Hej Kære Søskende... (Som betylder familie eller venner, Det er en ord man brug på dansk i kirken. Det er lige som bror eller søstre)
Jeg håber i alle sammen har det godt! Jeg har det udmærket! Jeg elske denmark og herrens arbejde lige nu. Ting gå godt or igår har jeg 2 undersøger i kirken. Det var so dejligt at ser dem i Kirken! Jeg og Ældste Pfeil også gave en tale on vores rundvisning projekt! Det var interessant, men jeg troede vi gjort det fint! Mange er spændt at ser vores projekt! Jeg kan ikke vent at fortælle i os om min projekt!
Hello Everyone! I hope this letter finds all of you well and happy! Its been a really long week for me and my companion Elder Pfeil. I mean so much has happened that its weird for me to think its only been a week. Its just been a week full of all kinds of crazy things.Good things and I am happy to report much success of the work of the lord!
First and for most I have found out about transfers. I are you nervous? I sure was... I was very nervous. In fact when I got the call I got very, very scared. Elder Pfeil and I were in the church assembling some stands for our tour when my cell phone began to ring in my pocket. I stopped assembling and a look of fear came over me and my companion. I walked outside into the church foyer and answered the phone. I hear a voice... a voice of an assistant. He gives me a hi and asks, "So do you want to know about transfers?" I smiled and said, OF COURSE! He then told me that me and Elder Pfeil are both staying in Århus. He then added that president has also called me to serve as a district leader. So I have 2 more months in Århus! I am very grateful for this! :) And I have now more responsiblity in the mission. It should be an exciting adventure, as Morgan would say! :)
Well I began with a pretty mellow week starting with a p-day.We went to lunch with our gift card from winning the cleanest apartment award. That was fun. We then just came up and rested. Then around 6:00 we went with Flemming, our mission leader, to Århus laser printing. There we talked to the guy that's printing our new pass along cards for the tour. So we set that all up and should have them soon. Well I hope anyways... Things are not always as quick as I would like them.
Then on Tuesday I had a leadership training because I am a trainer with President and the Assistants, and those that are in leadership. It was a good training and I learned a lot... Ok to be honest I felt guilty after leaving that training. I realized I have a lot to do to be better. There is always room for improvement. ITs just when you think your doing good and somebody else tells you to do better... It kind of hurts inside. :( But in any case, its better to learn to be better then just remain the same. :)
The on Wednesday we met with a new investigator named Naja. She is from Greenland and was taught in a far away town in Denmark called Skiva. She moved here to Århus and so she was referred to us. We met with her and to be honest I don't know why she is not baptized. Shes answered all our questions beautifully and believes in the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. She just struggled with the getting baptized again concept. She feels that because she was already baptized she does not need to again. We shared some scriptures but in the end we encouraged her to pray about it. Then on Saturday we met with her again with the old missionaries that used to teach her. It was a good appointment and she really understood the concept of Authority and baptism. She then was committed to baptism and asked to think about it and pray about it. She said she would. So today before I came to the computer to write to you, we met with her again. She did not make it to church yesterday as she got lost. Well she told us she wants to be baptized! So we set a date with her for the 26 of February. We then talked to her about our baptisms. She then said, wait, children can be baptized? We said yes if they are 8 or older. She got a huge smile on her face and expressed how her daughter thats 11 also wanted to be baptized! So she said she would talk with her daughter about it later this week. So who knows... we might have another baptism with her. But for Naja it really was an amazing experience. She said she prayed about it and got a direct answer. I have never met an investigator so in tune with the spirit. Shes going to be a great member. Who knows... maybe she can also set up the church on Greenland! So yes keep her in your prayers!
We also met with an older investigator of mine named Tobias. He is doing well and loves having us over. He is not too positive with the church, but I am trying to keep a good relationship alive with him, as you never know when he could be interested. But during the appointment he said to us, I think i want to go to church. So I said sure and he came! haha. He came and said he had a good time. The appointment with him went well and we taught about the importance of the Book of Mormon. He is struggling with reading. so we will see. :) I am just so happy he has a desire to see church.
Then on Saturday we had Interviews with our mission president. It went well and president is exited to see my tour project. Speaking of the tour project... so we receive everything this Wednesday and we begin tours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to show the tour to the members. Then next week we start the real tours for every Wednesday and Saturday from 5 to 7 for investigators. So once we get it all set up, I will send pictures next week.
