Hej alle min familie og venner!
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So did you catch that first paragraph? Its only danish, everyone is speaking it....haha. Just kidding. I just found out that Denmark's population has hit a record of 5 and a half million people! whoot, whoot! The Danes are pretty excited about that! I read it in one of the headlines on the paper! This little country is starting to grow! haha. The danish people are so proud. Speaking of Denmark, Fall has finally hit. I swear it happened over night. One day all the leaves are green and fresh on the trees and the next, yellow and red falling on the ground. My first and last fall in Denmark. Next fall, I am heading home!
Something for a culture thing i learned this week is how they do there grading here in Denmark. I have no idea if it interests you, but I thought it was very interesting. We were at one of our investigators apartment and we started talking about America and how we use the ABCDF, as our grading score. He started telling me how it is done in Denmark. He told me its a number systems as follows. -3,-2,-1,0,2,4,7,10,12. I thought it was very interesting. We started talking and we figured out the comparison to our grade system.
-3 = F
-2 = F
-1 = F
0 = F
2 = D
4 = C
7 = B
10 = A
12 = A+
I don't know if that's the official translation, you could say, but I do think its the right idea. I just think its very fascinating. Why have 3 different ways to say you failed? I guess so you know how bad you really did mess up, right? haha. So that's my culture shock I experienced this week. I don't think I would do so hot with this system. Failing is hard enough, but knowing how bad you really did fail would just be heart wrenching. haha.
So I just want you to know this week has been one of the longest weeks of my life. Its been that way for many reasons, but most of all its just been because of a lot of drama from one investigator, that I will talk about later.
The week began with a wonderful appointment with a new member that just moved in from Brazil! Her name is Islandia and she invited us over when she was a church on Sunday. She actually has been in Denmark for a while but just moved in to Århus. Shes been to church the last month and she actually asked me to be a part of her babies blessing at church. She just had a baby, and let me tell you its a cute baby! haha. I felt it an honor that she asked me. So I was a part of that 2 Sundays ago. Well this last Sunday she told us her baby is sick and wanted us to give her baby a priesthood blessing. So we came over Monday Morning and had a good chat with her and helped her baby. It was a neat experience. We found out she also served a mission and we just had a good time chatting with her about the "Good old days" haha. Shes a great person! She wanted us over for dinner on Thursday.
So Thursday arrived and let me tell you it was the best food I have had in a long time. One thing about Denmark is the Danish food is very boring. They use very little spices and exotic foods. A typical danish meal consists of Potatoes, gravy, some bread, and a big chunk of meat. Give or take the type of potato and meat! haha. So to be honest I have gotten really sick of Danish food. So when we went over to Islandias she made us authentic Brazilian Food! WOW! It was so amazing! It makes my mouth water now just thinking about it! What was also neat is her mother was over for vacation and she currently lives in Brazil, so her mother helped make the food with authentic food she brought over to Denmark. I hope that's legal? haha. She told us how she feeds the missionaries all the time in Brazil and feeds them what she made for us... Let me tell you those missionaries are spoiled! haha. The food was incredible and was very thankful for that. I am not sure how to describe the food, but it was a sort of pasta with a special sauce, some tasty beans, and ground meat, with spices and other fancy things with. Just take my word for it, it was great food!
Then on Tuesday we went to a city called Odense to witness a baptism. We brought our investigator Nicole to come with to see it. Well lets just say that day didn't go as planned. This Nicole is a difficult person and shes very hard to please. The reason I brought her was so she could meet more members to make more friends. However like I said shes hard to please and didn't like any of the members. She said she didn't have a great time. A lot of it has to do with because we found out about transfers that day. I am staying in Århus and am receiving a new companion called Ældste Warner. Warner was at the baptism and met Nicole but Nicole didn't like him at all. So she started talking bad about him to me, and though I may not agree with everything Warner does, i did not like how harsh she was about him and about the members. She continued with her harsh personality through out the week and got mad at me and my companion for all kinds of stupid things. Its like she thinks we are the big bad wolfs, doing all we can to ruin her life... um whatever... Not the case. haha. In short, things got so bad I finally called her out on it. I finally told her she has no right to treat me or my companion badly. Well as you can imagine she didn't take that well, and she is no longer an investigator. I talked to my mission president about it, and from he said, I handled it right. He told me that even Jesus Christ a perfect man, once and a while rebuked people. He said I have the right to stand up and be bold with people, as I don't need to be treated bad. Especially from an investigator. Its sad that this has happened but the spirit cannot be present if shes treating me or my companion bad. This benefits her too because nothing is going to happen if the spirit cannot be present.
So wow, Nicole. It almost sounds like a TV show drama doesn't it? Oh the life of a missionary, right?
On a more happier note we have a wonderful investigator named Janet. She is from Ghana but has lived in Denmark for many years. She is such a sweet girl and is very interested in the gospel. In fact she now has a baptismal DATE! Yea, baby! We have scheduled her baptism for November 27th 2010! She is not 100% sure church is true, but she told us she is willing to do anything to find out! So exciting stuff! She already loves the Book of Mormon, and loves our church. So I feel good things are going to happen with her, and am thankful for her faith and willingness. We have only met with her twice so to be honest I don't know much about her. I will keep you updated as things continue with her! :)
We also met with another investigator named Tobias! He is such a cool guy and we just always enjoy hanging out with him. He is around 24 years old, I think. He is in college and is just a nice guy. We had a great appointment with him yesterday, and he also fed us Pizza! haha. We talked and taught him about life after death. This is something that kind of worries him. We had a good discussion and I believe his curiosity is getting bigger and bigger! In all things are going great with him, and to be honest I just appreciate how drama free he is. He treats Hebbert and I great, and really respects us for what we do. He is a prefect example of how every investigator should be! :)
As an update, Christina Wydallis, The girl I helped baptize in Slagelse is doing really well. I just found out she has done baptisms in the temple and just received her first calling in the church. She is the first counselor in the young women s organization! I am so proud of her and so happy she is doing so well in the church. I have been told she has been going out with the missionaries to help teach and has continued to be a great help and strength to the Slagelse Ward! I still leap for joy over her and brag about her to everyone! haha. I am just so glad shes been immersed in the ward! I still love Slagelse and miss it! Just wanted to let you know shes doing amazing! :)
Thats my highlights for the week! Many other things happened, but these were the most important. My new companion arrives Wednesday and my old companion is being sent to an area called Bornholm! its a small island next to Sweden! So he should have a great time there! I sure love you all and wish you the very best week!
