to choose carefully because there would never be enough time. So maybe I will give quick overviews again, because I know its fun to hear about everything.

We visited a 19 year girl named... who just had her 2nd baby. Beautiful little girl, so amazing to see little new babies. Perfect opportunity to teach a little of the gospel too, so we were able to teach a little about where that little life came from. Such a blessing for us.

We went to Inca one day for district meeting! The day before a man dressed in a suit stabbed someone I believe....and we got stopped by the police and had to give our identity!!! Hahaha it was crazy.

We had intercambios this week, and Elder Soumarrett from Inca came here to be with me. We rocked it. It was a day with blessings like none other. Everything worked out, and I taught better than I ever have I believe, I just followed the spirit so well. One story from that day is when we went to visit a family. When we arrived there, we realized it was their whole family of about 15 people. All drunk. But I felt like we should go in anyways. Long story short, they asked us tons of questions about us, that drunk people would ask. But we stayed calm and bore testimony to them. As we prayed, the spirit entered the room so strong. For some reason, we started talking about tithing! I then bore my testimony of the rough time we went through as a family a few years back. I got quite emotional, especially as I talked about mom having cancer! Then, a woman in the room got emotional. She explained that her daughter died of cancer just months ago. She was touched by the spirit so strongly. THEN days later, we ran into that same woman, and she invited us over. We taught her an incredible lesson, that she will see her daughter again. There is no greater joy than sharing that knowledge with people. I love the miracles we see here when we are obedient.

Also we had a fun campfire night (fireside type lesson), roasted meat, cut wood, the manly stuff. There was a girl there who was a Jehovah's witness, but we ended up giving her a Book of Mormon. Success.

One last thing! THERE ARE PARTIES IN THE STREETS HERE ALL THE TIME. IT'S CRAZY. haha I love it, the culture here is incredible. I can even understand about half of the Mallorquin language!

Anyways, I love you all. Big hugs to everyone! Make sure you stay safe, and warm in this weather!

From your island elder,

Elder Hardy

We had a fun fireside type lesson, and I cut some wood for the fire, got a little crazy.

 

A family here that we teach, they are "hittanos" or gypsies as people say!

 



Never Tell a Mallorquin That Spanish is More Useful...They will get heated...Trust Me!

Monday, November 18^th, 2013.

Good Morning Sunshines!

Wonderful long email this week, I love it! I printed out the one from last week, I loved it so much! So as always, thanks so much for all of the effort you put into the emails! Nice to hear that everything is still going well, along with the small challenges that always come!

Bethany got contacts, that's super impressive! I remember when I tried, I just couldnt get them in. haha  Maybe one day I'll be able to do it, we will have to see though. Super cute pictures of everyone, I loved seeing the sleeping one, really brought back some good road trip memories! Well let's answer your questions!

It's hard being out so late, because I feel like after nine, we are just scaring people when we try to talk to them, it gets dark at about 6! Like pitch black. Also the language is improving, I feel maybe about a seven and a half! My talk was about missionary work! I used the examples of the sons of Mosiah, and the attitude we need to have towards it!

YES, LANGUAGE IS HUGE. Never tell a Mallorquin that Spanish is more useful...they will get heated...trust me....

Well a little bit about my week! Preparation day was fun, we found this dinosaur park thing, and took lots of pictures with them, also visited some stores! Preparation days aren't too fun here in Manacor, but I am planning on heading out to the coast one of these days to do something fun there!

We got invited over to the President of our branches house for lunch one day, and OH BOY. It was so good. They had mashed potatoes with tons of meat and ahhhhh it was great. They literally fed us so much, I left feeling sick. haha. But it reminded me of our classic Sunday dinners we always had back at home.

MUST WATCH: The Mormon message called "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father". Really touched me, and puts a great perspective into our minds about how our Heavenly Father must feel. We watched it with a couple of members this week, and they really enjoyed it. Especially you dad, I think you will enjoy it.

We had a very difficult lesson... So hard seeing someone that i love feel that remorse or sadness that she felt, and not being able to give her a hug myself....

We all got pretty emotional, and I just bore her my personal testimony of repentance, and that through Jesus Christ, we can all be relieved of any hurt of pain or remorse that we feel. She was fine by the end, and it was a great lesson. Blanca, the future mother in law, also asked me to leave a blessing on her home, so we did that!

English class was incredible! The Mallorquin family showed up, Katalina the mom, with her daughter and son! We had a great lesson, I taught the intermediate lesson with the daughter, and it just went so great! We also invited them to church, and they got so excited! They said they would come when their schedule would allow, so we are so excited for that.

One miracle story before I finish. An Hermana in the mission, Hermana Green, was hit by a rough infection a few weeks back. Her joints were so swollen that she couldnt brush her hair. She was in the hospital for a few weeks, We had a mission fast for her this past sunday. That exact day, she started improving. We had a specialized training this week, and she came with the president and his wife, because they are taking care of her for a bit. She walked in almost perfectly, just with a little pain. At the end of the meeting, she bore her testimony, all about fasting. It was so powerful! I loved it, really built my testimony.

Well that was my week. Not too much else to report for now. Things are getting cold here, believe it or not, but I'll stay warm! Love you all so much, and I hope that this week goes amazingly!

Love, Elder Hardy

 

 

 

        "Just a few pictures from a random dinosaur park we found! We decided to fight them."

 

Elder Hardy looks like one of the cubs! 