Then on Sunday me and Elder Pfeil gave talks in church. He spoke on everyday missionary life, while I gave a talk on the tour project. Ældste Pfeil did very well and is danish is really coming along. I did just ok... When I am nervous my danish is even worse... and I mean the only reason I am nervous is because of my danish... go figure right? But my message came across and everyone in the ward is very excited about the project. Kristian, a member in the bishopric told me that when I brought up the tour in my talk- the spirit just flooded the room. He said it felt right - he said he felt its going to be a success. The whole ward was buzzing and it was a great day. Then to top it all off we had a random young man, about my age, come in the building asking to meet with us the missionaries. We taught him and he seems really positive about the church. He actually stayed for sacrament meeting. So we might have a new investigator on our hands soon. We also had Tobias and the ward was excited to have some guests. It was a great Sunday and the ward seems to be getting more and more excited about missionary work.
Obviously there was more I did in the week but those were the highlights. Its really hard to write down all my feelings and experiences. Its also difficult to summarize a week long of events in one letter! But I hope you got an idea of how things are going. The work is going forward and I am so happy to be apart of it. I don't have much of a spiritual message but one thing that I really did learn this week is GOD DOES ANSWER PRAYERS! I mean Naja got an answer... it almost seems too easy. I cant believe it. We still have a month to make the date... but I feel confident. It hit me hard this week that she got an answer. I mean, its just a miracle! :)
I hope you all have a great week! I sure appreciate all your love and support!
Din Dansk Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
--
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Din Danske Missionær 01-24-2011
Godmorgen, Godmorgen Kære familie og venner!
Oh hay... det har været en meget hurtig uge for mig. Det er svært for mig at tror at januar er næste end færdig. Vi stort set har kun et uge til februar! Er det ikke spændende? So jeg har det godt slevfolgie. Når man tjene herren i har ikke noget at bekymre over. Lige nu mit fokus med min missionær arbejde er den der rundvisning projekt. Det er en meget stor projekt men jeg synes det er det værd! En ting jeg er faktisk meget begejstret over er hvor dejlig Århus menighed har været. Det har støttet mig rigtig rigtig meget! Jeg tror på grund af deres kærlighed og tillid herren vil velsigne dem alle sammen! Når mit projekt er færdig so skal jeg sender I nogen billede. Jeg kan ikke vent at vise jer! :)
Oh danish... so If you kind of want to know what it says, you can try google translate... However I just did it and it is not entirely accurate. So its up to you! :) But yes I will now write in English! :) I hope all of you have had an amazing week. Its weird to think were already finished with the first month in 2011. It just means its one more month to me coming home! Its just incredible how time fast flies. I know I say that a lot, but really time is flying! The weirdest thing for me was a zone conference last week the mission president, President Andersen talked about release dates. I will probably set mine late February or beginning of march. I will let you know when its all finalized. Well everyone thanks in advance for always thinking of me and reading my emails. I sure love each and everyone of you and appreciate always your love and support.
To begin, me and Elder Pfeil had another wonderful p-day to start the week. Elder Pfeil really likes to shop and heck so do I! haha. So I have no problems hitting the stores. I usually don't buy much but I sure love looking. I found a really nice Danish bible that I would love to take home with me. I think the lord would approve of that souvenir. In Denmark bibles are so expensive because the rights to them are owned by the state wide church, the 'Danske Folke Kirke* (The danish peoples church). So a really nice bible like the ones we use everyday in church are about 800 to 1000 krone's. so around 200 American dollars! yikes! What makes me laugh is why they cost so much. I mean unfortunately danish people are not the most believing anymore... most have never even read the bible, and yet they are so expensive. So I am thinking about going into the store and talking to the manager and explain I come from a church.... maybe they might give a discount to me. Who knows. I have met a lot of nice people who have given missionaries a discount before. So we will see. Elder Pfeil and I also went to a viking museum. He sure loved it. I have been there before but one can always learn more. We had a fun day and felt prepared and ready to work hard the rest of the week. Its amazing how vital these days are to a missionary. I mean if I didn't get my p-day I would have killed out a long time ago! lol! :)
Tuesday was a fun day as we had Zone Conference in a nearby city called Frederica! So we had to do a little traveling using the trains. The good news is we only had to be there for the day. Originally we had another meeting on Wednesday and would have stayed the night there. However recently the sister of our mission president passed away in a car accident. Her burial was that Wednesday so they cancelled the meeting. I am amazed at how strong my mission president was during the conference. This man really has a strong testimony of the gospel. He just lost his sister and he didn't questions one thing of his beliefs. I have the best mission president in the world... haha. I mean what an example he is setting to me and for all the other missionaries. I also found out much more sacrifice's he made just to be mission president. He is a great guy. Because he is so great we had a great zone conference. I learned a lot and am now going to work harder.