I added more pictures to my online album of my mission! If you would like to check them out here is the link! If you scroll down to the bottom you will see 7 new photos! :)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050153&id=1429813720&l=949816a8a6
Also, check out the new www.mormon.org! It is way neat and has a lot to do with missionary work! I even have a profile! Check it out, here is the link!
http://mormon.org/me/1YK1-eng/Skyler
You know me and technology, not even a mission can keep me away from it! haha. I sure love you all! Thanks for all your love, support, and your many prayers! I can feel them working!
Din Danske Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Your Denmark Missionary 09-20-10
Hello Everyone!
It is so nice to be able to be at the computer today to write to you! I have pretty much exhausted and worn out as this last week as been very crazy! I am ready for a nap, and a 5 year vacation! Anybody want to go to Disney world?.... haha. Just kidding, I have 1 year left to go! Is that crazy or what? I have been on my mission for one year! That just about blows my mind! I will tell you what though, Its been a long, very learned filled year. Its going to be crazy to see what else comes along.
So this week to begin we had an appointment with our investigator named Nicole. I think I mentioned her last week. Well its been quite the little adventure with her! She is an awesome person and I couldn't ask for a nice person to teach. However she really needs the gospel in her life, more than I think she herself even realizes. Shes is doing will with the "Mormon Challenge" and as told us multiple times it is a better lifestyle. She feels much better about herself and knows why we Mormons live it. However she is a little bored as all her friends are still living her old lifestyle, so still drinking, smoking etc, etc. So she do-sent want to go out with them, but is super bored. So we are trying our best to have her meet new members and build relationships within the church. Its hard for her though as there are very few young people in the ward... however we are managing. She really likes us missionaries and loves hanging out with Americans. However she is progressing and is doing quite well.
This week we also met with Sam! He is the Chinese guy we have been teaching for a while! He is way cool and Elder Hebbert and I just really enjoy teaching him! Well the unfortunate thing is we only have 2 more appointments before he heads off to China for 2 years! So this last appointment we taught him the ten commandments and he understood them perfectly. So no worries there. We also taught him a little bit of our church history and our prophets. He just loves learning it and finds our history completely amazing. We also had him say the closing prayer in our appointment and spoke an amazing prayer. I am really going to miss this guy and felt very sad after the appointment as I have really enjoyed his company and teaching him! I am going to go all out on these last 2 appointments! haha!
We also this week have 2 new people in our English class that we teach. They are 2 people from Korea. Its a man and his wife. He speaks great English but his wife does not. So we are basically starting from scratch on teaching her English. Its going to be rough, but I think its going to be fun. Over time I hope to be able to teach them about the church! Who knows! however, they are really nice, humble people. Sam also comes to our English classes, and now hes helping us teach! haha. Tuesday nights are a lot of fun during language classes! :)
This week we also had a crazy p-day to celebrate my year mark! We went to a viking museum in Denmark and ate good food and just played games all day! I had 2 other people in nearby areas that were in my MTC group, come to Århus! It was a lot of fun and it was a good relaxing day! The museum was very cool and we learned a lot. We saw a skeleton of a Viking and how they lived in the ancient days of Århus, then called Aros. So fun day and now I am on the countdown home! Exciting stuff! I also ate at Subway again as one just opened up! I am excited! :)
The day before my fun p-day we actually had massive splits in Århus. So because I had an appointment I had 2 other missionaries that knew Marianne very well go meet her. They had a great experience with her! So Marianne basically just wanted to talk and take the missionaries to her church. So Marianne had the job to bring bread that week to her church, so Elder Davis and Elder Camp (The 2 missionaries I assigned) went with her and entered the church building. All those members in that church were very nice to them and asked questions about our church. They were all very respectful to Elder camp and Davis. Well as they were chatting Mariann's Priest came and started to Bible bash with Camp and Davis! Well Camp and Davis held there ground and were very respectful and told the priest that if he would read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, he could also know if it was true. Now I don't know about you but I was worried in this part of the story as what is Marianne thinking... is she going to drop us. etc etc. Well after the priest was finished arguing... he called Marianne into his office. Marianne told Davis and Camp to wait for her. Camp and Davis waited for her for 20 minutes and then left the church building. Camp and Davis were so nervous that Marianne was going to drop them when Marianna burst out and said, "THAT WAS AWESOME! YOU GUYS ARE FANTASTIC!" IT turned out that she was so impressed with the way they handled themselves. So Marianne is doing awesome! She told Camp and Davis she never really was happy at that church! haha.
As for an update on Tobias. We have an appointment with him Today! So next week I will tell you how it went! Exciting stuff! :)
As for me I am doing well. I have very tired but managing to stay busy here in Århus! We have been everywhere these last week trying to meet less actives, meeting with Nicole and other investigators, meet with members, and just trying to do the work of the lord. It can be very exhausting.
So my spiritual message for the day kind of goes with my situation, and Nicole's and all of are other investigators. One thing my parents always taught me and something I am finally really starting to understand, is nothing is life that's worth it, comes easy. Anything worth while will take a lot of work. For me this mission is a lot of work... to be honest it would be easier to turn in the badge and come home. However I know it will be worth it in the end, and that's why I continue and work hard. Nicole and Marianna, and Tobias in Sam.. all know its not easy to be a Mormon, but eventually they will know. and it will be worth it in the end! So remember.. things that are hard and difficult in life will always be worth it in the end!
I sure love you all and wish you the very best! Have a great week!