The Book of Mormon Makes Her Feel Peace.

Monday, November 11, 2013.

Howdy There Cowboys!

I'm happy you all enjoy my letters almost as much as I enjoy yours, I cherish every single email that I get from you all! So thank you so much for this one! Cute pictures, I might print out some of them later!  Thanks for sending those!

Well let me tell you a little bit about my week here on the island!

We had the great preparation day of hiking, but after that we had an amazing miracle! At night we went to look for a gym to maybe exercise in the morning, and when we got there, a woman came up to us asking if we were the elders! After a long conversation, she told us that she met with elders in the past, and missed them so much! Her husband wouldn't let them meet anymore, but now they are getting separated! She said she still reads the Book of Mormon whenever she feels bad, and it makes her feel peace. So we are hopefully going to start teaching her soon, her name is Katalina. THEN, like 10 other teenage girls came out and started trying to teach us Mallorquin (the native language), and we taught them a little English! They were super interested in English class, so maybe that can lead to something!

Elder West had a sick day the next day, so I stayed in all day....I thought it would be kind of fun...it wasnt. We can't do much except read the scriptures haha. But it was alright, he's better now!

I finally have touched the beach here! One day we went on a coastal tour to visit members, and one member drove us over to the beach during the night. It's so beautiful, and I went and touched the sand and everything. Ahh, I want to come back here and swim in it one day!

We are building such good relationships with members here, seriously everyone in this branch loves us! We get invited over by the Hernandez family almost daily! We helped them paint there house one day, came for family home evening another, came to teach him English another. He really has a love for us already, its amazing to see. Where did you live in Japan again? Or dad where did you serve? I've been meaning to tell him! 

I also had the opportunity to give ANOTHER talk. Yesterday I gave a talk in sacrament meeting, and I accidentally took like 15 minutes, and only used half of my talk! It was crazy! But pretty powerful, people told me after that they loved it, and took notes from it! I hope my weakness of public speaking it starting to be made strong! I felt like Moses at first, not wanting to speak at all! 

Last night, we went to Marga's, the 17 year old girls, and we were planning on teaching the law of chastity, which is a very important one we need to teach her. But...she invited a friend over to listen to us also, and we didn't want to scare the friend off with a sensitive subject like that..so we watched The Testaments with them!  We are working hard with Marga, and trying to get her to accept a date for baptism!

Well that's about it for me here. I hope that you all have a great week this week! I love you all so much!

Love, Elder Hardy

 

Oh and mom, I think I know what I need for Christmas! 

I only was allowed bringing one suitcase here to the islands, so tons of stuff I couldn't bring, no matter how smart I packed. 

So I just need some regular street shoes, and a jacket here, as it gets a little chilly sometimes. So I might just buy those on my card. I don't know what else I would need, so that's all I can think of for now!

SpongeBob SquarePants in Spanish at a members house!

Monday, November 4^th, 2013.

Hello There Everyone!

Thanks so much for all of the pictures that you all sent, I was seriously freaking out at how much everyone seems to have grown already, and it's only been 6 months! Wow. Carson is looking like a handsome man already, and Aubrey is looking super grown up, kind of sad :( Bethany, I show people a picture of you and they all think you are in your 20s! hahaha and mom you are looking beautiful as always, I love your hair! I loved the letter this week, thank you for writing me such good ones. I can always rely on you to lift me up, my email time is always my favorite time of preparation day, by far.

The weather here isn't very cold, it just gets a little chilly at night and in the mornings! We have to wear our suit or a sweater everyday though, so the little bit of chill that we do get makes me super happy.  I love it here on the island, and I think that I will be serving here for a long time, just based on my spidey senses ;)

Well normally I try to answer some questions, but there weren't too many at all!  I'm happy you got an idea of where I lived, its the golden door right next to the Pharmacia! So you might have seen the door I walk through everyday! Pretty interesting. I cant even imagine what it would have been like serving a mission in the pioneer days, letters would have been like GOLD. Well they still are, to be honest.

Hey I have some fun pictures to send, but I'll send them tonight, this computer doesn't have a USB port, sorry!

Well a bit about my week! I had a really fun week! Lots of riding on trains. One day we went to Palma (the big city on the west side), for enfoque de zona. It was so good, the spirit was super strong as we received direction from our leaders! My zone leaders seriously love me for some reason, that's one thing I took note of!   I got to bear my testimony there, and I loved that opportunity.

We then headed back to Palma by train again the next day to have interviews with President Pace. He is so great, I love him. I told him I had to repent, because I watched one minute of SpongeBob SquarePants in Spanish at a members house, and he just laughed and said he was so grateful that's all I had to repent about. He also told me something that elder west said in his interview with him. That Elder West said that I am his best friend. For some reason it just made me super emotional, and I realized that I always need to do the same, have my companion be my best friend no matter what. Elder West is amazing!

Marga, who I will send a...funny picture of later...(she doesn't understand our picture taking rules), didn't get baptized yet, but I asked her to pray to receive her own baptismal date. I know she will get baptized, its just on her own time. She always comes to church and we see her tons, and she loves us so much, so I'm confident we can help her with her goal that she will receive!

For Halloween we didn't do much, not as fun as yours was! We did make makeshift masks though, I'll send you a picture! Carson, your costume made me laugh pretty hard.

