Pictures 12/18/2013

Modes of transportation.... Me, Hermana Pierre, Elder Bravo and Elder Serrano in the back of a ruta, or a really old beat up taxi-like car that drives the same route every day. Four people in the back, two in the front passenger seat. Haha. What´s crazy is that if there is someone in the front and someone in the back, the people here would rather cram into the front seat with the other passenger than sit in the back. The other photo is of me looking really derpy in the back of a margarita!! The margaritas are not very comfortable, but way better than walking after a really long day. Not to mention faster. I think the margaritas only exist here in Mao, which is pretty cool. Here and in India. Haha.  Oh and Serrano is in the middle, Bravo is on the side. Haha.

Hermana Harden 12/18/2013

Not only did Eureka come on, but NCIS was on another day. Get behind me Satan!! Haha. GUESS WHO MASTERED MAKING PANCAKES OVER A GAS STOVE THIS WEEK. This Hermana. Ohhhh yeah. They were way delicious, and I intend to make them again soon. Normally I eat Honey Bunches of Oats like they are going out of style each morning. Each box is like $5 in American money. Totes worth it. I didn´t spend much on groceries so far this apoyo (this is what we call our stipend every two weeks- it is spanish for ¨support¨). The reason being that it is Christmas and we are going to try our best to eat like crazy at every activity. It´s a pretty sweet deal.

Tomorrow is our Christmas dinner and zone conference and I am pretty pumped. I am looking forward to seeing President and Sister Douglas again. We went to the salon today to prepare. All of the women here go to the salon to have their hair washed and blown out. They then wrap their hair around their heads and use a crocheted hair net to keep it in place and have it last longer. I made it known to my fellow hermanas that I really want one of these hair thingies, so that I can feel Dominican. We will see what happens. Haha. Seeing is my hair does what it does, I just got my nails done. I´ll try to remember to take a picture. It was like... A dollar fifty in American money to have them painted. Shabam.

Last Wednesday, after I wrote, we had our weekly ward activity at the chapel. We stopped by the house of the adorable little kids we are teaching, and they came too. They are planning on coming this week, and I just love it. We stopped to help a man shell some peas the other day, and found out he is a member, but less active because he works Sundays. It was just the three of us, then two of these same three kids showed up. Then a girl who is a member and her friend. Then her mom. Then the Elders because they were going to show us where an investigator lived. ALL of us were shelling the peas and knocked that sucker right out. While we were shelling, the girl who is a member and the oldest girl that we are teaching both invited other friends to the activity this week. I just love their example. It was so easy and natural for them to invite their friends to come and enjoy the same blessings they are receiving. Why can´t we all be more like that?

Yesterday we went to teach an investigator who is SO awesome. She´s such a good girl with her head on straight, but she receives money from another church because her parents both passed away, so she is struggling to choose to be baptized. Anyway, we went to visit her and there were probably 5 or 6 other teenage girls there, including her sister. We ended up teaching the whole group of them- a lesson on the Law of Chastity- and we have an appointment to meet with all of them again next week! They are all so good and smart. I just want them to have all of the good things in life (Evangelio de Jesucristo, obvioooo).

We also have a new investigator, S. She is a superstar. She loves to read and listen and learn and has been looking for the true gospel her whole life. She read the entire pamphlet we had left with her before we arrived for our lesson. She just gets it, and I am really hoping that we are able to teach with the Spirit and give her all of the truth she has been yearning for.

Anywhosit, I had better write my letter to President. Things are going well, and although I have hard moments, it is really just so good to be here. It is amazing to me that although it would be so much easier, more family-filled and at times more fun, more clean, and more delicious to be at home... I feel so privileged to be a missionary. I´m so grateful for your prayers and support. I hope this email finds you all well and in the Christmas Spirit, that is, the Spirit of Christ. There is no greater joy than that in giving, and I hope you choose to give the light and truth that we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then your joy will be eternal, preserved in the heavens where thief does not steal, nor moth corrupt. All my love to you!!!!!!!!! XOXOXOXOXO

Hermanita Harden

Better mailing address for Hermana Harden -- this is MUCH cheaper and more reliable

How to send things to Hermana Harden because you love her--

Packages--

Brenna Avalee Harden

SDQ 8013

2250 NW 114th Ave Unit 1A

Miami, FL 33172-3652

Letters--

Brenna Avalee Harden

SDQ 8013

PO Box 025725

Miami, FL 33102-5725

Hermana Harden 12/11/2013

Mission news!

