Hello!

Monday, October 15, 2018

Hello!

Ola meu familia! Lizzie looks so cute and grown up, and Ronnie and Aubrey look awesome!! I send hugs from the MTC! Sorry about the phone-call! I sent the "I'm here message, but then realized I wasn't sure if there was an 8 or not in your email, and I really wanted you to get my emails! 

     The MTC is a place of Miracles! I have so much I want to tell you about, and not near enough time to do it, so I will do my best! To start off, I have had absolutely zero problem waking up in the mornings at 6 because my companion likes to be early everywhere! If that is not a miracle I don't know what is. Meu colega (my companion) is so incredible! I have never loved someone so instantly as I did Sister Moulton. We were best friends immediately and we work super well together! She makes sure we get everywhere 15 minutes early and I make sure we pronounce Portuguese as right as possible! In all seriousness though, I truly believe she is the reason my call took so long to come. I could not have asked for a more perfect first companion. 

     Our district is awesome too! We have only known each other for 5 days but we are all super tight! Elder Hansen and Elder Bischof are our Lisboa friends, and the other 6 Elders are all going to Mozambique! There are three more sisters and two more elders going to Portugal, but they are in different districts. Our district tries to eat together at every meal and excercise together when we can and we all went to the temple this morning! I forgot my camera, but Elder Nilsson did and he is going to send us the picture and I will send it next week. Elder Bischof is from Austria and speaks German, he learned his English in part from school, but he said he learned a lot from American TV shows so his vocabulary is pretty hilarious. He is really good at portuguese though because he was born in Mozambique and his mom would speak Portuguese to him when he was a kid! Anyway, we have an awesome district!

     Life here at the MTC is go go go! Learning a language as quick as you do in the MTC is really hard but whenever Sister Moulton and I feel discouraged at our progress we remember that 5 days ago we couldn't meet someone, say a prayer, or testify in Portuguese, and now we can! The gift of tongues is an incredible thing, we have been learning about it a lot. As we put in our effort and do the best we possibly can, God will make up for what we lack. That is the truth for many things in life and especially in missionary work as we will never be perfect as God or His son, but that is not the point! The Atonement saved us 100% and all the Lord asks is that we do our very best. Sunday was a straight 12 hours of church, and it was awesome! The spirit is so strong in the MTC, I didn't think I could feel it any more, but Sunday proved me wrong. After our devotional we watched a talk by elder Bednar about the character of Christ and I learned that the primary difference between Christ and the natural man is that in times of great personal trial or pain, we would turn inward while Christ turns outward. My motto before my mission was "because I have been given much I too must give," my motto in the MTC is "becuase He gave everything, I must give all I have." We studied this week about the Doctrine of Christ and I was particularly touched by Moroni 10. I would like to invite you to read this chapter and ponder the gifts God has given you and how you can use them for the good of all man and also ponder and pray about a gift you desire to have and seek it with real intent and faith, He will answer. I have really been pondering faith this week I have been at the MTC and Faith is truly what makes the difference between a testimony and true conversion. Through faith we can do all things! Through faith I will learn Portuguese. Through Faith I will serve a successful mission. Through Faith I will come to understand the Love of God and how to share it with everyone! 

     I would like to share my testimony with you. I could share it in Portuguese, but I don't have the vocabulary yet to say all that I feel and know, so I will stick with English for now, though I don't have the vocabulary in English either to share all that is in my heart right now. My heart is so incredibly full right now. Never before have I felt closer to the Lord than as I have spent these few days here focused solely on Him. Jesus is waiting for us to come to Him with wide open arms and he will never push us away! He can truly do all things and he will do all that he can to help us and guide us if we only do what he asks with pure intent. He will do this because He Loves us!! Do not be afraid to "burden" the Lord with your questions and sorrows. His burden is our sorrow, when we turn to Him for comfort and help, that is His joy! "For behold this is my WORK and my GLORY to bring to pass the immortality and ETERNAL LIFE of man!" "Men are that they might have joy!" There is no shortage of evidence in the scriptures of proof that he LOVES US and wants so desperately for us to come back to live with him! I know that as we live the doctrine of Christ, having faith in Him and His atonement, being baptized, recieving (and using!) the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end we will be able to return to live with God and Jesus Christ again! The Church is true! The Book of Mormon is the word of God! I started over reading it when I came to the MTC, and though I have read it multiple times before, I feel like I have never really READ it. It is an incredible witness of Christ and there is truth in every word. Please, family, please strive to feel the spirit in every moment of every day. I promise that with the spirit, nothing is impossible! I already see why everyone told me missions were hard, but I can also see why everyone has always loved their mission! I miss you all, I am tired and stressed, but I truly have never ever been happier!!! Christ is my Joy, my faith, my hope! 

      Eu amo voces! I love you all! I pray for you every minute! God loves you! 

                        Love, Sister Hardy!

Pictures: I am not sure what order they are in, but I know there is one with Sister Moulton and I, one with us and Elder Hansen and Bischoff, and one with the whole district! My eyes are closed in that one but we only had like two minutes to take it sooo...