Another thing they did at the Zone Conference was announced the cleanest apartment in the mission contest winner! The showed a slide show of all the apartments and let me tell you the entire mission did very well. All of there apartment's looked great! Unfortunately however there could only be one winner for the contest... and the winner is.... ÅRHUS! :) Yep me and Elder Pfeil won the contest for the cleanest apartment in the mission! :) haha. The mission president called in, " The standard for the mission." He was very impressed with it and the fact we used the apartment to build relationships with the members! :) We won a gift card to go eat out! It was a lot of fun. Not only do we get a meal, but we made great relationships with the members doing it! A win win situation if I say so myself! :)
Then throughout the rest of the week we were tieing up odds and ends with our tour project. We made our presentation DVDs, our new pass along cards and everything. We checked the shipping status of all of our posters and they are all arriving on Thursday this week! So I will let you know next week how it looks. Elder Pfeil and I are also giving a talk in sacrament meeting this coming up Sunday to introduce the tour project. We plan on having member tours all next week to get them excited about this experience. We also plan, and committing them to bring one friend to this tour over the next couple of weeks. I am going to really push the members to work as this tour thing is a really easy excuse to invite friends too. I mean this project will only be a success if the members choose to participate! So I hope and pray they catch the missionary fire! :) haha. I will once the tour gets going, write a email on everything I am doing. I will give you lots of details and pictures next week. I know your all curious. So don't worry, I will fill you in! :)
Then on Saturday on a little sadder note we had a member in our ward pass away. He was about 84 but very strong and healthy. However one day he was walking his dog outside and slipped on some ice. When he slipped he hit is head and died. His name is Kay. He was a great guy and always prepared the sacrament and passed out the hymn books. He was also one of the very first members to meet my investigators. Well this was actually my first funeral I believe. When the hurse arrived with the caset.. I had to help them carry it into the church. It was a very surreal feeling as I was carrying somebody that passed away. They whole meeting was also very surreal. I had honestly no idea what to think. In any case it was a good meeting and the spirit was there comforting those that needed it. Nicole my new convert also showed up and gave her support. This was her first funeral too. The ward is handling it well. one thing Nicole noticed is how much more uplifting our funerals are. She has a point. We as latter day saints know where we are going, and what happening the next life. We have no worries about it. So when somebody passes away we simply are sad because we miss them, not because we don't know where they are going. I think it was a testimony builder for Nicole on the plan of salvation. How blessed are we to have it! :)
Well everyone.. I think that's all I have to say about my week. I honestly have not thought of a spiritual message. My thoughts have honestly always been on my tour project. I do what to let you know that I really do have a testimony of this church. I know sometimes its hard to sit through meetings or even go to them. Our church does have a lot of meetings and I completely understand how annoying they can be. However, even with those annoying things I truly do know this church is GODS church on the church. We do have a living prophet and we do receive instruction and guidance through him from the Lord. The book of Mormon is Gods word.. its a book that answers life's toughest and biggest questions. It really is a guide to true and everlasting happiness. I just love it! I love being a Mormon and I love being a follower of Christ.
I sure love you all! I wish you the very best week! HAVE AN AMAZING LAST WEEK OF JANUARY! :)
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Din Danske Missionær,
Ældste Skyler Hardy!
--
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Oh hay... det har været en meget hurtig uge for mig. Det er svært for mig at tror at januar er næste end færdig. Vi stort set har kun et uge til februar! Er det ikke spændende? So jeg har det godt slevfolgie. Når man tjene herren i har ikke noget at bekymre over. Lige nu mit fokus med min missionær arbejde er den der rundvisning projekt. Det er en meget stor projekt men jeg synes det er det værd! En ting jeg er faktisk meget begejstret over er hvor dejlig Århus menighed har været. Det har støttet mig rigtig rigtig meget! Jeg tror på grund af deres kærlighed og tillid herren vil velsigne dem alle sammen! Når mit projekt er færdig so skal jeg sender I nogen billede. Jeg kan ikke vent at vise jer! :)
Oh danish... so If you kind of want to know what it says, you can try google translate... However I just did it and it is not entirely accurate. So its up to you! :) But yes I will now write in English! :) I hope all of you have had an amazing week. Its weird to think were already finished with the first month in 2011. It just means its one more month to me coming home! Its just incredible how time fast flies. I know I say that a lot, but really time is flying! The weirdest thing for me was a zone conference last week the mission president, President Andersen talked about release dates. I will probably set mine late February or beginning of march. I will let you know when its all finalized. Well everyone thanks in advance for always thinking of me and reading my emails. I sure love each and everyone of you and appreciate always your love and support.