Your Denmark Missionary,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
It is so nice to be able to be at the computer today to write to you! I have pretty much exhausted and worn out as this last week as been very crazy! I am ready for a nap, and a 5 year vacation! Anybody want to go to Disney world?.... haha. Just kidding, I have 1 year left to go! Is that crazy or what? I have been on my mission for one year! That just about blows my mind! I will tell you what though, Its been a long, very learned filled year. Its going to be crazy to see what else comes along.
So this week to begin we had an appointment with our investigator named Nicole. I think I mentioned her last week. Well its been quite the little adventure with her! She is an awesome person and I couldn't ask for a nice person to teach. However she really needs the gospel in her life, more than I think she herself even realizes. Shes is doing will with the "Mormon Challenge" and as told us multiple times it is a better lifestyle. She feels much better about herself and knows why we Mormons live it. However she is a little bored as all her friends are still living her old lifestyle, so still drinking, smoking etc, etc. So she do-sent want to go out with them, but is super bored. So we are trying our best to have her meet new members and build relationships within the church. Its hard for her though as there are very few young people in the ward... however we are managing. She really likes us missionaries and loves hanging out with Americans. However she is progressing and is doing quite well.
This week we also met with Sam! He is the Chinese guy we have been teaching for a while! He is way cool and Elder Hebbert and I just really enjoy teaching him! Well the unfortunate thing is we only have 2 more appointments before he heads off to China for 2 years! So this last appointment we taught him the ten commandments and he understood them perfectly. So no worries there. We also taught him a little bit of our church history and our prophets. He just loves learning it and finds our history completely amazing. We also had him say the closing prayer in our appointment and spoke an amazing prayer. I am really going to miss this guy and felt very sad after the appointment as I have really enjoyed his company and teaching him! I am going to go all out on these last 2 appointments! haha!
We also this week have 2 new people in our English class that we teach. They are 2 people from Korea. Its a man and his wife. He speaks great English but his wife does not. So we are basically starting from scratch on teaching her English. Its going to be rough, but I think its going to be fun. Over time I hope to be able to teach them about the church! Who knows! however, they are really nice, humble people. Sam also comes to our English classes, and now hes helping us teach! haha. Tuesday nights are a lot of fun during language classes! :)
This week we also had a crazy p-day to celebrate my year mark! We went to a viking museum in Denmark and ate good food and just played games all day! I had 2 other people in nearby areas that were in my MTC group, come to Århus! It was a lot of fun and it was a good relaxing day! The museum was very cool and we learned a lot. We saw a skeleton of a Viking and how they lived in the ancient days of Århus, then called Aros. So fun day and now I am on the countdown home! Exciting stuff! I also ate at Subway again as one just opened up! I am excited! :)
The day before my fun p-day we actually had massive splits in Århus. So because I had an appointment I had 2 other missionaries that knew Marianne very well go meet her. They had a great experience with her! So Marianne basically just wanted to talk and take the missionaries to her church. So Marianne had the job to bring bread that week to her church, so Elder Davis and Elder Camp (The 2 missionaries I assigned) went with her and entered the church building. All those members in that church were very nice to them and asked questions about our church. They were all very respectful to Elder camp and Davis. Well as they were chatting Mariann's Priest came and started to Bible bash with Camp and Davis! Well Camp and Davis held there ground and were very respectful and told the priest that if he would read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, he could also know if it was true. Now I don't know about you but I was worried in this part of the story as what is Marianne thinking... is she going to drop us. etc etc. Well after the priest was finished arguing... he called Marianne into his office. Marianne told Davis and Camp to wait for her. Camp and Davis waited for her for 20 minutes and then left the church building. Camp and Davis were so nervous that Marianne was going to drop them when Marianna burst out and said, "THAT WAS AWESOME! YOU GUYS ARE FANTASTIC!" IT turned out that she was so impressed with the way they handled themselves. So Marianne is doing awesome! She told Camp and Davis she never really was happy at that church! haha.
As for an update on Tobias. We have an appointment with him Today! So next week I will tell you how it went! Exciting stuff! :)
As for me I am doing well. I have very tired but managing to stay busy here in Århus! We have been everywhere these last week trying to meet less actives, meeting with Nicole and other investigators, meet with members, and just trying to do the work of the lord. It can be very exhausting.
So my spiritual message for the day kind of goes with my situation, and Nicole's and all of are other investigators. One thing my parents always taught me and something I am finally really starting to understand, is nothing is life that's worth it, comes easy. Anything worth while will take a lot of work. For me this mission is a lot of work... to be honest it would be easier to turn in the badge and come home. However I know it will be worth it in the end, and that's why I continue and work hard. Nicole and Marianna, and Tobias in Sam.. all know its not easy to be a Mormon, but eventually they will know. and it will be worth it in the end! So remember.. things that are hard and difficult in life will always be worth it in the end!
I sure love you all and wish you the very best! Have a great week!
Your Denmark Missionary,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Monday, September 27, 2010
Your Denmark Missionary 09-13-10
Hello Everyone!
Its great to be here at the Århus Library on the computer to write to you today! So this last week as literally felt like a year to me. So many things happened that I forgot it was only a week! haha. However its been good and full of some exciting experiences! It also might have felt slow as I hit my YEAR MARK on Thursday! YEA BABY! I am so excited and I have a beautiful package from home waiting to be opened.... OK I lied. I already opened it. Its like a kid on Christmas... way hard to wait! haha. It was a lot of fun to eat the American goodies. So enjoy what you have over there in USA, As I miss it a lot! :)
So to begin at the beginning of the week, we had an appointment with our buddy and fun investigator Sam. Sam is From China! Actually his real name is Fu-sheng. In china they actually put there last name first. So his first name is Sheng and his last name is Fu! However danish people really struggle pronouncing there names so he decided to make is English name Sam. So we just call him Sam when we met with him. I really like the Chinese people because of him. Sam is just a good guy. When we first met the missionaries he didn't know anything about Jesus Christ or God or the atonement... nothing. Sam actually told us that while growing up they teach them at God doesn't exist and other scary things. Hes been meeting with the missionaries for a few months now, and has grown a great love for Jesus Christ and God. We speak English with him and he can for the most part understand. However, it has been tough trying to explain things to him. However thanks to the miracle of technology and videos with translations... we managed to use those tools to teach him about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have some wonderful news for you, that he has a baptismal date for January 22 2011. Yes its a ways off, but its because he has to go back to China for 2 months. Then hes coming back to finish his schooling. He are working with the mission president and ward and him and see if maybe we can move the date before he leaves. Lots of things come into play with that... and if its the Lords will it will happen. We did go over the baptismal interview questions and he passed. He also bore his testimony with us and said, "Of all the Christan churches I have visited I know yours is true because I feel something special here." So yea! He then continued and told us he knows the Book of Mormon is true! Hes excited to become a member, and to top it all of we have Chinese member to help him. So things are going great with him! Hes just a good guy, down to earth, and his excited to teach his kids one day about God. Exciting stuff!