I saw President and Sister Douglas today. They are amazing. I have struggled a little here and there, and President just walked up to me and asked me how I was doing. It´s like he knew, or something. But I held it together, and honestly felt better. I´m starting to find more of an emotional balance in my life. This is largely in part due to the arrival of the GENERAL CONFERENCE EDITION of the Liahona! I was so happy I almost cried when the Elders brought them over. Seriously it´s like missionary gold. There is an amazing talk in the first session about meekness, and in my quest to become more like the Savior, I have chosen to start here. PLEASE read it, you will not forget it. I was in the mission home today, which is how I saw President, and I also met Hermana Santana, the sister who I met through facebook, before I left! She is SO much fun, seriously I want to be her companion right now. Haha. I hope we get the chance before we both leave! I have a confession to make. I have an addiction..... to apples. Gala apples are so expensive here, but I don´t care and buy them anyway. They are practically candy to my tastebuds. And mom, you were right! Price Smart is totally Sam´s. It was hard in a way, because it was like pretend America, and I wanted to be there with you guys, but so good at the same time. I bought donuts, because I had a dream about them the night before. Hahaha. OH MY GOODNESS. Go get Jared and the other boys. You will never believe what came on TV when we were at a member´s house. EUREKA. NO LIE. It was so funny!! As a missionary, we can´t watch TV, but this family allllways has it on and just talks over it. It´s funny, and they are easily one of my favorite families. Anyway, we were sitting there, and I glance over to see Sheriff Carter, dubbed over in español! It was a Christmas episode. Pretty stinking awesome. Bahaha. Speaking of things that I love with all of my heart and soul- we cooked some Mexican food at our district meeting this week, courtesy of Elder Serrano. It was SO good. I´m going to try to send some photos now. The computer time is so short!! I love you!!!!!!

 Hermana Harden and her companion Hermana Veras

The mountains between Mao and Santiago

Hermana Harden -- 12/04/2013

My area, as you know is Mao. This is pronounced like the word 'how'. Honestly, I love it there. Our ward is a lot of crazy and fun at the same time. I am now trying to learn to play the piano because there is not a single soul in the congregation who knows how. Haha. You gotta do what you gotta do! We had a zone meeting on Monday, which was just awesome. Our zone leaders are Elder Ika and Elder Manzano. They ROCK. We all went to lunch after, and they are truly crazy. Haha. Elder Ika is Samoan, but hails from LA. Elder Manzano is from Tijuana, Mexico. They are wise in the gospel, and I wouldn't be surprised if either or both of them were eventually assistants to the president. Speaking of presidents, I learned more about Elder Day this week. He has a spot waiting for him on the BYU football team and wants to go into politics. We decided we would vote for him. The other Elders are also loco. Elder Serrano and Elder Bravo are in our ward and could have their own tv show, I have no doubt. Elder Bravo told a cool story last week during FHE with the bishop's family. When he was younger, he told his father that he wanted to be a good man like his dad, who was kind to everyone. His father told him that this was good, and if he wanted to become like him, he should put a notch in the door every time he said something unkind to or about someone. The beginning of the week was rough, with many notches, but eventually the day came when he had no notches to make. He told his father that he was no longer making notches, and his father told him that now he should go back and say something kind to every person he had wronged for every notch in the door. He did as his father had instructed and came back to report. Looking at the door, he asked his father, But what about the door? How can I fix it to look right again? His father explained that this is the thing. You can't. Once you have said unkind words, they can't be removed. They are permanent in the mind and heart of the person who received them. I just loved this story. Such wisdom from parent to child. I hope I am as good a parent someday. A funny story turned into a cool experience... We were teaching a less active member, and we started with a hymn as always. In the middle of the hymn, while we were singing on the front porch, a rooster walked up. Directly to us. He was just standing there, looking back and forth from me to my companion. I kid you not, as as we finished-- CREEEEECKKKADOOOODLEDOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! It was hysterical. I probably almost cried from the hilarity. After our lesson with this member, we started to walk to our next planned meeting when three little kids, ages ten and under, stopped us. Pray with us! they said. We were slightly taken aback and sat down and taught them about prayer. They were SO smart, and their mom came out to help explain something to them that we were teaching at one point. We have an appointment to come back and teach next weekend. I really hope we can teach the whole family. I am amazed at the innocence and precious desires of children. I've got to go. I love you all so much!!!!!!!

From Hermana Harden 11/27/2013

Food here is hard, as is water, but it is not impossible. We return to the mission home for a new missionary meeting in Santiago on Tuesday. I hear there will be ridiculous amounts of delicious food. I am living for Tuesday. Haha.

