Ola minha familia!

Ola minha familia!

Do I have some exciting news!! So I don't have my visa, none of us Portugal missionaries do, and we probably won't until December, so we have all been reassigned. I am going to Detroit, Michigan! When I saw that my assignment had changed, I was honestly so excited! Not because I don't want to go to Portugal, but because I could feel the spirit strongly and undoubtedly confirming to me that this was where the Lord wanted and needed me to be for the time being. I love the people in Detroit already! My district has been teasing me with stories of the bad stuff that happens there, but I honestly feel no fear, it is an unknown, but what a blessing it is to live a life guided by God, where you can have confidence in the unknown because you have confidence in HIM! I might need a better pair of winter boots though, I will see what I can find when I get there! I am the only Portugal called missionary going to Detroit, everyone else is going out in groups to other missions. 2 are going to Rochester, New York, 2 to Riverside, California, and, wait for it, 4, including my dear Sister Moulton, are going to SPOKANE, WASHINGTON! I have been making all their ears bleed with how excited I am that they are going to the BEST PLACE ON EARTH! Look out for them! (their names are Sister Moulton, Sister Jardine, Elder Bassett [no relation, I asked] and Elder Cloes) Maybe Uncle Russel can test out their Portuguese if he meets any of them! 

I was actually dying to tell you that, It was so hard to not just sit down and shoot you an email, but I need to be an obedient missionary! I got all of your dear elders and your letter finally this week! Thank you so much! I am so grateful for your advise and encouragement! I am doing really well! Portuguese is coming along and the more I learn, the more excited I get! We woke up yesterday and there was snow on the ground! It was gone by the afternoon, but it was still exciting! The question that I get most frequently is "how is the food" so I guess I will finally answer it! It is good! They have to make enough to feed 2000 missionaries and any employee that decides to come, so the food isn't made with tender loving care, but it gets the job done! Every Friday is pizza day and they get a ton of papa johns! We all stuff ourselves and it is our districts favorite day! All Friday we are saying "Esta o dia da Pizza! Yesterday for lunch we had roast and mashed potatoes and I was just sitting there thinking about our family dinners at home, we all talked about our Sunday traditions and it was really nice. The choir is open to anyone who wants to come, I think auditions are just for when they perform at Conference, so Sister Moulton and I have gone every week! Brother Aggett is awesome, he has conducted at Conference a few times and he tells the best stories! I have learned so much about church history and other gospel topics from just listening to him! We continue to play beach volleyball, and we probably will until we leave! We may be crazy, and our toes might nearly freeze off in the cold sand, but it is just too fun! I have been pretty sick the past couple of days and one day I completely lost my voice, It was really funny that whole day because I'd be trying to do the role plays in class, but no one could hear me! My voice is back now, and I will hopefully be better this week!

I love hearing the updates on everyone! I miss you all so much and pray for you every minute! 

Lizzie: way to go brave girl, I am so proud of you! Sister Moulton played soccer in high-school and every time she talks about it all I see is you running up and down the field and scoring goals! Never sacrifice doing what you love! The Lord wants us to work hard, but men are that they might have JOY!

Ronnie: Oh man, how I wish I could have seen you rock it as the wolf! One of the rules I have been struggling the most with is not singing "songs of the world" which for me is mostly musical theatre songs! I am so proud of you doing Poetry out Loud! As I learn a new language I am so grateful for the memorization skills I gained from theatre and poetry out loud, though I would love it if you could share your 1 hour magic with me so I could memorize more scriptures in Portuguese!

Rees: Thank you so much for your note to me, your advise has been a huge comfort to me. There is a sister who came in just this week who they put in our room, and she has been really struggling with the language. Your letter gave me the confidence to talk to her and encourage her that she can do this!

Jordan: I miss you so much! Thank you for your note, It was exactly what I needed to hear! Every time I am playing beach volleyball I try to channel you because I know how much you would love it and how good you would be! I am still no good, but I have actually hit it over the net a few times, and I am the only one who hasn't needed to use a redo on my serves!

Mom: I love you! Thank you for those papers to read, they were awesome and have been really helpful!

Dad: I love you and think about you all the time! Do you think you will meet my friends seeing as you are a stake president, or is the mission too big?

I love you all so much! My testimony continues to grow every week I am here, and I know it will only continue to grow! This week I was especially touched by the guiding power of the Holy Ghost. My companion went to San Francisco to talk to the consulate and she and the Elder she was with had some incredible missionary experiences because they allowed themselves to be guided by the spirit! They were given a phone to use the lyft app to get a ride to the consulate from the airport, but they tried it several times and the app wouldn't work. Elder Hansen was going to call the travel office when the spirit prompted him to hang up the phone, so he did. They had been given money for a taxi in case this happened, and so they ran and got into a taxi. They had a great conversation with their driver and left a great impression! He gave them his number so they could get a ride back from the airport and came and picked them up when they were done. He took them on a mini tour of the city without turning on the metre because he liked them and they had extra time. Elder Hansen had a mini Book of Mormon in his bag and Sister Moulton felt prompted they should leave it, and when they got out of the car, without having discussed it together, Elder Hansen had felt that too and left the book on the center consel. Who knows what will come of it, but in a story filled with so many promptings, I have a feeling it will be something amazing! I have also felt the guiding power of the spirit in my own life with my new assignment. Most missionaries I talk to who have been reassigned look dejected and disapointed. I am so grateful for the witness from the spirit I have that no assignment is made lightly, and Detroit is exactly where I am needed right now!

Listen to the spirit! Read the Book of Mormon! The Church is true!

Eu voces amo!

Love, Sister Hardy

Pictures: Sister Moulton and I did a wardrobe swap! It was super fun and we both felt super cute! The second is taken from our classroom on the fifth floor of a message someone wrote in the snow! Sorry I don't have a ton of pictures this week, I will try to have more next week!