Then on Thursday we had another appointment with a man from the Jehovah's Witness Church. We ran into him many times on the street, and he seemed interested in our church. He was nice so my companion and I decided to give him a chance. Normally people of this church, all they want to do is argue with us. So we met up with him and had a good talk. He kept trying to convince us with scriptures and facts and data... etc etc etc. His facts were also very messed up anyways, they didn't really make sense. All we told him is in the Book of Mormon in Moroni, if you pray with a sincere heart you can know if its true. That was the entire message we kept trying to teach him. We shared Joseph Smith story and other various Book of Mormon stories... however nothing really progressed with him. He tried to fight that topic but he knows the bible says the same thing. He also tried teaching me about his church and I was very polite and listened to him, and said I would pray about it and see if its true. He didn't like that answer.. haha. Anyways after that appointment I was actually more confused on what they believe in, then before. haha. He said he didn't feel comfortable with the book of Mormon so I told him, I understand but the only way your going to know if its true or not is to read it... so yea nothing really progressed with him. However I feel my testimony was very much strengthened after that appointment. I realized how much sence and logical our church really is compared to the many religions around the world. I am so thankful I am a Mormon! :)
Then this week we also had an appointment with Marianne! Everything is completely fine with her. I just panicked a little last week. I found out she had a friend unacceptably come into town, so she wanted to hang out with him. I was so relieved to hear that's why she cancelled. So she gave me a call Thursday evening and asked if she could meet on Friday with her friend at 12:30! I was like, YEA! Of course! EVERYONE is welcome! :) SO we had an amazing lesson with her. We taught her the plan of salvation and she just thought it was incredible! She shared various Scriptures with her in the Book of Mormon and she was just blown away. She loved how much hope was in the plan... that there is a "happy ending" you could say. She just ate it up and was just so happy. Her friend also enjoyed it but was confused how we are different from other churches. So we ended up teaching him about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He also loved it! However we found out he is from England... :( and wont be staying in Denmark. So we gave him a Book of Mormon and was very thankful for it. Said he would look the church up in England. Good guy and Marianne also encouraged him to look of the church, as shes just loving it! :) So Marianne is doing awesome! Shes a sweet girl! :)
We also met with our other investigator named Nicole! Shes a great person, but is just a little lost you could say. Shes not sure about the whole religion thing. Shes done questionable things in her past. So this last week I was just reading in my scriptures and came across Alma 32. I came across this verse where the prophet Alma is telling these people to experiment on his words and plant a seed of faith. As I read that I immediately thought of Nicole. So the next appointment we had with her, we had a awesome appointment. It started up with just talking and enjoying some food. Then we began the lesson. I shared with her Alma 32 and how these people experimented with Alma's words and began to believe in something. She thought it was a sweet story, then I turned to her and said, so I have a challenge for you! I told her I wanted to her "Experiment" with being a Mormon! haha. Shes knows the church for many, many years, and I felt it was time to really challenge her! Well, she took the challenge! So that means following all the commandments, coming to church, everything! :) We explained its going to be rough, but shes willing to do it! :) So our task with her is helping her see how blessed and happy you can be by following the "Mormon Lifestyle" you could say! She started yesterday, and even texted me that when she went out to the restaurant she got a coke instead of a Beer! haha. So I feel this "Experiment" will be a good experience for her! :)
So this last Sunday we had stake conference! It was fun, we had to go clear to this small town called Herning, where they rented out a large conference center room. I am on the part of Denmark called Jylland (Jutland in English) and they don't have a church building large enough to hold everyone. So we headed out there and had a good meeting. It was to be honest a little boring, but it was fun to see all the many members and see all my missionary buddies of course. Nicole also came along and seemed to have a great time. She had a hard time staying focused during the meeting, but in all was glad to be around good people.
So my spiritual message for the week goes with the scripture in Alma 32 that I shared with Nicole. I find this scripture very relevant to many of the things we do in the church. If you ever are in doubt with a new calling, maybe a new apostle or prophet being called, or other changes either in church structure or procedures, by council to you is experiment with it. If your not sure if Thomas Monsen is true prophet... try experimenting with that idea by in your mind having faith he is the prophet. I promise that as you let that faith and desire grown and you do it with a sincere heart, our Heavenly Father will bless and comfort you and help you find the answer you need. When things seem uncertain to you in the gospel don't let your faith doubt... experiment and expand your faith.
I sure love and appreciate all of you every much! I wish you all the very best week! May the lord bless and guide you and all that good stuff he likes to help us with! Take care!