I met the bishop and most of the members of my ward pretty rapidly. We are small in numbers now, but I´m hoping that will change drastically before my time ends here. We work a lot with the members and less-actives in the ward. I don´t know if I mentioned it before, but we are not allowed to contact in our zone. That makes things slower, but I love visiting the less-active members. (I´m going to abbreviate any names of members, simply because I don´t know the rules about that stuff.) A is one of my favorites to visit because she has a great love for the Book of Mormon. We assign a chapter and she marks verses that she has questions about, or that she just really likes. I love our discussions and I always feel the Spirit when we talk. We were visiting A2 earlier this week, and her daughter and a friend came in and participated in our discussion. A2 is less-active, and her daughter (who has her own family) is not a member. Their friend who was there told us that her family went to the LDS church for a while, but stopped. She also mentioned that she has eleven(!) siblings. As we wrapped up the lesson and she gave me back the somewhat ragged copy of the Book of Mormon I carry around (this is also a mission rule), I kept thinking about her and her family´s history with the church. My companion was talking to some other women who had walked in at the end of the lesson, so I turned to her and asked if she had a copy of the Book of Mormon. She said no, and when I asked her if she wanted one, her face lit up with a big smile and she said she did. I gave her my copy, and she was so appreciative. It was such a special moment for me and I am really hoping we will have another opportunity to teach her. Bishop J went out with us to visit some other less-active members on Saturday. This apparently never happens, and it was really special! Another member from the ward came too, and we met a lot of people. Bishop J reminds me of Bishop Hansen in some ways, and his family is really special. We had home evening with them on Monday, and it was a wonderful experience. Sunday was my first time attending the ward, and you will never guess what happened- right in the middle of the Sacrament, a parade- complete with marching band- started going down the street! Right outside the chapel. The windows were open because they don´t have AC, and it was pretty funny. The best part was watching the faces of the Bishopric. Haha. Yesterday, we walked in to a tiny little tienda to buy a snack for my companion, and someone asks, ¨Are you English?¨ It took me a moment to even understand the question, let alone that it was directed to me. I turned and saw a lovely middle aged woman looking intently at me. I responded that I was American and we began conversing in English. She is from England, but lives here for part of the year. She was SO nice and invited us to come by any time to talk! What a random treat! I am really looking forward to talking to her again soon. Maybe even about the gospel... haha.

Speaking of helpless, we had a ratón (mouse) in our house last night!! I saw it as we finished planning, so naturally... we called the Elders and made them come kill it. Luckily it was in the foyer, so they could take care of it quickly and there was no issue. Although I felt a twinge of sadness because that little mouse looked so scared. Then this morning there was a FROG in the shower! Luckily Hermana Veras found it, and not me. Hahaha. I trapped it, though and took it outside. 

Well, I need to go. I love you all so much and will learn how to type faster!! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and eat copious amounts of food on my behalf! All my love!!!!!

Hermana Harden

From Hermana Harden on 11/21/2013

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! I am here!! I´m in the field! Safe and sound!  My mission president is amazing, as is his wife. I don´t know if I have met a more incredible couple. (My parents excepting, of course. hehe.) I am in my first area, which is Mao. I love it so much. It´s smaller, but not too small, and way more calm than Santiago proper or Santo Domingo. It is much more fresca up here in the north! I love that part sooo much. P-days are actually Wednesdays in my mission, but yesterday was transfers and we didn´t even get here until about 530. I have to apologize for any bad or lack of punctuation because I don´t know how to turn the keyboard back into english settings. My compa is Hermana Veras! She is so kind and funny and a native to the DR. I know that having her as a companion will help me grow SO much. Last night when we got here, one of the members was with the other sisters who share our house to pick us up. She procured a margharita for my luggage. It´s not an alcoholic drink- it´s a little funny open car thing! I will try to take a picture to show you. They are adorable, and I have only seen them here in Mao so far. After I unpacked a little, we went to an activity at the church which was muy divertido. The elders from our area were there and it was just about 12 members gathered to play games. There was double dutch jump rope with actual rope and sack races with actual rice sacks! Hahaha. We played in the overflow and can I just say that Dominicans are MUY CHISTOSO. haha. Playing with them was a blast. There was one game we played where we sat in a circle and had two ties, which the elders so graciously donated from around their necks (lol). One tie was on each opposite side of the circle to start. The object was to just tie the tie around your neck (like the beginning of a knot, the way you tie shoes) then loose it and pass it to the next person, however one tie had to be tied twice, so it took a little longer. If you ended up with both ties, you had to go to the middle of the circle and pretend to be an animal of the other players´choice. It was SO funny. Some of the guys would take a long time with the double tie so that the single tie would start to catch up and the people after them were tying the ties like their life depended on it! It was SUCH a fun time!!! We are not allowed to do knocking on doors (which here in the DR means yelling BUENAS through the open doorway), because the president wants us to work more with the members and get referrals through them. I am so excited to get to know them. It´s a little hard because I don´t understand everything and there is a lot of hot latino blood here, so I don´t want to mess up and offend someone! Mostly everyone is really nice though, and I know that Hermana Veras is looking out for me. I am already in love with this area. It´s always mosquito season though, so I already have lots of bites on my ankles, but I repented and pulled out my bug spray today. It should be good! I had some Dominican food yesterday which was pretty good, just rice and some ground beef with some vegetables mixed in. Also some jugo, which I think was made of pineapple, with a rice base and something else... it made me think of horchata. It was so sweet and sooo good. Haha. This morning was quite the adventure... our shower doesn´t work, so we use the hose through the window- it was like a movie. At one point I let go of the hose to do something and it made its way right back out the window. I had to call out to Hermana Veras and yell, ¨Yo perdi la agua a traves de la ventana!¨ Hahaha. It was pretty dang funny. Oy that water was cold. I´m going to have to break more of a sweat in the mornings when we workout, so that it will feel more refreshing and less like a torture method. bahaha. Hermana Veras told me that we teach a mission prep class here and apparently I am going to start teaching an english class. LOL I don´t even know spanish, but I´ll be teaching native speakers english. Bienvenida a la misión, as we say. Haha. Oh and if you remember, there are tons of chickens and roosters here. All of which were crowing all morning! What a funny experience. They just crowed and crowed all morning long. I bet Dad will get a kick out of that. Well, I need to go but I love you all! Take hot showers!!