To begin, me and Elder Pfeil had another wonderful p-day to start the week. Elder Pfeil really likes to shop and heck so do I! haha. So I have no problems hitting the stores. I usually don't buy much but I sure love looking. I found a really nice Danish bible that I would love to take home with me. I think the lord would approve of that souvenir. In Denmark bibles are so expensive because the rights to them are owned by the state wide church, the 'Danske Folke Kirke* (The danish peoples church). So a really nice bible like the ones we use everyday in church are about 800 to 1000 krone's. so around 200 American dollars! yikes! What makes me laugh is why they cost so much. I mean unfortunately danish people are not the most believing anymore... most have never even read the bible, and yet they are so expensive. So I am thinking about going into the store and talking to the manager and explain I come from a church.... maybe they might give a discount to me. Who knows. I have met a lot of nice people who have given missionaries a discount before. So we will see. Elder Pfeil and I also went to a viking museum. He sure loved it. I have been there before but one can always learn more. We had a fun day and felt prepared and ready to work hard the rest of the week. Its amazing how vital these days are to a missionary. I mean if I didn't get my p-day I would have killed out a long time ago! lol! :)
Tuesday was a fun day as we had Zone Conference in a nearby city called Frederica! So we had to do a little traveling using the trains. The good news is we only had to be there for the day. Originally we had another meeting on Wednesday and would have stayed the night there. However recently the sister of our mission president passed away in a car accident. Her burial was that Wednesday so they cancelled the meeting. I am amazed at how strong my mission president was during the conference. This man really has a strong testimony of the gospel. He just lost his sister and he didn't questions one thing of his beliefs. I have the best mission president in the world... haha. I mean what an example he is setting to me and for all the other missionaries. I also found out much more sacrifice's he made just to be mission president. He is a great guy. Because he is so great we had a great zone conference. I learned a lot and am now going to work harder.
Another thing they did at the Zone Conference was announced the cleanest apartment in the mission contest winner! The showed a slide show of all the apartments and let me tell you the entire mission did very well. All of there apartment's looked great! Unfortunately however there could only be one winner for the contest... and the winner is.... ÅRHUS! :) Yep me and Elder Pfeil won the contest for the cleanest apartment in the mission! :) haha. The mission president called in, " The standard for the mission." He was very impressed with it and the fact we used the apartment to build relationships with the members! :) We won a gift card to go eat out! It was a lot of fun. Not only do we get a meal, but we made great relationships with the members doing it! A win win situation if I say so myself! :)
Then throughout the rest of the week we were tieing up odds and ends with our tour project. We made our presentation DVDs, our new pass along cards and everything. We checked the shipping status of all of our posters and they are all arriving on Thursday this week! So I will let you know next week how it looks. Elder Pfeil and I are also giving a talk in sacrament meeting this coming up Sunday to introduce the tour project. We plan on having member tours all next week to get them excited about this experience. We also plan, and committing them to bring one friend to this tour over the next couple of weeks. I am going to really push the members to work as this tour thing is a really easy excuse to invite friends too. I mean this project will only be a success if the members choose to participate! So I hope and pray they catch the missionary fire! :) haha. I will once the tour gets going, write a email on everything I am doing. I will give you lots of details and pictures next week. I know your all curious. So don't worry, I will fill you in! :)
Then on Saturday on a little sadder note we had a member in our ward pass away. He was about 84 but very strong and healthy. However one day he was walking his dog outside and slipped on some ice. When he slipped he hit is head and died. His name is Kay. He was a great guy and always prepared the sacrament and passed out the hymn books. He was also one of the very first members to meet my investigators. Well this was actually my first funeral I believe. When the hurse arrived with the caset.. I had to help them carry it into the church. It was a very surreal feeling as I was carrying somebody that passed away. They whole meeting was also very surreal. I had honestly no idea what to think. In any case it was a good meeting and the spirit was there comforting those that needed it. Nicole my new convert also showed up and gave her support. This was her first funeral too. The ward is handling it well. one thing Nicole noticed is how much more uplifting our funerals are. She has a point. We as latter day saints know where we are going, and what happening the next life. We have no worries about it. So when somebody passes away we simply are sad because we miss them, not because we don't know where they are going. I think it was a testimony builder for Nicole on the plan of salvation. How blessed are we to have it! :)
Well everyone.. I think that's all I have to say about my week. I honestly have not thought of a spiritual message. My thoughts have honestly always been on my tour project. I do what to let you know that I really do have a testimony of this church. I know sometimes its hard to sit through meetings or even go to them. Our church does have a lot of meetings and I completely understand how annoying they can be. However, even with those annoying things I truly do know this church is GODS church on the church. We do have a living prophet and we do receive instruction and guidance through him from the Lord. The book of Mormon is Gods word.. its a book that answers life's toughest and biggest questions. It really is a guide to true and everlasting happiness. I just love it! I love being a Mormon and I love being a follower of Christ.