Your Denmark Missionary,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Its great to be here at the Århus Library on the computer to write to you today! So this last week as literally felt like a year to me. So many things happened that I forgot it was only a week! haha. However its been good and full of some exciting experiences! It also might have felt slow as I hit my YEAR MARK on Thursday! YEA BABY! I am so excited and I have a beautiful package from home waiting to be opened.... OK I lied. I already opened it. Its like a kid on Christmas... way hard to wait! haha. It was a lot of fun to eat the American goodies. So enjoy what you have over there in USA, As I miss it a lot! :)
So to begin at the beginning of the week, we had an appointment with our buddy and fun investigator Sam. Sam is From China! Actually his real name is Fu-sheng. In china they actually put there last name first. So his first name is Sheng and his last name is Fu! However danish people really struggle pronouncing there names so he decided to make is English name Sam. So we just call him Sam when we met with him. I really like the Chinese people because of him. Sam is just a good guy. When we first met the missionaries he didn't know anything about Jesus Christ or God or the atonement... nothing. Sam actually told us that while growing up they teach them at God doesn't exist and other scary things. Hes been meeting with the missionaries for a few months now, and has grown a great love for Jesus Christ and God. We speak English with him and he can for the most part understand. However, it has been tough trying to explain things to him. However thanks to the miracle of technology and videos with translations... we managed to use those tools to teach him about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have some wonderful news for you, that he has a baptismal date for January 22 2011. Yes its a ways off, but its because he has to go back to China for 2 months. Then hes coming back to finish his schooling. He are working with the mission president and ward and him and see if maybe we can move the date before he leaves. Lots of things come into play with that... and if its the Lords will it will happen. We did go over the baptismal interview questions and he passed. He also bore his testimony with us and said, "Of all the Christan churches I have visited I know yours is true because I feel something special here." So yea! He then continued and told us he knows the Book of Mormon is true! Hes excited to become a member, and to top it all of we have Chinese member to help him. So things are going great with him! Hes just a good guy, down to earth, and his excited to teach his kids one day about God. Exciting stuff!
Then on Thursday we had another appointment with a man from the Jehovah's Witness Church. We ran into him many times on the street, and he seemed interested in our church. He was nice so my companion and I decided to give him a chance. Normally people of this church, all they want to do is argue with us. So we met up with him and had a good talk. He kept trying to convince us with scriptures and facts and data... etc etc etc. His facts were also very messed up anyways, they didn't really make sense. All we told him is in the Book of Mormon in Moroni, if you pray with a sincere heart you can know if its true. That was the entire message we kept trying to teach him. We shared Joseph Smith story and other various Book of Mormon stories... however nothing really progressed with him. He tried to fight that topic but he knows the bible says the same thing. He also tried teaching me about his church and I was very polite and listened to him, and said I would pray about it and see if its true. He didn't like that answer.. haha. Anyways after that appointment I was actually more confused on what they believe in, then before. haha. He said he didn't feel comfortable with the book of Mormon so I told him, I understand but the only way your going to know if its true or not is to read it... so yea nothing really progressed with him. However I feel my testimony was very much strengthened after that appointment. I realized how much sence and logical our church really is compared to the many religions around the world. I am so thankful I am a Mormon! :)
Then this week we also had an appointment with Marianne! Everything is completely fine with her. I just panicked a little last week. I found out she had a friend unacceptably come into town, so she wanted to hang out with him. I was so relieved to hear that's why she cancelled. So she gave me a call Thursday evening and asked if she could meet on Friday with her friend at 12:30! I was like, YEA! Of course! EVERYONE is welcome! :) SO we had an amazing lesson with her. We taught her the plan of salvation and she just thought it was incredible! She shared various Scriptures with her in the Book of Mormon and she was just blown away. She loved how much hope was in the plan... that there is a "happy ending" you could say. She just ate it up and was just so happy. Her friend also enjoyed it but was confused how we are different from other churches. So we ended up teaching him about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He also loved it! However we found out he is from England... :( and wont be staying in Denmark. So we gave him a Book of Mormon and was very thankful for it. Said he would look the church up in England. Good guy and Marianne also encouraged him to look of the church, as shes just loving it! :) So Marianne is doing awesome! Shes a sweet girl! :)
We also met with our other investigator named Nicole! Shes a great person, but is just a little lost you could say. Shes not sure about the whole religion thing. Shes done questionable things in her past. So this last week I was just reading in my scriptures and came across Alma 32. I came across this verse where the prophet Alma is telling these people to experiment on his words and plant a seed of faith. As I read that I immediately thought of Nicole. So the next appointment we had with her, we had a awesome appointment. It started up with just talking and enjoying some food. Then we began the lesson. I shared with her Alma 32 and how these people experimented with Alma's words and began to believe in something. She thought it was a sweet story, then I turned to her and said, so I have a challenge for you! I told her I wanted to her "Experiment" with being a Mormon! haha. Shes knows the church for many, many years, and I felt it was time to really challenge her! Well, she took the challenge! So that means following all the commandments, coming to church, everything! :) We explained its going to be rough, but shes willing to do it! :) So our task with her is helping her see how blessed and happy you can be by following the "Mormon Lifestyle" you could say! She started yesterday, and even texted me that when she went out to the restaurant she got a coke instead of a Beer! haha. So I feel this "Experiment" will be a good experience for her! :)
So this last Sunday we had stake conference! It was fun, we had to go clear to this small town called Herning, where they rented out a large conference center room. I am on the part of Denmark called Jylland (Jutland in English) and they don't have a church building large enough to hold everyone. So we headed out there and had a good meeting. It was to be honest a little boring, but it was fun to see all the many members and see all my missionary buddies of course. Nicole also came along and seemed to have a great time. She had a hard time staying focused during the meeting, but in all was glad to be around good people.
So my spiritual message for the week goes with the scripture in Alma 32 that I shared with Nicole. I find this scripture very relevant to many of the things we do in the church. If you ever are in doubt with a new calling, maybe a new apostle or prophet being called, or other changes either in church structure or procedures, by council to you is experiment with it. If your not sure if Thomas Monsen is true prophet... try experimenting with that idea by in your mind having faith he is the prophet. I promise that as you let that faith and desire grown and you do it with a sincere heart, our Heavenly Father will bless and comfort you and help you find the answer you need. When things seem uncertain to you in the gospel don't let your faith doubt... experiment and expand your faith.
I sure love and appreciate all of you every much! I wish you all the very best week! May the lord bless and guide you and all that good stuff he likes to help us with! Take care!
