Letter from 3/26/2014

WOW! Firstly, I just love reading your letters. I feel like I am at home when I read them. Haha. Secondly, I am here with my new companion, Hermana Loarca!! She is from Guatemala and trained my friend from the MTC, Hermana Parker!! I already ADORE her. She is so awesome. We will take pictures this week so I can send them next Wednesday. What is it with people from Guatemala being the best ever? Eh, Sofi?? Haha. It sounds like you guys are just cranking it out, getting things done. Which really is no surprise, because like I tell everyone here, you are a trabajadora. Haha. I can´t wait to find out what instrument Jacob will play! I´m so proud that he is falling in my band geek footsteps!! And consequently yours as well. Haha. Price Smart was meh last week. I bought some apples pre-bagged and realized later on that they were all weirdly bruised and cut. But the good news is that we also went to La Sirena (Dominican WalMart) where I was able to buy some stuff I needed for cheap. Including Malt-o-Meal brand cereal!! Aww yeah. I´m going to send this letter in parts so that I can include... PHOTOS. Yay!!! The first two are me with a giant truckload of bananas (guineos), and one with President Douglas at a Rotary Club dinner where a man with a sax played different national anthems. GRINGOS REPRESENT. Hahaha.

This last week we had our first baptism as a companionship (and last), which was also my first baptism ever! Ashly was baptized, and her cousin Elder Jimenez came to perform the ordinance! It was SO special, and her whole family- aunts, uncles and parents- came to the baptism. Her cousin gifted her lots of church materials, and she is reading the scriptures and learning hymns. She is a super special girl. Two weeks before was the baptism of Ilrych Messidor, the Haitian that the elders were teaching! He is an amazing person. Here is a photo from his baptism as well that I loved. A member of the stake was there and gifted him the tie from his very neck.

Here is a picture in the hospital with Lizbeth, one of the smaller members in the ward with a big heart. She is super smart and very talented, but she was sitting in class the other day and suddenly one side of her face went limp and she couldn´t talk. She returned to normal that same night but is going through some studies. She has a lot of spunk and invited us to her house the next day- ¨obliga´o¨ haha.

Letter from 3/19/2014

This has been a really good week, from what I remember... haha. Time is flying by here in the mission. We had a really good special training last Thursday, then the mission tour yesterday with Elder Zivic of the Seventy. We have been learning SO much. In Spanish. It makes me a little brain dead. haha. We are finding lots of people to teach and having some really cool experiences. I was on exchanges Thursday night with a sister leader, Hermana Kelshaw, and we went to visit a neat family we have been teaching. Come to find out that they have been reading the Book of Mormon, and have a testimony that Joseph Smith was a true prophet!!! They have some family problems, but I have faith that the gospel will help them to change and resolve the problems they have. I'm trying to remember what all else I wanted to tell you guys... Next week is transfers, ALREADY. I cannot believe it. I will be very interested to know who my new companion will be. It's pretty much guaranteed that Hermana Veras and I are splitting up. 3 transfers is a lot. I had a VERY cool experience with fasting this last week, and I strongly encourage you all to apply the law of the fast to your lives and witness how blessed you will become. Isaiah 58 is a good read concerning fasting. Oh gosh, time just goes by so fast! I don't have more time to write right this minute, so I will do my best to send pictures next week- probably Thursday, but we will see. I know there is a lot going on in your lives right now, but I just hope that you can remember to trust in Heavenly Father and remember that obedience brings blessings. I know you are making really good choices and changes in your lives. I can't wait to be with you again and see how much everyone has changed and grown. But I will wait because the mission is really special and I am being so blessed for being here! Off to La Calle del Sol and Price Smart! Happy late St. Patrick's Day!!

Hermana Harden

Pictures from 3/5/2014

Letter from 3/12/2014

I´m glad you liked the pictures!! I haven´t taken many more that I want to send, and we decided to come directly here after the salon for my companion, so I don´t have my little converter with me anyway. Taking good pictures will be my challenge for this next week. Anyway, I heard from Josh! I love getting letters from you guys individually. It sounds like you are all quite busy these days. I guess I´m busy too, in a special kind of way. Haha. I am excited to hear about Jared in theater and orchestra and Jacob in band and art. I about DIED laughing about Dad leaving the boys behind at church. That will be me someday, I already know. I´ll make army tags for my kids to wear, so the people at large can just send them to me. Lol.

I promise you that I am eating... a LOT. haha. We just walk and sweat a ton. I do my morning exercises too, although they really aren´t all that intense. We played kickball today, which was entertaining in spite of the fact that my team lost. Some of us played soccer after, and I fell hard on my butt. That is just one of the many graceful things I have done this week. I broke the lid to the tank of our toilet- there was no water, so I had to manually fill the tank with water to flush, and the lid wasn´t flat on the ground, so of course it fell and split in two. I really can´t be trusted. Then that same day, my bolto got caught on a part sticking out of a motorcycle. Luckily it was an old motorcycle just chilling, which meant that it fell instead of me, and someone just came out and helped me prop it up again... no big deal... but still. haha. I am nothing short of a walking disaster sometimes.