Last night, we heard a cat or something, that had kept us awake the entire night before. So we decided to go catch it. It was a little black kitten, we used milk and boxes and everything, but in the end, we weren't quite successful. It was fun though, and super hilarious to do. Don't worry, we did it in normal clothes so we didn't look extra weird.

Well that was my week this week. Praying for you all lots, and am so happy to see and hear about the blessings you receive everyday! I remember hearing about that in the MTC, that my family directly receives blessings for the missionary service I will do. It helps drive me to do the best I can out here!

Love you all so much, stay safe, and have a great week!

Love, Elder Hardy

Halloween Costumer with Elder West.  Elder Hardy appears to be 'Super-Waldo-Man'

A little Halloween Mail from the Cimarron Ward Young Women.

"A Halloween pumpkin the mission made! El Faro means

The Lighthouse, because Spain is the lighthouse mission in Europe"

 

"Today´s Preparation Day Adventure! Climbed a mountain with some members,

and at the top is an ancient catholic church and a beautiful view"

 

 

 

 

This is Marga, the 17 year old girl from here in Mallorca, super amazing person!

(the girl that doesn't understand the picture taking rules)

 

The Rama and a Noche de Hogar

Monday, October 28^th, 2013.

Hey there Fam Jam!

So happy to hear everyone is still alive and doing great! Carson I hope you had a wonderful birthday, and you are a lucky guy to get to go out for food twice in one day! We are poor as missionaries, and we never have the time or money...let alone our family to go with! But that's alright haha.

Okay let's see if I can answer the questions better, thank you for putting them at the end! We have to take buses and trains, if we ever want to go anywhere other than here in Manacor. So really, if we want to visit members, it's like a 6 euro trip. Which is more than we can afford. We do get reimbursed if we send the reciepts in though luckily. So that's a small challenge here!

The island is safe. haha. There are gypsies all over Spain, Badalona was worse. They are everywhere, and not all of them try to steal. We are teaching a family who are considered "hittano".  I love them! But yes, you always have to be careful and conscious over here. Lots of the time, they are JACKED. Haha  The guys are huge, its crazy.

Hey thanks for the giftcard idea, that was super thoughtful of you! About Felix, he speaks English, not any Spanish at all!  I'm not sure about his education, I know he used to work in a hospital though in Africa. That would be interesting, I'm sure that the ward will take care of him over there. We did lots to try and help him get papers, and members are trying to help him get a job I think! He lives with a nice African family who took him in, they aren't members though. We taught them a couple of times! Don't worry, I know he will be just fine.

Well my week this week was pretty wonderful! Had the chance to go out to the coast as you saw in the picture! Its so beautiful out there. I would love to come back one day when I could go swimming, want to come too Aubrey?! ;) haha We have been doing lots of teaching when we can, we don't have as many investigators here as before, so that makes it a little tough. But when we do teach, I love it so much. Last night a family invited us over for a noche de hogar / birthday party, and asked me to give the message! So I did a super fun lesson with putting flour in a cup and making a Sand/flour castle, then putting one cent on top. Then we took turns cutting a little off of the castle, trying to not let it fall over! The person who knocked it over, had to get the coin with their nose all in the flour. It was a riot, and they loved it. I then compared the game to Helaman 5:12, and how we need to have a sure foundation, so that we won't fall...like the coin! It's super fun.

We have been teaching the 17 year old girl named Marga, here from Mallorca, and her date of baptism is for the 2nd! But this week we got some news that makes her situation a little tough. So I'm not sure if it will happen this week, but we are hoping sometime soon! We love teaching her though, she is amazing, she even writes a summary after everytime she reads a chapter from the Book of Mormon. She is so great. I cant share everything about her situation due to privacy rules, but basically she is pregnant, so it makes things harder.

We had a fireside with the rama this week that I really loved. We sat in a big circle, maybe 20 people were there, and we introduced ourselves, and had to compliment the person to our right! It was great, and really built the unity within everyone. That's one thing our branch needs, love and unity. And optimism. So that is now the main focus. We should never speak bad about anyone, ever, because the spirit will not dwell with you. That's one thing I should work on...even when its true, we should never speak bad.

Well I'm not sure what else more to say. Preparation day today, we don't have much planned. Maybe go to the top of the GIANT cathedral outside our house? Not too sure. It's expensive to go to all the beautiful places around here. But I love you all, and hope you have an AMAZING WEEK.

Love, Elder Hardy

In response to question about his location in Manacor :

 

Look me up on google maps, I already sent you my address last week I believe. Calle arquitechte or something? There is a giant cathdral, huge tourist point, literally steps out from our house. note: He didn't tell us anything the week earlier about where he was!  We do a lot of detective work trying to figure it out!

Who is the Branch President and are there very many less actives in the area and do you mostly teach in your own area because of the cost of travel?  

Presidente Piñero is his name, such a great guy. The one in the middle, yes.  I think there are a fair amount, not sure how many, maybe half?  Yes, we try to teach here, as much as possible!

 

 

The coast of Mallorca

The Manacor Rama - front center is Presidente Pinero.

 

 

Crazy Things Happen Everyday and It Makes Me So Happy!

Monday, October 21^st, 2013.

Querido Familia!

Thank you as always for the wonderful email! You are the greatest! Well I will try to remember all the questions to answer as much as I can! Yes this island is beautiful, me and Elder West are in charge of basically the whole east side. Which means a gorgeous coast we get to see if we go out there, which I want to really bad. Problem is our travel costs, wow it's crazy. But we have everything we need here, including the amazing Mercadona. Mommy and Daddy, you two HAVE to come here one day to the islands. It would be a romantic date for you two ;) Oh and mom I'm not sure about the Christmas call quite yet, but I'm assuming we can skype, these computers have cameras!