Love, Hermana Harden

From Brenna 11/14/2013

I WENT INTO THE FIELD LAST FRIDAY. For exchanges. It was
one heck of an experience. My companion was Hermana Mack, who is
Dominican. She was actually called to Guatamala and went to the MTC
there, but she has problems with her asthma and came back here... she
said that she is going to finish her mission in the States, though,
which is way cool! She has family in Ohio and Arizona. And probably
New York, because all Dominicans have family there somehow. haha. She
doesn't know more than a few english words, so it is a very
interesting experience! Hermanas Parker and Gawrych had North American
companions, so I feel like my experience was more authentic. B) lol.
The houses arejust jammed together, not even an alley between, and air
conditioning? Count your blessings, my American friends! haha. I
MELTED. :) We were just in Santo Domingo proper, so it was city life,
which means it is VERY dirty and crowded. It smells like New Orleans.
There are lots of skinny dogs laying around here (it's hard to tell if
they're alive sometimes) which is sad. I saw an adorable little orange
kitty though, which was fun. :) We taught lessons and visited a
member, and everyone was so nice! It's hard to see the conditions that
they live in and not feel guilty for being used to a completely
different way of living. I have heard from many that Santiago is
somewhat different, though (including Hermana Mack). Santiago is
supposed to be cooler than here and more clean. The city is supposed
to be more organized as well, although I don't know where my first
area will be. I am leaving THIS TUESDAY. I am so excited/terrified.
Haha. I am going on exchanges again tomorrow, so I'm just trying to
not think about it because I will get too nervous. Haha. I don't know
when p day in the field will be, so hang tight for my next
letter/email! Speaking of letters, there are some on the way, and I
expect they will make it to you within the next week. I have now met
three former mission presidents of the Santiago mission- not including
my own mission president. Hermano Rodriguez's mission president was
here earlier this week, and he was way nice! Then I met Elder Cornish
of the seventy, as well as two other members of the seventy. Elder
Cornish also served in Santiago as a president! He was SO nice, and
gave an amazing devotional on Tuesday. I am so grateful for the
opportunities I have had here. I am singing with some other
missionaries on Sunday, since it is our last. We are singing in
French, Spanish and English. The theme is The Atonement of Jesus
Christ, and we are singing A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief... I hope I
spelled that right. Haha. Anyway, I have exit orientation on Monday
before the big send off, so think of me if you will! Everything is
becoming so real! Oh, and we have Navidad with Hermano Fernandez
today. I'm excited. He's so crazy. Everyone drew names, so I've got to
come up with some kind of gift. I drew Hermana Cearc. :D Time is out,
so I have to send a couple of pictures really fast. I love you all and
have an AMAZING WEEK! Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving in advance! --
Hermana Harden

From Brenna 11/7/2013

This week was insanely fast. As it turns out, Hermano Fernandez's baby WAS born on my birthday! What a lucky baby! Haha. And he's soooo cute. :)

We went to the University again last Friday, and had amaaazing experiences. We gave a Book of Mormon to a woman who had an LDS friend and approached us to practice her english. She wasn't interested in our message at first, saying she has been to the church and didn't like it. I bore my testimony to her, and she asked us a question about Joseph Smith. Hermana G answered her, and I explained that the church is the same church that Christ established in His day. Then we taught about the first vision and some of the restoration and read the last two paragraphs of the introduction of the Book of Mormon with her. I remember her smile as Hermana Gawrych recounted the first vision. What a special moment. She accepted the copy of the Book of Mormon, saying she didn't have a computer and preferred to read anyway. I told her the missionaries could probably get her a copy in english, too, if she wanted. She seemed to like that idea. And to think that at first, she wasn't interested.