Your Denmark Missionary,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Your Denmark Missionary 09-06-10
HELLO EVERYONE!
Its me your Denmark Missionary Elder Hardy again. I hope all of you are having a fantastic week filled with success and happiness and all that good stuff! This last week is up there in toughness for me... it was pretty hard. It was one of those weeks where nothing seemed to go right.
To begin this week we didn't get to meet with any of our normal investigators. We had an appointment with Marianne and Tobias but they both canceled. Marianne didn't say why and she was kind of weird about it. I decided to just give her some space, as maybe church was very overwhelming for her. I will try this week to get a hold of her and figure out what happened. I personally don't think anything happened at church or from me or my companion... I think it has something to do with her personally. So yea... I still feel like things are good with her and will keep you updated!
Tobias is simply an awesome guy and has just had a busy last few weeks. He is studying to become a lawyer and is very busy with his studies there. He had huge reports and other things due and just didn't have the time to meet. so that I can understand and told him we would call this next week and see if we would meet again. He is looking forward to it. So no worries with him! Just normal life got in the way... no problem.
This week while me and my companion were out contacting we had this guy come up to us speaking Swedish. It was way different but I was somewhat able to understand him. It was hard but he said something like, "Are you the Mormons?" I said yes and he mentioned how he dated a Mormon and she wouldn't let him come to church. I told him he could come to church.... and right in the middle of the sentence he started laughing and in normal English said, "I am a member!" haha. I cracked up laughing and we had a good chat with him. His name is Gabriel, and hes from Sweden. He was baptized 4 years ago and served a mission to California Spanish speaking. He is a solid member. He continued and told us that he just moved to Århus for school and will be here for the next 6 years! haha. He offered his help with missionary work and is just an awesome member! Hes young and excited about missionary work! So good stuff!
So we took him up on his offer and invited him to an appointment we had with a potential investigator named Nicole! I am so thankful we ran into Gabriel and invited him to this appointment as the appointment was pretty crazy. Nicole is a nice person but lets just say shes a little to open regarding law of chastity issues. Shes very open about her "Personal life." The way she spoke and the terms she used regarding that topic was a little PG-13-rated lets say. haha. Its good we had him with us, as Gabriel is young and was able to divert the topics to something else. We had a good lesson with her. Basically it came down to this with her... She wants what the church offers but doesn't want to change her life style to get it. After the appointment she offered to give a tour of Århus to Gabriel. He accepted and him and a few friends from the church all went with her. So she had a great experience with the members. So we will see if anything happens with her.
Also this week was Festugen. I explained Festugen in my last email. Well it got crazier and crazier as the week continued. In fact it got so intense I didn't feel comfortable being out. I saw a lot of drunk people and people doing things not Mormon friendly. So me and my companion found other things to do. :) However one night we were leaving the church to go home and we saw this drunk Greenlandic lady walking on the street. She was walking in zigzags and had a huge smile on her face! haha. When she saw me, she turned to me and said, "Hej Smukke!" Which in English means, "HI Beautiful!" I told her, "Tak, I lige Måde" or in English "Thanks, same to you!." She got a kick out of that and continued on her way! haha. Gotta love drunk people! :) But yea, the big party ended yesterday and the city is back to normal today. I am happy for that! :)
Also Århus ward has just received 4 new young people! Its a miracle! They are all here for school and will be here for quite some time. This is a miracle as many of our investigators right now are young people! So its good we have some young people at church that can be friends and talk with them! Because we also have received so many new young people they have decided to start a young adult night again at the church, which is awesome! As it can offer my investigators a way to get to know the church without actually going to church! so yea ! Exciting new things happening in the ward making it a lot better!
So my spiritual message goes with the ward receiving those new young adults. Ever since I have gotten to Århus my companion and I have in every prayer, prayed that the Århus ward will grow. I started almost doubting as we were having all these weird things happen to our investigators, the ward didn't seem to care about missionary work, we were contacting every day with little success and the lord didn't seem to be answering our prayers. One thing I have learned is sometimes the lord has to prepare places for the prayers to be answered. The lord works on a timetable and he was waiting for certain things to fall into place and I believe now things will start happening here in Århus. I in a way got a bigger glimpse into what the lord has in store for the Århus ward. Things are being put into motion and I sense a great change in this area.
My message is that God ALWAYS answers prayers. That principle you already know... but sometimes we may not feel that he answered us personally. My principle I want to share today is be aware of the events and things happening around you. God sometimes answers us in ways we might not even realize is an answer. I am realizing that my prayers are just beginning to be answered. Last week the topic of church was missionary work, this week we received 4 new young members excited about missionary work, who knows what this next week will bring. All I know is Gods there, He loves us, and he does things in a bigger grander scale, a more perfect way then we understand. Sometimes its us that don't realize that things are happening, requests are being answered... were just blinded with the way we want things answered!
I wish all of you the very best! Thanks for all your love and support! I sure love you all and have a GREAT week!
Your Denmark Missionary,
Med Kærlig hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Its me your Denmark Missionary Elder Hardy again. I hope all of you are having a fantastic week filled with success and happiness and all that good stuff! This last week is up there in toughness for me... it was pretty hard. It was one of those weeks where nothing seemed to go right.
To begin this week we didn't get to meet with any of our normal investigators. We had an appointment with Marianne and Tobias but they both canceled. Marianne didn't say why and she was kind of weird about it. I decided to just give her some space, as maybe church was very overwhelming for her. I will try this week to get a hold of her and figure out what happened. I personally don't think anything happened at church or from me or my companion... I think it has something to do with her personally. So yea... I still feel like things are good with her and will keep you updated!
Tobias is simply an awesome guy and has just had a busy last few weeks. He is studying to become a lawyer and is very busy with his studies there. He had huge reports and other things due and just didn't have the time to meet. so that I can understand and told him we would call this next week and see if we would meet again. He is looking forward to it. So no worries with him! Just normal life got in the way... no problem.