Hahaha so anyways, things are amazing here. I think I told dad about the goodbyes from my last area, I hope he shared those! They were all super special, and hard. Its like saying goodbye to your family all over again! But things were so great. I had a beautiful flight over to the island, I will send you pics next week! Since I have been here, we have been working pretty hard and having great experiences! We had a baptism this last saturday, my 7th on the mission so far! Margarita, I don't know her too well, but she is the wife of the elders quorum president! I gave the talk on baptism, and the bishop liked it so much that he asked me to give a 10 minute talk the next day, on whatever I wanted! CRAZY. I have always hated public speaking, but I'm getting alright at it...in a different language...hahaha

In church we are just a branch, or a rama. There are about...20 or 30 people? But they are all wonderful. We have an amazing branch president, he takes a lot on his shoulders in this growing branch. I have gained such a good relationship with everyone in the past few days too, i even played the piano for the branch! Haaha I'm just really excited about the blessings we are going to see.

There are lots of super interesting experiences that happen here, and it's the best! Crazy things happen everyday, and it always makes me so happy because it's one more thing I can write in my journal for people to read in the future. Me and Elder West like to sing for people when we visit them, but I think Elder West is a little tone deaf..nonetheless, we do it. So last night we were teaching a young family outside their house, the mom is 21, dad is 27, and three young kids. Super nice family, they are hittanos, or gypsies, but super nice. Anyways, we got to sing for them, and they complimented me on my voice, which was nice to hear. Also, one thing weird here that I've noticed, especially on the island...mothers have the freedom to feed their children when and where they want to. Even in lessons. So we get good at having to avert the eyes, maybe you could send me horse blinders for Christmas to protect me? hahahaah

But thats a bit of my week, sorry there are no pictures yet. I love you all so much, and I hope you continue through the week happy as ever, and always trying to improve. GAIN SOME ATTRIBUTES OF CHRIST. Focus on one. It really works.

Love, Elder Hardy

A few notes he sent a few minutes later answering my early morning questions:

Me and Elder West are literally the only two missionaries on the whole east side of the island! The other side has like 14. hahaha

 

The primary president asked me to play for the primary presentation, so I'm on it ;)

 

 

                                                               

Cathedral in Manacor - "Literally Steps from our house!"

The Cathedral at Sunset

Antonio and Lucia and family! Investigators!

Make Miracles Happen in Other Places Too!

Just a note: Elder Hardy wrote this letter to his Dad.  Did I believe that he thought we would all read it?  Yes.  Did I still feel a little ripped off?  Yes.  Did I frankly forgive him?  Yes.  He tries so hard to write to everyone and I love him for it!

Wednesday, October 16^th, 2013.

Hey Dad! 

So I am here in the Island of Mallorca, and I'm just getting some quick email time on the church computer before district meeting! Not enough time to write to everyone, but you can share this email with everyone in the fam if you´d like! 

Haha I wish we celebrated Thanksgiving here. That would be so great. Although I have gotten fed pretty well here so far, so I'm not going to complain one bit. It sounded like tons of fun though, visiting tons of family! I miss those road trips down south, with the less than exciting movies that Aubrey always wanted to pick ;) But I'm glad you all had a good time!

Ahhh that is so great to here about the Flames. I got mom´s letter yesterday from the office, and it had a flames stamp on it, and I just had a huge adrenaline to hear about hockey. So THANK YOU for the update! The new rookie, that's incredible! I hope they can keep that work ethic up, maybe the cup will be back in Calgary for when I get home?! The stamps too, that's just unreal. Maybe that flood in Calgary washed away all the bad luck huh? hahahaha

Well I hope there will be some games soon that you all can watch together. That was always a highlight for me to play in them, and to have you all watch me. Gave me some...what's the word in English...animo? Excitement? haha I don't know.  But it's good to know you always enjoyed watching them. Maybe I'll try to play in university? haha  Doubt it though.

Well quick review of my week, although I feel as though my mind it like cleared of all this past week, now that I'm in a new area. But we had two baptisms, of Mari and Victor. I baptized and confirmed Victor, and did it perfectly! So that was a great experience. Victor is the most amazing kid ever, 15, but just so mature spiritually. I enjoyed teaching them so much. Just before the baptism, the President of my mission came. When he shook my hand, he pulled me in and whispered to me how proud he was of me for the miracles that I'm realizing here. He said that he wanted me to know I wouldn't always be here, but he wants me to make miracles happen in other places too. And look, here I am on some island. CRAZY RIGHT? haha  I'm so excited.

I spent the last few days saying goodbyes. At church I bore my testimony, and told everyone I was leaving. Literally I heard the whole room sigh super loud, it was so weird. Apparently the ward LOVED me, two of the young woman even came up to me crying after...that was a little strange, I barely new them. But just goes to show how big of an effect you can make in someone's life, and not even know it. I'll send tons of pictures of me with people! 