There were two other women that we spoke to who were so, so sweet. I bore my testimony to them about the truthfulness of the gospel, and how it has blessed me and my family. One of the ladies told me right then and there that she felt something in her heart as I bore my testimony. My heart soared. I think about these wonderful people and pray often that they actually do contact the Santo Domingo missionaries and find the gospel. Being on the Lord's errand is like living a miracle. I can't even begin to imagine what it will be like to find and teach all day, every day. Just under two weeks, and I'll be in el campo!! The last group of missionaries that I'll ever meet here at the MTC arrived yesterday, including 4 new sisters. One is english speaking, from Jamaica who will be returning to serve there. She is now a third companion to me and Hermana Gawrych. The other three are spanish speaking, one from Puerto Rico, and two from Guatemala. All of them will be going with Hermana Gawrych to Puerto Rico in two weeks!

I was really starting to feel comfortable with the language. Until the Guatemalan sisters got here. Bahaha. They speak SO fast! I don't understand anything they say. Anything. X) But what's even harder is switching back and forth between english and spanish for Sister Walker, our Jamaican companion. She's so sweet and understanding though. Hermana G and I went to the temple yesterday to be her escorts! That means two temple trips in one week for us. We totally scored. :) Yesterday was so hectic though, because missionaries were all arriving at random times and all of the carpets were being cleaned and no one knew where classes were supposed to be, much less where all of the new missionaries were supposed to be! Haha. I was sooo stressed. Luckily, Hermana Gawrych is a champ and didn't even care. No le importa. Haha. We were blessed with a tender mercy yesterday, which was a really good lesson with one of our "investigators" (aka Hermano Fernandez in a tweed coat, calling himself Juan Carlos. lol). He has committed to baptism! That makes two progressing investigators who are committed to baptism for us. Woop woop! :) That lesson was definitely a miracle, because he is notoriously difficult with some of the other companionships, and we had NO planning time yesterday at all. :P

The Haitians are no longer here, as you might have deducted, and their send off was emotional! Soeur Francois told me I would be the first person she wrote to, and Soeur Merona asked me if I would write to her in French. :0) They were SO full of life and fun to have around. I don't think it was possible for them to have a bad day.

Oh! And we watched the movie "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" (at least, I'm pretty sure that's the title), and I highly recommend it to anyone. It's a really interesting look at the life and sacrifices of the Prophet Joseph Smith and some of the early experiences of the Saints. Warning: it might make you cry.

Like I said, this week was SO crazy fast. I was almost at a loss as to what I could write to you all this week, but obviously I had plenty. :) I love you all!! Be good and I send you my best wishes! Until next week,

Hermana Harden! XOXOXOXOXOXO

From Brenna 10/31/2013

 Last Friday we went to the University to contact and refer people to the missionaries serving in this area. IT WAS THE MOST AMAZING EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD. We just started talking to people. We were in our companionships, and Hermana Gawrych and I were killing it. B) There was this group of guys sitting together that were kind of watching us walk across the courtyard, so we walked right up to them and made a little small talk, then I asked if we could share our message. They said yes and we taught the restoration right then and there! They listened to every word and seemed totally drawn in and attentive to what we had to say. At the end, they wanted to know where the church was! Hermana G. and I were like... uhhh.... we don't actually know. We're new. Hahaha. So we gave them pamphlets with phone numbers for missionaries in Santo Domingo. And we talked to so many more people!!!! Some who already knew about or were investigating the church, some who probably thought we were SO weird. I remember one young lady we talked to. She was sitting alone, and Hermana G. saw her. We walked over and asked her how she was and if we could talk to her. She said yes and started smiling. She had the BEST, most beautiful smile!! She looked so happy that we had come over to her. I don't think she understood anything we said, and we were kind of awkward, but we left her with a folleto, and I still think about her sometimes when I say my prayers. I could feel Heavenly Father's love for her, and I want so badly for her to have the gospel in her life. I want to meet her again! We're going back tomorrow, and although I'm nervous (like I was last time), I really can't wait. In about 1.5 hours, Hermana G. and I gave out 12 folletos y 2 copias del Libro de Mormón. THE CHURCH IS TRUUUUUUUE!!! :D  Hermana Gawrych and I have been called to be the Sister Reps on the Leadership Council. We were randomly asked to attend the meeting with the APs and District Leaders this week, so that's pretty cool. We basically get to help out the other Hermanas (all four of them) with their problems or worries and speak out for their concerns and needs at the meeting every week. So now I have two callings, since I'm the music coordinator for the MTC too. They don't sustain us here, since we have already been set apart as missionaries. We watched another amazing devotional by Elder Bednar this week, as well as one by Elder Scott. I LOVE devotionals. Oh my, I have so much that I want to tell you. When we went to the tienda last week, there was Christmas music playing, and there were decorations on display! Hermano Rodriguez told us on Saturday that here, they totally start putting up Christmas trees in October. Except his family because they're all too lazy. X) And we thought we were bad in America! They have already put up the lights and hung lit angels from the trees in the park across from the temple grounds. The weirdest part is that I love it!! It won't be long before I start having us all sing Christmas hymns at family (entire MTC) prayer every night. I have the power. >:) You guys HAVE to hear about my CCM birthday. First of all, Hermano Fernandez's wife had her baby (allegedly, but pics or it didn't happen) yesterday!!! How special is that?! In the morning, all of the Elders in my district wrote me cute little birthday notes and left them on my desk when I got up to get a tissue with Hermana G. And Elder Santacruz let me have one of the "I Am a Child of God" rubber rings he brought to give to kids. It's blue. :) Then Hermana G. gave me an elaborately colored birthday card with a super special note inside. I am the luckiest of all the companions in the world. En serio. :D I went to dinner last night, and they had cake for me!! I knew there would be, because Hermana Freestone arranged for it since she and President are at a conference. But the whole MTC sang happy birthday, and it was very, very awesome of them. Then, just as we ended family prayer last night, the translator for the Haitian group asked if we could wait a minute. He then translated for one of them as he explained that in Haiti, birthdays are very very special. The entire group of Haitian missionaries stood up in the front and sang for me in French!!! It was one of the most touching experiences in my life.  

