Letter 8/20/2014

Letter 8/20/2013 -- I am SO GLAD that the house sold!! I have been praying fervently for that to work out! That is a big relief. I am also so amazed that you guys are already up there in Banner Elk, exploring the sites! Not to mention that school has started... I have a feeling that you and Dad might get roped into getting that Scouting program going... just saying. haha. If you think about it, send me pics as you get the house all sorted out and furnished. I can´t wait to see it all lived-in looking.  That´s so cool about the boys and their MacBook homework. I´ve been thinking that I will probably go Mac next time, myself. Then they can help me. haha.

Things are going well here in Tamboril- my companion and I are having lots of fun and really good lessons.  I have set a goal for myself to read all of the standard works before I go home, starting now.  We went to the doctor today to check out Hermana Bates´s ankle. She had chikungunya a month or two ago, and it leaves you with joint pain, for up to a year or two in some cases. She´s really active though, so I think it will work itself out in a couple of months. We also went to the store in Santiago, since we were there. It was nice to be able to buy normal things... that is, if you consider a gallon of yogurt to be normal. haha.

This week really flew by for me, so I don´t have any new pictures, but I will repent and send something interesting next week.  We were supposed to go to Nagua today, up to a beach near Samaná. (There are whales in Samaná!) We will now be going on the 3rd of next month, but Moca went today. I miss some of my friends from my old zone, but Hermana De La Cruz still calls me from time to time to tell me how crazy everyone is behaving. haha. It´s so cool to make friends with people from all over the world. I´m glad things like Facebook exist, so we can keep in touch after, too. Not to mention keeping in touch with investigators and converts. I´m so grateful for technology. 

Well, I guess that´s it for big news from the DR, but I hope you are all having an excellent week! Another report is coming soon!!

Hermana Harden 

Letter 8/13/2014

Mission: accomplished.  Man, I miss you. I got the boxes! Both of them. The purple watch you got me matches my companion´s! She has it in teal, so now we are wonder twins.  A recent convert gave us these avocados. There is one more, but as you can see, I had my hands full. haha. I thought of a tagline for this picture- Avocado season... it´s kind of a big deal. lol. People have been gifting us SO many avocados. We don´t even know what to do with them. I made guac and I use it on my egg sandwiches. It´s actually awesome. Pic of that coming later. Here is a picture of Señor Nutella Banana Face. Here is the delicious sandwich. The mustard is very necessary. I like it with swiss cheese.  The cup there has starfruit juice in it. De-lish! Anyway, things are going well here in Tamboril. I realized that I only have 5 transfers left, so that made me feel weird. Oh, here´s something funny/cool: Two people in the last week have told me that I sound like I´m Argentinian. Isn´t that weird?? One of them told me that if she wasn´t looking at me, she wouldn´t know that I´m American. I took that as a quirky compliment.  Aug 13
Here is yesterday´s lunch. Eating *healthy* cough, cough... haha. A lot of oil went into that meal. The spinach was kind of bitter, but I felt a little better about myself after eating it. haha. And this is Sister Bates! My spud of a companion, get it? haha. Ohhhh sense of humor... where have you gone... haha.Want to know why we felt the need to eat healthy? I´ll show you why... haha. THIS was the magical ice cream we went to go eat after I wrote last week. It´s at a supermarket in Santiago. I ABOUT DIED AND WENT TO THE CELESTIAL KINGDOM right then and there.  We are already saving up for round two. :)) I had a double scoop cone with mint chocolate chip and caramel with chocolate. Divine is the word my mouth learned that day.  Here is the other half of the flavors. AND the guy was like: ¨Do you want to do some taste tests?¨ I bet he gets a lot of girls.  Anyway, long story short is that Hermana Bates and I are having a good old time.  We have some investigators who already know a LOT of doctrinal truths that most people don´t know. It is SO cool to teach them. Also it´s hot today in Tamboril... but that is more normal than not.  I hope all of you are having a great week, thanks for all of your love, support and emails!! Stay true to the faith!!

Letter from 8/6/2014

Wow! I am SO EXCITED that everything is working out how you wanted!! Well, maybe not EXACTLY, but YAY NORTH CAROLINA!!! I am so pumped. :) Well, I am also nervous because what do you mean, Texas isn´t home anymore?? Haha. Do I tell people that I´m from Texas still? I´m going to go with yes. Wow, I am so excited for you guys. I will be praying a lot a lot a lot for the house to sell and for everything to go smoothly, but obviously Heavenly Father is already blessing you with answers to your prayers, so I´m not too worried. :) I wish I had been there with all of the family last weekend, but I was off not teaching english because no one came to English class... :( We´ll have to announce it this Sunday.