I have so many stories of goodbyes I want to share, but I'll just share one. Saying goodbye to Felix from Nigeria was tough. He loves me so much, and I love him so much too! He shared with us how he wants to find him mom, and he's trying to raise money to do so, But he has no papers, no job, and the most money he has ever seen it a five he found on the road. So as I said goodbye, I handed him a piece of paper with my email and a 20 in it. When he opened it, he literally looked like a child on Christmas opening a gift. Really humbled me, to know how much it meant to him. I hope it will help him find his mom.

Well that's a bit of my week. I'll send pics now! I love you so much Dad, and Mom, and Chad, and Bethany, and Carson, and you too Aubrey! You are all so special, and I am using attributes I learned from all of you, out here on the mission. Dad, the special one I'm gonna use and develop from you this month is patience. Thank you for showing me that wonderful example.

 Love, Elder Hardy

On our way to the island!

 Luis, Rocio and Fam. He is the BEST COOK FROM ARGENTINA.

Super amazing family

 



 Mari and Victor - not sure who everyone else is. Wish we had a picture of Elvis!

 

Saying goodbye to Felix.

I Am Now On an Island in Spain.

Tuesday, October 15^th, 2013...at the very end of Elder Hardy's day...it was two long days wondering where his email was...we didn't know it was transfers!

Hey Family!
So I have no time, I hope I will get to email you tomorrow or something, but for now just an email to let you know that I'm here and safe.

So super quick update, I'll tell you all about my week later!  But transfers were today, and I am now on an island in Spain. La Palma de Mallorca. The same island the king of Spain goes to for his vacations! I am in a city on the east I believe called Manacor, you should google it! Haha  I am super excited. We just landed in plane a few hours ago, and I met my new companion, Elder West. He is from West Virginia, and I don't know him too well yet...all that I've seen in an hour or so is that he speaks very loud, and he is very different than me! This will be a different transfer, but I am so excited for the new opportunity, and to always look for the positives in people and situations!

I love you all so much, and i hope that all is going well! You are all the best :)

Love, Elder Hardy

CONFERENCE. I LOVE CONFERENCE!

Monday, October 7^th, 2013.

Hola Familia!

Well before I forget, let me answer those questions that you have! 

1. I shop at a grocery train called Mercadona. It's very good, like a small version of Sobeys or something!  I really like it, it has pretty much everything you would ever need!

2. We watched only two of the sessions live, in the stake center of Barcelona, because of the time difference. It was in Spanish, but English in another room. I watched a little of both, but I like it more in English!  It was nice to think that we were all watching the same thing at the same time!

3. Haha hmm...I'd say that its about a 6? Like I could survive here by myself if I had to through my Spanish, but I can't express everything I want to.  (I asked him on a scale of 1-10 how he feels his Spanish is coming along.  6 is not bad for only being in Spain for two months I think)

4. The family from Ecuador: Mari the mom, Victor the 15 year old, and Elvis the 6 year old! They came to conference, and hopefully getting baptized this Friday! So excited for them.

Wow there is so much in this letter I would like to reply to, but I only have about 1 hour of email time. Anyways, super fun week for you all hey? Dad, can you still speak Japanese? That would have been such a fun thing to relive that experience hey? I tell everyone here that my dad knows Japanese, they think it's so cool.

Yes I'm still with Elder Escobar, who was comps with Elder Archuleta haha. We get along great, we work suuppeerr hard, and we laugh. We are both pretty funny guys, and get into the funniest laughing fits ever, it's the best. 

Well a little about my week! CONFERENCE.  I LOVE CONFERENCE. There were so many quotes that I love, but the one about faith and doubts is the answer to my prayers. I went in with the question of building my faith, and that was the perfect thing that I needed to hear! Also I loved Elder Holland's talk about special needs people.  Interesting fact is that I got hugged earlier that day by a special girl, didn't know who she was or anything, but she ran up to me and just HUGGED me. I think for some reason they know and recognize me...I will figure out in the next life though hey?

Hmmm what else...I'm seriously blanking here, it's horrible. I have it all in my journal, I can just never remember! One thing, we had to drop John David this week. Super hard, he was a good guy. He just wasn't doing anything, but I hope he figures things out soon.

Have a told you about all the kids around here in Santa Coloma? How they all recognize me? I think I have...but it's so funny. 

Well I'm not too sure what else to report this week to everyone! I just hope that things are going great for everyone, and that you know I pray every night, individually for you all, and your needs. I love you so much, and I hope this week is amazing! 

Love, Elder Hardy

Famous Christopher Columbus Statue "Who is inspired by God, says the Book of Mormon!"

A quote by President Hinckley I sent to Elder Hardy:  

"In his reports to the sovereigns of Spain, Columbus repeatedly asserted that his voyage was for the glory of god and the spread of the Christian faith.  Properly do we honor him for his unyielding strength in the face of uncertainly and danger."

 Yummy Meal Coming up!

"Even Sister Tyler from California with blue eyes doesn't get red eye in pictures"

Elder Hardy seems to like the little lizards! 

I like Elder Hardy's face!  Reminds me of when

he was little and loved the frogs!

 

Someone Placed a Pole in My Walking Path!

Monday September 30, 2013.

Hardy Family!

You all look so much older already, it´s only been about five months but you all have changed so much! Especially Aubrey and Carson, wow. Two good looking siblings. Another great week for you all hey? Aubrey in her race, looking like she worked hard! She could probably run farther than me i think! Carson and his football, Bethany keeping on with volleyball! Too fun. AND AUBREY IS NOW 6, HOLY MOLY. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CUTIEPIE!