I sure love you all! I wish you the very best week! HAVE AN AMAZING LAST WEEK OF JANUARY! :)
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Din Danske Missionær,
Ældste Skyler Hardy!
--
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Din Danske Missionær 01-17-2011
Kære Familie og Venner.
Jeg håber i alle sammen har haft en dejlig uge. Jeg tænke over i og din succes i alt i gør. Jeg håber herren vil forsæt at velsigne i! Jeg har haft en god uge. Det er mærkelig for mig at tænke over januar er næste end færdig. Hold op! Wow! Idag er den 17 af Januar. Tid har skete rigtig hurtig. Jeg har næsten kun 8 måned før jeg er hjem. Det er so utrolig! Problemet er jeg tror jeg skal salvne Århus, or faktist Denmark rigtig meget! Den er land er so magisk, og untrolig. Men jeg tror jeg skal slut med at skriver på dansk på grund af i kan ikke læse hvad jeg har skrivet. So jeg skal nu skriver på englsk! Ha det godt! :)
You got to admit seeing danish written down is pretty cool...Its weird to think that right now i can read that above. I never thought I would be able to learn another language. I want to thank each and everyone of you for keeping me in your prayers. Its only because of your prayers and thoughts that I am where I am today. I doubt honestly my language learning skills. Lets just say when I get home, I am sticking to English and danish. No more languages for me. haha. Anyways, I hope you have all had a great week. I look back to my week and just look at it and say, "Where did the time go?" I have so much to do, but so little time. Well let me tell you my week.
We started off the week with a wonderful p-day. We decided to hit the stores again and look around and hang out in the city center. This time we had our zone leaders with us. They decided to come on Monday and spend the day with us then on Tuesday have some splits. So we looked around and had a little party. Well as much as you can have as a missionary. Its always fun being with more missionaries. In the danish mission you feel so isolated. You would think because were such a small country we would see each other more. However we don't, and its a rare treat to see them.
Then on Tuesday we had our splits with the Zone leaders. They are a good couple of guys. There names are Elder Pearson and Elder Christensen. Elder Christensen was actually a former companion of mine. We had a lot of fun hanging out a little that day. The first half of the day I was with Elder Pearson. We mostly worked on visiting those that used to be taught by the missionaries. To our displeasure most on the list had moved away. However we contacted this cool danish guy while vising others, and he seems pretty interested in the church. So I hope. Mean while my companion Elder Pfeil was with Elder Christensen. They were also doing the same thing, except they accidentally contacted a drunk man that was praying on the streets. Yes you heard me right, a drunk man praying on the street. Apparently this man kissed my companion and was completely drunk. So my companion had quite the little experience. lol. The we switched at lunch and I went with Elder Christensen. We drove all the way to the very edge of our area to visit a temple square referral. However it was a bogus referral and that person did not live there. It was a 40 min drive, so we got there and basically turned around. We didn't stay to work as when the zone leaders are gone there is no way for me to get there. However it was a successful day and we have some possibly new investigators.