This week while me and my companion were out contacting we had this guy come up to us speaking Swedish. It was way different but I was somewhat able to understand him. It was hard but he said something like, "Are you the Mormons?" I said yes and he mentioned how he dated a Mormon and she wouldn't let him come to church. I told him he could come to church.... and right in the middle of the sentence he started laughing and in normal English said, "I am a member!" haha. I cracked up laughing and we had a good chat with him. His name is Gabriel, and hes from Sweden. He was baptized 4 years ago and served a mission to California Spanish speaking. He is a solid member. He continued and told us that he just moved to Århus for school and will be here for the next 6 years! haha. He offered his help with missionary work and is just an awesome member! Hes young and excited about missionary work! So good stuff!
So we took him up on his offer and invited him to an appointment we had with a potential investigator named Nicole! I am so thankful we ran into Gabriel and invited him to this appointment as the appointment was pretty crazy. Nicole is a nice person but lets just say shes a little to open regarding law of chastity issues. Shes very open about her "Personal life." The way she spoke and the terms she used regarding that topic was a little PG-13-rated lets say. haha. Its good we had him with us, as Gabriel is young and was able to divert the topics to something else. We had a good lesson with her. Basically it came down to this with her... She wants what the church offers but doesn't want to change her life style to get it. After the appointment she offered to give a tour of Århus to Gabriel. He accepted and him and a few friends from the church all went with her. So she had a great experience with the members. So we will see if anything happens with her.
Also this week was Festugen. I explained Festugen in my last email. Well it got crazier and crazier as the week continued. In fact it got so intense I didn't feel comfortable being out. I saw a lot of drunk people and people doing things not Mormon friendly. So me and my companion found other things to do. :) However one night we were leaving the church to go home and we saw this drunk Greenlandic lady walking on the street. She was walking in zigzags and had a huge smile on her face! haha. When she saw me, she turned to me and said, "Hej Smukke!" Which in English means, "HI Beautiful!" I told her, "Tak, I lige Måde" or in English "Thanks, same to you!." She got a kick out of that and continued on her way! haha. Gotta love drunk people! :) But yea, the big party ended yesterday and the city is back to normal today. I am happy for that! :)
Also Århus ward has just received 4 new young people! Its a miracle! They are all here for school and will be here for quite some time. This is a miracle as many of our investigators right now are young people! So its good we have some young people at church that can be friends and talk with them! Because we also have received so many new young people they have decided to start a young adult night again at the church, which is awesome! As it can offer my investigators a way to get to know the church without actually going to church! so yea ! Exciting new things happening in the ward making it a lot better!
So my spiritual message goes with the ward receiving those new young adults. Ever since I have gotten to Århus my companion and I have in every prayer, prayed that the Århus ward will grow. I started almost doubting as we were having all these weird things happen to our investigators, the ward didn't seem to care about missionary work, we were contacting every day with little success and the lord didn't seem to be answering our prayers. One thing I have learned is sometimes the lord has to prepare places for the prayers to be answered. The lord works on a timetable and he was waiting for certain things to fall into place and I believe now things will start happening here in Århus. I in a way got a bigger glimpse into what the lord has in store for the Århus ward. Things are being put into motion and I sense a great change in this area.
My message is that God ALWAYS answers prayers. That principle you already know... but sometimes we may not feel that he answered us personally. My principle I want to share today is be aware of the events and things happening around you. God sometimes answers us in ways we might not even realize is an answer. I am realizing that my prayers are just beginning to be answered. Last week the topic of church was missionary work, this week we received 4 new young members excited about missionary work, who knows what this next week will bring. All I know is Gods there, He loves us, and he does things in a bigger grander scale, a more perfect way then we understand. Sometimes its us that don't realize that things are happening, requests are being answered... were just blinded with the way we want things answered!
I wish all of you the very best! Thanks for all your love and support! I sure love you all and have a GREAT week!
Your Denmark Missionary,
Med Kærlig hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Your Denmark Missionary 08-30-10
ære Familie og venner!
I have some horrible news for you today. Its news that just about kills the heart and attitude of most missionaries... well at least the ones I know. This news is so heart wrenching and sad, I don't know If I should even share it with you... The news is...
Summer is over!
There I said it! Summer is officially over here in Denmark! The Rainy season has begun and the temperature has dropped! Once the weather starts taking a turn for the worst most missionaries start to hate life, just a little. When the weather is bad, missionary work is a little harder. People become less willing to talk to you on the street and Danes begin there longer work hours and school. The danish summer is over. :( However, with this change in the weather comes exciting things like fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas! All exciting things! Lots of fun Danish Holidays are on there way!
For example this week they have a huge party going on called, "FESTUGEN" or in English "THE PARTY WEEK" haha. School began almost 1 week ago, and after they begin school they decide to take a week break and party a little. I am in the 2nd largest city in Danmark so you can probably imagine the type of partying going on here! I cant even begin to tell you all the crazy stuff that's going on. Every city in Denmark has what they call a Gågade... which closest translation is pedestrian street. Basically it is a very long road or a series of road where they stopped cars from driving through permanently and made it a huge shopping area. So Århus where I am serving has one of the largest gågade in all of Denmark... Its almost as large as the one in Copenhagen. So my companion and I checked out the street and WOW! There was so many people... I was literally standing in line just to walk through the street. There were a million people drinking, people doing street performances... you name it... it was probably there! It was a lot of fun to see but not the best area for missionary work! haha.
They also had tons of family activities and places to eat. It was really cool to see and the Danes are just partying it it up over here! It began last Friday and will continue until this Friday this week. Its kind of effected missionary work as not so many people want to talk when there is a huge party going on. haha. However me and my companion are managing.
This week was kind of a fun week. First of all our investigators are doing ok. We haven't met with Tobias since the last time I wrote to you, but we have an appointment with him this week and I look forward to that. However we have met with Marianne and we had a great appointment with her. We showed her the 20 minute restoration film about Joseph Smith. She absolutely loved it! She could understand and visualize the first vision and see why its so important. She kind of got a little emotional during it as she told us she feels just like Joseph Smith did. She told us shes exhausted of searching for a church and hopes to find the truth. We promised her she could and told her ways she could accomplish that. She also came to church this last Sunday and to be honest I think she felt a little overwhelmed... in a good way though. She didn't say much after the meeting. However she made an appointment with us for Tuesday... so I will let you know how it goes! Things seem to be going good with her!