From Brenna 10/24/2013:

Oh wonderful family!!! I love you all so much!  Some days are hard here, but it's more like hard moments sprinkled over really good days. We watched an AMAZING devotional by Elder Bednar about turning out and being Christlike, instead of turning in and having selfish emotions. It was so perfect for me. He gave such good instruction on ways to study and learn, and feel like the luckiest person in the world. I have a strong testimony that he is a man called of God. Oh, and Hermano Nuñez isn't my teacher anymore, because he's a night teacher, and he was just covering for our afternoon class for a while. I still get to see him all of the time, though and he is hysterical. :) He told me where he keeps his good frisbee in the teacher office, just in case we need it. :D Sometimes, me and the other hermanas get to play outside with Reid, Elder Cornish's son. He has down syndrome, but he blows my mind with how smart and well spoken he is. And such a charmer! He told Hermana Parker that she reminds him of Anne Hathaway. ;) I think she's prettier, personally. lol.

OH here is some surprising news for you. I am officially/unofficially in charge of music at the MTC! President asked me last night if I would do it, and I said of course. I don't know if he is going to actually extend a call of some sort, seeing as we are still in between APs, but I get to pick all the hymns and help other people learn how to conduct and have all kinds of fun. We sing in both Spanish and French simultaneously now that it's Haitians and North Americans running around here. There were only 16 of us here for 2 days while we waited for the next group, and it was so peaceful! Here's some interesting info: only Haitians are called to Haiti! Traditionally, Haitians and Dominicans do not get along, but so far, so good here at the MTC. My language skillz are coming along, but verbs can be hard! :P I'm trying to think of some new and exciting things I have learned to share with you. Hmmm... Oh! Hermano Fernandez tried to convince us of some bogus holidays earlier this week, such as Dia Del Pollo. He said they also have Dia de los Muertos, but it's the day right after Dia del Pollo, because they kill all the chickens. -___- Hahaha. He's always like "En serio, en serio!!" lol. He can't pull the wool over our eyes. I think his favorite word is "chistes" which means "jokes". It's pretty much the equivalent of "just kidding". haha. We take breaks now and again during class, and he always tells us to take "diez minutos de break". Naturally, when Hermana Gawrych is saying something crazy I no longer say "give me a break". I say "give me diez minutos de break". hahaha. His wife is having a baby sometime over the next week! I'm not-so-secretly hoping Hermano Nuñez will sub for him. :D That reminds me, we have three red language books that we use, and Hno Nuñez calls them Charmander, Charmeleon and Charizard, due to their respective size. Every day is a school day at el CCM. :))

My time is about up, but I hope this message finds you safe and happy! Love you all!!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Hermana Harden 

From Brenna, October 17th:

The place where I live is right next to the temple! We went there today. It is very tropical here and there are tons of palm trees! I heard thunder in the temple today, which is normal because there is a lot of rain here. Its usually nice when we go outside for gym time, though, which seems to me like Heavenly Father smiling down on his missionaries. haha. I was sick at first, just congestion and cold stuff thanks to my flight, but I am doing so well now! I exercise everyday in the humidity, which makes me feel like my workout is 100 percent more impressive... thats code for SWEATY. haha. The food is heavy and I always feel like death after almuerzo, because I have a rice eating contest... against myself. I always lose. lol. My companion is Hermana Gawrych from Utah and there are only 4 other sisters here besides us! Hermanas Parker, Hilbun, Peña, and Cearc. Hermana Cearc is from Guadalupe and does not speak very much english because they speak french there! I get to use my french with her sometimes and she says I am truly a french speaker. Mostly we all spend a lot of time practicing our spanish!  There are only about 70 of us at the MTC, or as we call it here,  OH MY GOSH you have to know about my teachers!!! They are all hilarious, especially Hermano Nuñez and Hermano Fernandez. Imagine a really sassy latino guy saying the following: "God, give me patience, because if you give me strength, Im gonna KILL SOMEBODY." Hahahaha that is a direct quote from Hermano Nuñez. He is hilarious and plays ultimate frisbee with us. He is a HUGE Harry Potter/anything nerdy fan. Jared would LOVE him. Many of the teachers here are from, served their missions in, or have family in Santiago. It is so cool. We had one of the counselors in the presidency of the area seventy, Elder Zivic, here this week for devotional with his wife. It was awesome. I only have one more member of the area seventy to meet left- Elder Cornish! I love President and Hermana Freestone- every night we have family prayer with all of the missionaries and Hermana Freestone gives us chocolate.  I am learning so much every day. I am so humbled by the people here, who are so funny and kind.  the latino elders are some of the most innately kind people I have ever met. One elder from Nicaragua- Elder Vargas- is SO excited about being a missionary. He makes excited hand gestures and pretends to shout-whisper things, like the names of different missions, or what we are having for dinner, or the names of other missionaries. It is the BEST thing. I die laughing every time. I will try to take a picture of myself imitating him for the next email. Haha. Did you get the district photos from President? Im still that pale, because we only really go outside for exercise. Our days are SO long, but often go by quickly. Every minute is planned, and we have tons of classes and studying. We have been teaching our investigators, or rather our teachers pretending to be investigators, and its nervewracking, but Hermana Gawrych and I seem to be doing relatively well. I wish I had more time to prepare for my lessons, though. My time is almost up!  I will talk to you soon!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO Hermana Harden!!!!!!!!

Hermana Harden has landed!!

Our first email from Brenna after she landed in the Dominican Republic last night:

Family!!! We are here in the MTC! They kindly fed us ham and cheese sandwiches upon our arrival. It is SO HUMID. Haha. A nice man named Pedro helped me with my bags at the airport. I thought I forgot my debit card, but it turns out that it was magically in a secret pocket in my purse.  There are 60 of us at the MTC- 19 arrived tonight, including me. I'm in a trio to start out with two awesome sisters!! One will be serving in Puerto Rico, but the other will be serving in my mission!! On my flight from Dallas there were 3 elders, myself, and the area seventy for my mission, Elder Anderson and his wife!! I instantly felt guilty for not knowing who they were, but obviously that is stupid.  It's late here- 11pm. I need to go so I can find my luggage and my room. I will write again next week! I'm sorry this is so all over the place, but time is short and I had so much to tell you! You don't have to post this one to my blog if you don't want to. haha. I love you all so much!! Kisses and hugs and high fives, Hermana Harden

The Sand in the Hourglass

Time feels like it goes by exponentially faster every single day. I haven't updated you all in a while, but mission prep is going great!! My missionary portal training is at 90%. I think I'm going to try to get the sister missionaries in my ward to help me practice the lessons in chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel. :) I have had so many awesome experiences these past couple of weeks- blessings that I know are directly linked to my decision to serve a mission.

One such blessing has been overwhelming peace and confidence in my ever-approaching departure. Leaving you all, my friends and family, behind is not easy. I worry about you and feel anxious that I cannot be there to support and uplift you during your coming hardships and trials. I do have faith, however, that Christ can and will be there in my stead. He always is. My growing faith and this peace have come through the power of prayer. Pray as often as you can. Pray earnestly. Give thanks, express your hopes and desires, ask Him the questions that weigh on your minds, and pray to recognize His answers. Listen intently for His response. You will know the peace and joy that I have known, in spite of the uncertainty we all face.

Another blessing I have received is finding the blog of my Mission Mom! (My mission president's wife. :) ) There are all kinds of crazy stories, but it has helped me to feel so much more prepared and excited to serve. Here is the link for those of you who would like to learn more about mission life in Santiago:
http://beckydouglasparadise.blogspot.com/


My Mission Mom! She's so cute!! I hope she doesn't mind me borrowing her picture. :0)

My brother is off at the MTC in Provo, and it has been so good to hear from him!! He loves missionary life, and is having a total blast. :) Although I know it will be hard for my family, I am personally SO excited to serve at the same time as he does. I look forward to the experiences we will be able to relate with one another. I will have a blog set up for him before I leave (*cough* in ten days *cough*), so you all can read about his experiences first hand. :)

I have been able to feel the Spirit so much more lately. It has been less of a burning in the bosom and more of a gentle prompting and push from time to time. It has been so good to become familiar with the associated feelings of the Spirit. I think I am starting to better understand what it will be like to teach with the Spirit. I cannot wait!!!