I love Dad´s idea of driving down to Cardston on Sunday! Little family memories like that just make life great. Alright, I will make sure that when I get the package, I'll open it very carefully. Thank you so much! And to be honest, I don't really know if I need anything. The missionary life makes you realize that...the worldly things don't matter...haha  I just like surprises, sorry to make that hard on you all ;)

Well I guess I can tell you a little bit about my week now! There were lots of things that happened, lots of funny things too. One of those funny things, is one day I was walking to the church down this walkway thing. Kids were just on the street playing soccer as usual, and I got distracted by watching them. To my surprise, someone placed a pole directly in my walking path. hahaha  Totally just ran into a pole. Luckily no one else saw, but it gave me a good laugh for sure. 

We have still been doing lots of teaching! We found two new golden people, totally prepared. They are from Ecuador, a mom, and her two sons. Ones name is Elvis, and he turned 6 yesterday! But anyways, they have a date for the 11th of Octubre to be baptized, so excited for them. 

Hmm, seems like I have been doing lots of singing lately. I got to sing with my district at our zone conference, I sang acompañe me, or abide with me I think it is in English. I also sang is at a seniors activity at the church, and that was very fun. Spanish seniors are hilarious, they are so great. But I loved one thing there, they all got to say one word that has meant the most to them in their life. And the three most common things were family, love, and the temple. It is so true, and what I love about it is that they all are really one thing. The eternal plan of happiness that God has for us. Truly, He knows us, and what makes us happy.

We also had a pretty crazy experience this week, maybe don't let the little ones read this part! We had to go to a house, to where the mom is a recent convert. She has two daughters who aren't members, and don't want anything to do with us. But this day we went over because she saw an evil spirit next to her bed every night. So we had to bless the home to try and cast it out, and we also gave her a blessing. Personally, I think we cast it out of her. I saw a literal immediate change in her face, from the minute to the next of the blessing. Satan is real, that's one thing I've learned this week!

Hmm...what more...oh, want to hear about the amazing deals here in Barcelona? Chad, if you ever want to buy some guay (cool) skinny ties, come here. I bought like 15 ties for 30 euros. 2 euro ties! ISNT THAT INSANE? Ahh, best day ever as a  missionary! haha I also bought a sweater for the cooler days, if we ever have one! 

I will send you some pictures, I didn't take too many this week. But I will try to take more...I really am super busy at all times with the Lord's work, and taking pictures doesn't always fit into his schedule. But I will do my best! One is of a family, they are seriously the best. We go over a lot during the night to teach them, and they always feed us something. They aren't baptised yet because they aren't married, but very soon they will be when they get papers!

Alright, well time is running out! I love you all so much. Oh wait, Chad I've had some crazzyyy dreams, and you are always in them. haha you are always here in Barcelona with me, its interesting. Not sure why, but just so you know ;)

okay for real now, adios, les amo mucho, y yo quiero que puedan divertirse un poco esta semana, vale?

Love, Elder Hardy

 

 

  We LOVE this missionary!



   Cute little park overlooking the city.

Christ Will Take Care of the Hard Things in Life

Monday, September 23^rd, 2013

 

Dear The Best Family In The World!

 

Sounds like another successful week for everyone, still alive and learning everyday!  Mom you´re funny, I still enjoyed those little details that you gave, I liked how they were in point form too, gives me more time to reply to you all!  I love replying individually too. 

 

Bethany sounds like she's doing great with her volleyball, keeping on the legend. I'm sure even improving on it ;)   Carson still being the stud hey? Football is going great it sounds, and you are going to have a good school year with some great teachers! Keep working hard, and sticking up for what you believe!  Aubrey I'm just imagining you speaking French, that's so incredible. Learning a new language isn't easy, so don't get too stressed like I do sometimes alright? Keep working hard and looking beautiful!  Chad, sorry to hear about Kayla´s grandma. I hope it was a good service, and I know that she will see her again one day. Mom always gives the best haircuts, I miss not having to pay for them!

Okay well my week!

 

There were lots or great things that happened this week, as a missionary I have learned that I experience every single type of emotion possible on a daily basis! There are funny things, sad things, crazy, fun, spiritual, just every single thing. 

 

Felix was baptized this past week. Before the baptism when we picked him up. He said he stayed in his house all day just watching the clock, so that he wouldn't miss his baptism. Now that's what I call a man of faith who really understands the importance of this life. I love him so much, his service was so perfect, and just seeing his face so happy made every hard moment worth it. He is already seeing the blessings. Receiving clothes from others, and getting help with papers. I'll attach pics! 

We saw some pretty crazy things this week! Saw a fight between a Muslim lady and a Spanish man, talk to two drugged up guys on a bench who wanted my glasses, thought I was from Finland, and told us to go save free willy. We had some good laughs with them. We also went to mass yesterday with one of our investigators...pretty interesting. Very different. Hmm what else...OH LAST PREPARATION DAY! We played sports, and it was super fun! But when it came time for volleyball, things got bad...you get competitive when you haven't played for a while. Long story short, I hit an elder where it hurts, and even an Hermana right in the face. I felt soooo terrible, but I made sure she was okay. Dang I'm so dumb sometimes. Haha but that was basically my week this week. The main points that i can think of. 

I love you all so much, and I hope that you are all recognizing the miracles in your lives. Counting your blessings. We truly are blessed, the state of some people here, both temporally and spiritually, is just devastating. One of the hardest things to do, and requires so much faith, is promising them that if they do what we say, that Christ will take care of the hard things in life for them. But I know he will. If we first seek the kingdom of god, all other things will be added unto us. And that's a promise. 