Speaking of church... my companion and I had to give a talk! haha. It was a 5th Sunday so they decided to have it on Missionary work and why we do missionary work. So they thought it was appropriate to have us speak. I must say I did much better on this talk then any of my other talks I have given in Danish. It went really well and the ward was very impressed. My danish is coming along, but I am still not quite happy with it. I still struggle sometimes speaking and its just a little hard. However it is improving and that's always good!
On a weirder note this week we had an dinner appointment with one of the members. I don't know the members to well so it was good to get invited over. However this appointment was just kind of weird. She is a wonderful member and very nice and I am grateful she wanted to feed us. So we show up and she tells me and my companion to take off our shoes (which is normal) but also our socks. I thought that was a little weird. Well it turns out she had foot baths for us.... so while we eat dinner our feet can soak in warm water. Kind of strange.... I have never done that before! haha. So not only did I have a full stomach I also had clean feet! haha. That appointment definitely goes on the most strange list... haha.
So my spiritual message for this week goes with my awkward appointment.... Bet you didn't see that one coming. :) One thing I have learned on my mission is how adapt and change. If you know me well, I am one that doesn't break from my shell to often. I like staying in control and doing my thing. So my message for today is change is good if we let it. I could have told that member, no Way am I putting my feet in some water while I eat dinner. It was an awkward experience but I adapted and changed and made it into a good experience. So my message for you is learn from change! Life is good and change is part of it! :)
So I hope all of you have an amazing week! I sure love and appreciate all of you! Take care and I hope and pray for your success and happiness. (Ok wow, that was a pretty cheesy sentence... sorry about that! haha.).
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
I have some horrible news for you today. Its news that just about kills the heart and attitude of most missionaries... well at least the ones I know. This news is so heart wrenching and sad, I don't know If I should even share it with you... The news is...
Summer is over!
There I said it! Summer is officially over here in Denmark! The Rainy season has begun and the temperature has dropped! Once the weather starts taking a turn for the worst most missionaries start to hate life, just a little. When the weather is bad, missionary work is a little harder. People become less willing to talk to you on the street and Danes begin there longer work hours and school. The danish summer is over. :( However, with this change in the weather comes exciting things like fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas! All exciting things! Lots of fun Danish Holidays are on there way!
For example this week they have a huge party going on called, "FESTUGEN" or in English "THE PARTY WEEK" haha. School began almost 1 week ago, and after they begin school they decide to take a week break and party a little. I am in the 2nd largest city in Danmark so you can probably imagine the type of partying going on here! I cant even begin to tell you all the crazy stuff that's going on. Every city in Denmark has what they call a Gågade... which closest translation is pedestrian street. Basically it is a very long road or a series of road where they stopped cars from driving through permanently and made it a huge shopping area. So Århus where I am serving has one of the largest gågade in all of Denmark... Its almost as large as the one in Copenhagen. So my companion and I checked out the street and WOW! There was so many people... I was literally standing in line just to walk through the street. There were a million people drinking, people doing street performances... you name it... it was probably there! It was a lot of fun to see but not the best area for missionary work! haha.
They also had tons of family activities and places to eat. It was really cool to see and the Danes are just partying it it up over here! It began last Friday and will continue until this Friday this week. Its kind of effected missionary work as not so many people want to talk when there is a huge party going on. haha. However me and my companion are managing.
This week was kind of a fun week. First of all our investigators are doing ok. We haven't met with Tobias since the last time I wrote to you, but we have an appointment with him this week and I look forward to that. However we have met with Marianne and we had a great appointment with her. We showed her the 20 minute restoration film about Joseph Smith. She absolutely loved it! She could understand and visualize the first vision and see why its so important. She kind of got a little emotional during it as she told us she feels just like Joseph Smith did. She told us shes exhausted of searching for a church and hopes to find the truth. We promised her she could and told her ways she could accomplish that. She also came to church this last Sunday and to be honest I think she felt a little overwhelmed... in a good way though. She didn't say much after the meeting. However she made an appointment with us for Tuesday... so I will let you know how it goes! Things seem to be going good with her!
Speaking of church... my companion and I had to give a talk! haha. It was a 5th Sunday so they decided to have it on Missionary work and why we do missionary work. So they thought it was appropriate to have us speak. I must say I did much better on this talk then any of my other talks I have given in Danish. It went really well and the ward was very impressed. My danish is coming along, but I am still not quite happy with it. I still struggle sometimes speaking and its just a little hard. However it is improving and that's always good!
On a weirder note this week we had an dinner appointment with one of the members. I don't know the members to well so it was good to get invited over. However this appointment was just kind of weird. She is a wonderful member and very nice and I am grateful she wanted to feed us. So we show up and she tells me and my companion to take off our shoes (which is normal) but also our socks. I thought that was a little weird. Well it turns out she had foot baths for us.... so while we eat dinner our feet can soak in warm water. Kind of strange.... I have never done that before! haha. So not only did I have a full stomach I also had clean feet! haha. That appointment definitely goes on the most strange list... haha.
So my spiritual message for this week goes with my awkward appointment.... Bet you didn't see that one coming. :) One thing I have learned on my mission is how adapt and change. If you know me well, I am one that doesn't break from my shell to often. I like staying in control and doing my thing. So my message for today is change is good if we let it. I could have told that member, no Way am I putting my feet in some water while I eat dinner. It was an awkward experience but I adapted and changed and made it into a good experience. So my message for you is learn from change! Life is good and change is part of it! :)
So I hope all of you have an amazing week! I sure love and appreciate all of you! Take care and I hope and pray for your success and happiness. (Ok wow, that was a pretty cheesy sentence... sorry about that! haha.).
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
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