A Minute in Michigan

Olá!!!! Como vocês estão! 

    Here marks my last day in America for 14 months. (I hit my 4 month mark yesterday). It was a crazy final week! So many miracles! Ok first. We got a referral for this girl from Cambodia this week during interviews (we were stick inside the church ALL day, but we were still able to get some work done thanks to technology!) We called and she was so solid! We met with her and found out she is only 16 years old! She was basically a member back in Cambodia, going to church and seminary and loves young women's! One of the first things she asked us about was when seminary was! She already knows so much of the doctrine, we hardly had to teach anything, it was basically review! She is the cutest ever and so mature! She really wants to make the right decision and said she won't get baptized until she is sure it is all true. Though, like most of us her testimony is already stronger than she realizes. But she was a definite miracle! Another miracle is we were contacting at Kroger and we ran into this guy and introduced ourselves as missionaries for Jesus Christ and we asked his name and he said "Jesus Christ" so we honestly didn't expect much from the rest of the interaction, but we share our testimonies and give him a card and he looks at it and asks "does this include a church service? Can I come?" And we said yes obviously! He gave us his card which just had his (real) name and his phone number! He texted us before Sunday asking about what he should wear, and then he came! I sat next to him and he loved the service! He sang all the songs and said he wanted to come back next week! Unfortunately he doesn't live in our area so we handed him off to the elders, but still so cool! He is really a sweetheart! We are teaching two other young men too, but we will probably end up handing them off to the YSA sisters. I don't know why the work is picking up right before I leave, or why it was so slow while I was here, but I am glad. I know any success comes from God and not from me.

I am going to miss the people we are working with right now and all the people we have worked with this transfer and back in Monroe. I am just grateful I will be able to email my companions and see how everyone is doing since we will be in different missions! Most missionaries don't get to hear from or even very much about the friends they have taught. I feel so blessed! 

I am nervous, of course. Tonight I am going to be hurtling through the clouds on my way to a foreign country where I am supposed to teach the gospel in a language I don't know and eat food I've never tried before, and aclimate to a culture I have never experienced before. But I know God will provide. 1 Nephi 3:7,  "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." 

Real quick. I want to share the verses that have become my favorite whole serving thus far. (I wish I had found these before my plaque was made! Lol) Mosiah 2:20-22.

"20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you."

Ok, I know my email is now 70% scripture, but I just love these verses so much. There is literally nothing any of us can do, even serving with our "whole souls" that will ever repay the debt we are in to our Lord and savior. Nothing. He has payed the ultimate price and we owe him everything. All we have, are, or have to potential to become, because of him. We will always be unprofitable servants. Knowing this, how incredible is the promise in verse 22! ALL he asks is that we obey His commandments and do our best! That's it! And when we do, the Lord promises more! Like in 3 Nephi 24:10! "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house; and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it" 

Why does God do this? Why does he give us so much, when we deserve so little. He loves us. HE LOVES US! And I love him. So much. Infinitely and eternally. 

God doesn't ask so much of us. Only to do our best. And really, when you take a step back and look at your life, our obedience is not much of a price to pay in exchange for all he gives to us. 

Ok, sorry for the preach. It is kinda what I do right now... I have so much more to learn, and I learn something new and incredible about Christ every day. How grateful I am for him!

I love you all! Next time I write I will be in Portugal!  Stay cool! Até Mais!

-Sister Hardy

Pictures:

- we had exchange again this week, I went with sister Anderson to Oakland campus. It was weird being on a campus, it felt like I should be going to a class! (Though we did have a few lessons. But we were the teachers for those) we found a bear in the basement. It was pretty scary.

-panera for lunch!

-surprise selfie

-(most of) the district on the last day of service! The APs couldn't come so we got to pick up the elders and carpool down! It was so fun!

-our Valentine's day decortation.