Here´s something cool about last Wednesday, my first day in Tamboril- we went to a dinner with a BUNCH OF AMERICANS. Aww yeah. haha. There´s an organization called H.E.F.Y., or Humanitarian Experiences for Youth. They were there at a member´s house to eat some traditional Dominican food (espaghetis y pastelón) and learn how to play dominoes. :) It was fun, and the counselors were both RMs, so it was cool to talk to them.

I love my companion, Hermana Bates!! She is so much fun and I learn so much from her every day. Yesterday we had a zone conference with my old zone, so I got to see lots of friends. My old comp is doing great. :) President and Sister Douglas taught us some easy family home evening games in one part of the conference and did so by example. One word: hil.ar.i.ous. hahaha. Anyway, I am really enjoying Tamboril- lots of people gift us platanos and rulos and guayabas and aguacates. :) It actually reminds me of Texas in a weird way. I like it a lot. The people are super nice here as well. The other day we were coming home from a family home evening and Sister Bates and I started full-on RUNNING to make it to the door at 9:30 exactly. haha. We are having a lot of fun.

Anyway, I better go! It´s not a lot today, but that´s because lots of friends wrote, which is happy. :) I will get back to all of you soon, I promise! Sister Bates and I have an appointment with some mint chocolate chip ice cream. We plan to be punctual. haha. All my love!!

Hermana Harden

Letter from 7/30/2014

I DID get transferred. I am in Tamboril! I am the senior companion now, to my new comp Hermana Bates. She´s from Idaho and really sweet. :) (Mom -- Is she new?) She´s not brand new, her companion before me was her trainer. I am what you would call her step-mom in mission talk. haha. I´m a little closer to Santiago. Tamboril is supposedly the cigar capital of the world. Fun fact. haha. 

(Mom -- What’s the area like?)  It´s hard to say, still. I just got to the house this afternoon, which is a third level apartment again and in good condition. Yay!!! haha. It seems more like Mao than Moca, I think I can safely say.

(Her comments about pictures that I sent her from North Carolina and our potential move.)  Wow, it´s so incredibly beautiful there! It´s funny, it reminds me of the Lake Eden mysteries! I hope everything works out in a very clear, content kind of way. It sounds like the house is getting closer and closer to selling. Try not to stress out too much!  Changes are always stressful. I am learning a lot about how to cope with stress here in the mission. Especially now that I am the experienced/responsible one in the companionship. haha. I am so excited that you are so close to getting a plan set! I will be excited to tell everyone I know what´s going on at home. :)

Here is a photo of myself and the other missionaries who were in Moca with me. Hna De La Cruz, at my side is Elder Castro from Peru and at his side is Elder Vazquez who is headed back to Mexico. He´s done with his mission!

Fun fact: Elder Castro is an accomplished dancer/ dance instructor. I have not seen any proof, however. haha.

Anyway, like I mentioned, I am here in Tamboril! It´s a little crazy that I am already in a new area, but hey! That´s the mission for you. I am excited to be here and a little nervous. I can´t believe how fast time is passing me by. I´m trying to make the most of every day and every opportunity. I´m still working on my cooking skillz too. Haha. Here is the evidence, which resembles cottage pie. (It is cottage pie.) haha.

Tuesday (yesterday) was my last English class in Moca. I was just getting some new adorable students, which makes me super sad. We had been talking about cooking verbs and vocab, so we made the chocolate oatmeal cookies you sent. It was the best good-bye party ever. I´m actually incredibly grateful for my teaching experience in Moca. Also for the support of the elders, who always came to keep the kids in order and participated. Although I have already been dropped in a new area (like a newborn giraffe) I will cherish the important lessons and moments I was blessed with in Moca. Here are some of my most loyal and sweet students from English class. They actually came from the other chapel in Moca... one of the elders told me that I was stealing his students. haha.

Ruth, Mayelin y Madelin

Anyway, it´s about time for me to sign off already, but I will be keeping all of the family and my friends in my prayers. Please keep me in yours! There are a lot of missionaries with chikungunya, but they´re all getting over it just fine. I´m sticking with my repellent and I´ll be putting up my mosquito net tonight. haha. My greatest concerns now are the shift to ¨dying¨ missionary and all of the responsibilities that come with that. Time to get humble. haha. Missing you all and thinking of you often!

Hermana Harden