 Hey I love you all, but I gotta go :)

 Love, Elder Hardy

Part of a Missionaries responsibility

is teaching a new convert how to tie a tie!

 Elder Hardy and Elder Escobar with Felix and his friend.

An exciting day for everyone!

 Tough looking, soccer jersey wearing, Elders on a train!

All Experiences That Make Us Grow!

Monday, September 16, 2013.

Que Tal Familia!

Thank you so much for the wonderful email, as always!

I really enjoyed all the stories, whether they be good or bad. All experiences that make us grow!

BETHANY I WISH I COULD HAVE SEEN SOME VOLLEYBALL! I am going to the stake center to play volleyball with the whole zone after emailing, so I’m super excited for that! But I’m sorry about your bag, that is no fun at all. You are a good sport about it, I’m proud. Carson starting piano...good luck my friend!  A piece of advice, practice because you want to get better, not because you have to practice. Just think, in five years you could serenade people with your skills! Chad keep up the good work. Aubrey, already understanding French, baby genius over here? Good work Aubs, I hope school is very fun for you!

Well here’s just a little bit about my week. Let’s see...

We had a karaoke night with the ward, it was pretty hilarious for sure. I didn’t get to sing, but that’s alright, I would have made a fool of myself anyways!

We are baptizing Felix this Friday, and I am so excited. He is the most prepared man I have ever met, I love him so much! He is so excited to be baptized too, I just love it! We taught him the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity yesterday, and he was just so good about everything! It’s amazing to see, I can’t even express how excited I am for him.

We have had lots of amazing visits this week. One was with a Dominican family...there were 8 people there, all adults. We taught them the restoration, and the spirit was super strong. Literally there was one point when I could feel just a wave hit the room, the spirit was working hard. We invited them all to be baptized, but they didn’t say yes...yet. They want to learn more. They are all so great!

We also are teaching a 23 year old guy named Jon David. He doesn’t live in the best circumstances, his piso is where all of the young people go to smoke drugs and do other things..so he is struggling. But super strong Christian, lots of faith, has a young daughter. We gave him a blessing one day, and it was so amazing. He changed at that moment, and I was so happy for him. We also went to teach him one day, and by the end of the lesson, everyone in the whole piso was listening. Like three others girls and boys, and we all prayed in a circle together. It was a fun experience!

I have so many things that happen daily that are so normal to me, that I just like forget to write them down! But I don’t know exactly what else to write! Pray for Felix that all will go well!

I love you all so much, and I hope that things will get better, in any way that they need to. Remember to count your blessings!

Love, Elder Hardy.

PS There are lizards in Spain!

 

 

 

There are lizards in Spain!

 



 

Funny he sent a picture of this! 

Great time, worked hard. That's How You Do It!

Monday, September 9, 2013.

 

Buenos Dias Mi Maravillosa Familia!

 

YOU ALL MAKE ME SO HAPPY. Ahhhh  I love seeing all these pictures and seeing how happy everyone looks. You are all so ridiculously good looking, makes me a little jealous! I literally take pictures of the computer screen so I can take the pictures home to look at. Anyways, about your week! 

 

Sounds like life in the real world is starting to get busy for all hey? Everyone at school, running around from place to place, trying to fit in work and fun within it all. Sometimes we got lost in the craziness of life, and forget to remember why we are here. TO ENJOY IT. TO BE HAPPY. TO GROW, AND TO LEARN. That is literally why we are here. So no stress everyone, alright? ¨Just take a chill pill¨ -Elder Hardy.

 

Okay so my week this week! I had a great week, with all sort of experiences! I’ll try to share a little bit of each type of experience. On Tuesday and Wednesday I was chosen to help train one of the new 44 missionaries! So I got to take Elder Wilson out to Barcelona, and show him the ropes a little bit, how missionary work is done. He told me after how grateful he was for me as a temporary companion, because before he was struggling emotionally a bit, but I helped him out. We had a great time, and we worked hard. That’s how you do it! 

 

I also got to help register everyone, so I personally talked with all the new ones, and met them a little! So I loved that opportunity, maybe I’ll get to do the same with joss!

 

One funny story...when I was with Elder Wilson, I contacted these 3 girls sitting in front of a shop. They were all about my age, which was a little sketchy. Let’s just say that the contact went downhill, and by the end they were all just calling me guapo and ordering me to ¨deme besos¨ which means kiss me. Sooooo we had to leave haha. There’s your bad story of the week.

 

We are still working hard with our investigators. Felix is receiving amazing blessings, and I’m so happy for him. He is the most faithful man I have ever met in my life! We also found 7 new investigators this week, a family of five last night, and two the day before. I’m so excited to teach them. One of the two, his name is John David from Dominican. He is 23, and has a girlfriend or wife, and a 4 year old kid. He told us that he has had dreams about Christ, and how he has seen him in his dreams, descending from the heavens in white robes. Pretty amazing!

 

Well that’s about it for today! Any questions, ask me! I love you all so much, you mean the world to me.

 

Love, Elder Hardy

My Heart Just Hurts For Some People.

Hola Todos! 

 

Well it has been another quick week over here on the other side of the world...I think the sun must move faster in the eastern hemisphere or something? ;) Haha no, but it has gone by quick. 4 months already, crazy.

