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