I'm so grateful for all of the love and support you have shown me at this time. Thank you ALL!!! I will be having a final farewell open house Sunday, October 6th from 6:30-8pm at my parents' home. Please come and taste my appreciation via cookies. Feel free to impart any last bits of wisdom as well!! :)

All my love,
Hermana Harden

The Feels

I have been experiencing so many different emotions as I've let this mission call sink in. (And trust me, it's still sinking.)

There was the thrill/disbelief when I opened my call- which, naturally, turned into tears because they're really sending me on a mission! (YAYUUHHH.)
Then there was the 'what the?!' moment- I mean I didn't even know the Dominican Republic was in North America. There was an additional 'what the?!' moment when I realized how tropical it was... I'm the whitest of the white girls... You can practically see right through me.
Then there was the airy sarcasm- "Of COURSE you're sending me to teach in Spanish, HF. I've only been avoiding learning that language my whole life, nbd." ;)
Then moments of catatonic (I exaggerate) shock when I couldn't even process any of it.
Then terror at going to a whole strange new place.
Then inadequacy because I'm a horrible visiting teacher and haven't been very good with reading my scriptures before I get really tired.
Then the realization of how prideful I am.
Then the realization of how lacking I am in charity.
Then wondering if something wasn't quite right because my emotions weren't all uplifting and positive.
Then hating Satan because it's all his fault but wanting to sob into my pillow anyway.

 Then today happened.

As I was making a mormon.org profile, I started to think about who I really am and why I have chosen to try my best to live this gospel. I realized that I really want to be a disciple of Christ. But what does that mean?
It means it has nothing to do with me at all. I am on the errand of the Lord- I imagine myself as a little girl, looking up at my Father with big eyes, asking: What would you like for me to do?
I think of all the righteous people in the Santiago mission who are ready and searching for the missing pieces that are here in Christ's doctrine. I think of the people who are suffering, because they never knew another way. I feel so lowly compared to these people. I'm humbled by the worth of their souls.
I am so excited to serve them. I am eager to serve the Lord. God's children need the gospel. God needs me to be humble and obedient. I feel a burning zeal in my heart to do my very best, so that I will be prepared and worthy to teach with the Spirit.

I think the feelings I have now are just the beginning.

Dear Sister Harden:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Dominican Republic Santiago Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.

You should report to the Dominican Republic Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, October 9, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president.

!!!!!!!!!

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!! AHHH!!!!!!

All the feels!! :D
Will write more about this soon....

!!!!!!!!!

The Test of Time

Another day has come and gone without a mission call. Could it be tomorrow?
I certainly hope so, for my sanity's sake. :0)

So I had one of those cliched experiences that you hear about and feel your eyes glaze over. I opened up to the Book of Mormon to study my scriptures yesterday and just started to read. The most wonderful words were on that page- my mission motto:

I glory in plainness;
I glory in truth;
I glory in my Jesus,
for he hath redeemed my soul from hell.

I have charity for my people
and great faith in Christ
that I shall meet many souls
spotless at his judgement seat. 
(Read here.)

I just felt my mind go into focus.
I read these words and have an acute sense of what is important while I am doing the labor of the Lord. I am reminded that the gospel is simple, that it is true, and that it is centered in Christ. I can be forgiven of my sins, and so can my companions, the members whom I serve with, and the people that I teach. We can be made whole through the Atonement and become better, more Christ-like people.

Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be?
Verily I say unto you, even as I am.  
(Read here.)

 

SO MUCH TIME LATER

that the old narrator got tired of waiting and they had to hire a new one...

Haha. But seriously. I am a terrible blogger. Luckily, I won't be the one posting for much longer. Well, I WILL, but I won't. My mother will be posting my weekly entries in a little while.

I feel like none of this is making sense. So I must explain.

I am going to be serving an 18 month mission through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (!!!) My paperwork has been in for about three and a half weeks, and I am excited to report that as of last Friday, my call has been assigned! I should find out where I'm going sometime this week. (!!!) I'm just a little eager to know where I'm going to be living for a year and a half, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

To sort of bring you up to speed, how about a vague two year recap? I made some regrettable decisions, as well as some awesome decisions. I did some studies over at the local community college, applied and was accepted to Brigham Young University Idaho. I've played a lot of ultimate frisbee, and continue to suffer through my job at a nearby cinema. I haven't dated in a year and a half (no regrets), and have watched a lot of great TV on Netflix. I've been living in an apartment with my friend Sofia for the past year, who is equal parts silly, awesome, and "bits of felt and glittah". She'll get it. :)

Life is quite good, and about to get better, so stay tuned! I'll make it worth your while this time. ;)