We went to help a friend of ours prepare and pack for her mission yesterday. It was actually super emotional for me because she will be leaving her family and country behind like I did. She will be serving in the Mexico Cancun mission. I don´t think it has hit her yet, but I was having all kinds of flashbacks. Her name is Dariana- she was waiting for me with the other sister missionaries when I stepped foot into Mao for the very first time. I will definitely miss her! I´ll take a photo with her and send it next week.

Next week we go to Santiago for P-Day Santiago! I will take lots of photos there and tell you all about it. Price Smart here I come! Haha. This week was Carnaval here in Mao, but I don´t have any fun pictures of it because the main day was Sunday. I did, however get smacked in the butt by some kids with their little balloon-ball-batons. I don´t know how best to describe them, but they look kind of like rugby balls with a strap, but are much softer... thank goodness. Haha. I am feeling kind of scatterbrained, so I will try to write down some of my cooler experiences this next week to relate. I love you all so much and hope all is going well over there!! All my love and prayers,

Hermana Harden

Letter from 3/5/2014

I do not think I will get transferred from Mao. It´s possible, but all signs point to me staying here. I think my comp and I will definitely be separated. 3 transfers is a lot. Haha. I will definitely keep an eye out for those missionaries. I had heard of Sister Wolf before the mission, but have yet to run into her. There is an Elder King in my zone from Dallas! It´s fun to have another North Texan around. I´m attaching a picture from our old district because I don´t have a new one but at least you can see my face! The other gringo is Elder Day. Check out the difference between my old and new pair of Oxfords! Haha. I am trying to use the new ones sparingly because I love them. Which reminds me... did Josh buy some Toms? Have him send a pic! Anywayyyyy...

Do you remember the family I mentioned who is preparing to be sealed? Well I was super happy for them, but it was still kind of this ¨now what?¨scenario. We weren´t sure how committed they were. Then Sunday happened. The wife of the spousal unit... because I don´t know how else to phrase it, haha... called us over with the bishop after Relief Society in church. She started to ask some questions about revelation, then told us that she had a dream that the four of us missionaries were having a family home evening, talking about being sealed. She said that she knew it was us, but it was like we weren´t ourselves and that God was talking directly to her. She REALLY wants to be sealed! It was a really amazing blessing, because I think this is what was missing. She had some doubts about it before, but she is all in and really excited now!!

Here are the parents of the family! They are a truly wonderful bunch of people. They have three daughters, ranging in age from college, high school, and eleven. Haha. I´m so eloquent and specific these days. I just took a picture here in the internet center. It´s coming next! Anyway, we also visit a less active brother who is a little older- probably between fifty and sixty- and this last time two of his friends were in his little sewing shop, a man and a woman. It was SO funny because I kept thinking that they reminded me of me, Ryan Davis and Jake Stolzer, but old and Dominican. Hahaha.

The brother who we normally teach will be active in the church again as of Sunday, as well as the family we are preparing to be sealed. Of the two friends of the seamster, one of them is an inactive member and the woman actually was an investigator back in the eighties. She knew about the church before both of them! We gave her a Book of Mormon and we have an appointment with all of them again this Friday. I have a really good feeling about her, especially. As far as studies go, I was reading in Hebrews 11 this week. There are some really interesting teachings about faith. You should definitely check it out if you can.

Just realized that I have crazy eyes in that picture. Haha. These are the bishop´s sons, Angel Luis and Juan Luis. Everyone is Luis in that family. Haha. The one in the striped shirt is Angel, who just got his mission call. Juan is still waiting for his call. Their other brother is currently serving in Mexico! I think a lot of the missionaries from here serve within the country, but I have also heard of calls to Mexico, Colombia and the US. I think Angel was maybe hoping for something more exciting, but as an American serving here, I know that he will be SUCH an awesome companion and huge help to the other missionaries who come here.

As for the house, here is a picture of the kitchen, shortly after moving in. It looks nice, but it´s kind of like living in a model home because things aren´t built well. We are still very happy to be living here, though. Elder Morey and Elder Jimenez came by today to check things out and see what we needed, so we are all good here. The water is special. We use a clean, empty trash can to collect water when it comes when we are showering. I usually wash my hair right away so I can rinse under the tap and put in conditioner. I use the collected water to wash the rest of my body and rinse a final rinse when the water comes around a second time. Haha. Only about a 10-15 minute process! Pretty impressive, considering it´s cold. Haha.

For fun, here is a picture of Elder Torres climbing a coconut tree! He is one of our zone leaders and serves in the same ward as me. His nickname is niño Torres because he looks like a giant 11 year old. He kind of acts like one, too. In a good way. Haha. He wants to have his own animal tv show in the future. I told him I would watch it every week. Haha. He´s going to study marine biology after the mission. We were in a district meeting and Elder Day started chasing him. Next thing I know, I hear the window behind me open and there is Elder Torres, peeking through. Hahaha. I promise we are good missionaries who work hard and behave! I guess that´s the missionary spotlight for the week. Haha.

No, we don´t have a water heater, it was all a ruse. Haha. But sometimes when I want to feel special I heat it on the stove. 

I have to go now, I didn´t get to try to order the scripture cases, so you can if you want. Haha. Ohhhh lands. I love you mom!!!