 

Well there is soooooooo much in this email, that I don’t even know what to respond to! It's hard to organize thoughts and reply to everyone! But here we go. You guys seem to be doing so great back at home, all of you. You guys have been promised blessings back at home, both in the scriptures, and directly to me by President Pace. I can tell you are doing so great, so remember to count those blessings.

 

Dang I just want to reply to everything but I literally can't.  Like seminary starting, school starting,  Sunday, all this fun stuff I want to talk about! I guess just one of those sacrifices! But one thing, Aubrey and her leopard pants literally made me laugh so hard. Such a little fasionista little Aubs! I love you so much.

 

Okay well my week here in Barcelona. 

 

I went to the Sagrada Familia last Preparation Day. It is beautiful. And huge. I will send you pictures! 

 

We are now teaching a man named Felix from Nigeria. My heart just hurts for some people. Let’s just say that I think nearly 25% of the population here live on the streets...and it hurts me to see. But I love talking to them, they are great people. Anyways, Felix is from Nigeria, and he escaped here after running away from a bomb that went off in a church in Nigeria. He lost his mom during the bomb, so he doesn’t know where she is, or if she is alive. And his dad died a few months earlier from that type of bomb set off. But he opened up to us about this the very first lesson, and it was so hard to listen to. I just imagined if that was me. It would hurt me so deep if something ever happened like that to one of you guys...SO STAY SAFE. But he now has a baptismal date, and we are gonna help him out. I’m going to give him a white shirt, cause he literally has nothing. He doesn’t know what to do. 

 

We have a few more investigators with baptismal dates, so we are continuing to work hard with them. I love everyone we visit with; they are all so wonderful and nice. One family in particular really likes to feed us...haha the dad from Argentina is such a good cook...mmmm :)

 

A few nights ago we were walking around a little later at night, and we contacted a family on the street. They are from Romania, and around here they are known as Gypsies..if you’ve ever heard of them. But I made great little friends out of their three little kids, we ended up like running and skipping and jumping and just doing fun crazy stuff together...the whole time they were trying to steal my stuff, and take my wallet and such...so instead I just gave them a book of Mormon and a pamphlet of Jesus Christ. They loved it.

 

Well that is the main part of my week. Today we visited an Egyptian Museum, which was fun.  Its Elder Escobars birthday today, so we tried to have some fun! Then we went shopping and sightseeing and such. I’ll send you lots of pictures! CARSON I BOUGHT A BARCELONA JERSEY.  I took a picture, I know you like soccer, so I thought you would like it! 

 

Hey we started a Book or Mormon challenge as a mission. Started today. Finish by December 1st. So I’m in it with you guys. Let’s do this! I love you all so much. Each and every one of you. I will continue to pray for you all, even if you don’t need it ;) Keep growing, keep learning, and remember that it’s through our trials that we learn, not through our good times. So chin up!

 

Love, Elder Hardy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Are the Tools God Uses To Make Them Happier!

Monday August 26, 2013

 

Hey There Everyone!

You wouldn't believe just how fast the time goes by out here! I feel like I just emailed you all! Thanks for the email, sounds like you are all still staying busy, and hopefully having a little bit of fun in the process!

Mom I´ll just answer those questions real quick. Yes, schedule is different. We wake up at 7:30 and go to bed at 23:30. We have a two hour siesta from 14:00-16:00 hours every day where we eat and study, because everyone goes home and everything in Spain shuts down! Also yes, I have an account and a card, and I use euros in cash too.

Well this week I had the wonderful opportunity to bring 3 people in the gate to eternal life! We baptized a family, and then confirmed them yesterday! The baptism was beautiful, and I loved seeing how happy they all were as they came out of the water. Ahh, so amazing. Yesterday I confirmed the little 9 year old girl named Violet, and it went great! Oh, and I also gave a talk at the baptism, in front of the mission president, that was a little nerve wracking...but it went good!

We are working with tons of investigators right now, and we are hoping to have another baptism this weekend, but we aren't too sure if he´s ready yet... but we will see! I love seeing people change in this process, and how we are the tools that God uses to make them happier!

Last P-Day we went bushwhacking up some hills here in Spain! Found some ancient ruins and such, it was so cool. I'll send you some pictures, it really is so beautiful here. I wish we had more time to do things like that on p-day, but really we are always rushed to get to places and to do things!

So that was basically my week. Working harder than I would have imagined, but having so much fun with it. I have learned to appreciate sleep so much, because I am so mentally and physically exhausted after every day. Just google map it, there isn't one street that's not a hill here!

Love you all, and I hope everything is going great. I'm doing great here, so don't worry about me! Have a great week, and enjoy life, WICKEDNESS NEVER WAS HAPPINESS :)

Love, Elder Hardy

Oh, and PSS. One of my favorite songs so far that I've found on the iPod that you all sent is called "I Cry". I think its by Freddie Ashby? Anyways, thanks again for being so amazing everyone! Ether 12:4, scripture for the day. DROP WHAT YOURE DOING AND READ IT!

 

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH. DAD, MOM, CHAD, BETH, CARS, AUBS.

I pray for you every night, separately. Just know I think about you guys :)

 

 

 

Carson, this is a boy in my ward who LOVES me.

He is 11, and he reminds me of you so much, he is super cool just like you.

 

 

 

 

 

"Is it bad that I enjoy the graffiti here?"