The on Wednesday we were with a member family finishing up our posters for our tour project. We found some new issues with them, but fixed them and they are currently on there way to be printed. We should have them by the end of this week. I will send some pictures of them asap. :)
Other than that my week was pretty boring, really. We have hit the streets hard these fast few weeks and have been contacting a lot. Were struggling to find people right now. However once my tour project is in full bloom, I feel we will have some success. I have no doubt. :)
Nicole my recent convert is still doing well. She is going strong with her new boyfriend in the church. Shes enjoying the "Mormon way" of dating. haha. She says the relationship feels more real then what she previously has experienced. She came to church yesterday with her boyfriend and son. Her sons name is Eric and is about 3 years old. Eric had a great time at church and that made Nicole very happy. Eric has never ever been to church before in his life and asked Nicole a very interesting question. During church Eric saw a picture of Christ on the wall.It was just a cartoon picture as he saw it near the primary activity board. Eric asks, "Mom is that man a King?" Nicole just looked at him.. speechless. She commented after and didn't understand how he could have known that. I also thought it was very weird as I know Nicole and Eric really well, and I honestly have no idea either. I just told Nicole...," well, he was with Christ only like 3 years ago... so it comes to reason that maybe he remembers..." She just smiled and said, maybe. I thought it was an interesting experience... It was a good Sunday and Nicole is doing well. Shes happy. I have also heard my other concert Christina is doing well and shes trying to make her way to BYU. She told me that shes planning on at least vising Utah this summer whether she gets in to BYU or not. So shes getting excited for that and is also doing well.
Well my spiritual message for the day goes with Gods plan for us. I have really been thinking about it a lot lately and realized God really is in control of this world. I know sometimes he seems this world is out of control and bad... but if you really think about it... God planned it that way. I have sort of gotten a better understanding in my studies this week that God really planned out our lives and this world pretty well and pretty detailed. He left nothing out. How amazing is that? One think I know is that God really does have a plan for each of us, and that really has been a faith builder for me. I know that if I just simply follow him and do my best in this life, God will keep me on his plan and life will be full and meaningful. It doesn't necessarily mean it will be easy, but I do know it will be more worth it in the end. I hope all of you really think about that plan of his and realize we have nothing to fear as God really is in control. Hes driving this world. SO lets just strap ourselves in and have the faith he gets us safely to our destination. :)
well Everyone, I hope you have an amazing week. Thanks again for all your love and support! Take care!
Din Danske Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Jeg håber i alle sammen har haft en dejlig uge. Jeg tænke over i og din succes i alt i gør. Jeg håber herren vil forsæt at velsigne i! Jeg har haft en god uge. Det er mærkelig for mig at tænke over januar er næste end færdig. Hold op! Wow! Idag er den 17 af Januar. Tid har skete rigtig hurtig. Jeg har næsten kun 8 måned før jeg er hjem. Det er so utrolig! Problemet er jeg tror jeg skal salvne Århus, or faktist Denmark rigtig meget! Den er land er so magisk, og untrolig. Men jeg tror jeg skal slut med at skriver på dansk på grund af i kan ikke læse hvad jeg har skrivet. So jeg skal nu skriver på englsk! Ha det godt! :)
You got to admit seeing danish written down is pretty cool...Its weird to think that right now i can read that above. I never thought I would be able to learn another language. I want to thank each and everyone of you for keeping me in your prayers. Its only because of your prayers and thoughts that I am where I am today. I doubt honestly my language learning skills. Lets just say when I get home, I am sticking to English and danish. No more languages for me. haha. Anyways, I hope you have all had a great week. I look back to my week and just look at it and say, "Where did the time go?" I have so much to do, but so little time. Well let me tell you my week.
We started off the week with a wonderful p-day. We decided to hit the stores again and look around and hang out in the city center. This time we had our zone leaders with us. They decided to come on Monday and spend the day with us then on Tuesday have some splits. So we looked around and had a little party. Well as much as you can have as a missionary. Its always fun being with more missionaries. In the danish mission you feel so isolated. You would think because were such a small country we would see each other more. However we don't, and its a rare treat to see them.
Then on Tuesday we had our splits with the Zone leaders. They are a good couple of guys. There names are Elder Pearson and Elder Christensen. Elder Christensen was actually a former companion of mine. We had a lot of fun hanging out a little that day. The first half of the day I was with Elder Pearson. We mostly worked on visiting those that used to be taught by the missionaries. To our displeasure most on the list had moved away. However we contacted this cool danish guy while vising others, and he seems pretty interested in the church. So I hope. Mean while my companion Elder Pfeil was with Elder Christensen. They were also doing the same thing, except they accidentally contacted a drunk man that was praying on the streets. Yes you heard me right, a drunk man praying on the street. Apparently this man kissed my companion and was completely drunk. So my companion had quite the little experience. lol. The we switched at lunch and I went with Elder Christensen. We drove all the way to the very edge of our area to visit a temple square referral. However it was a bogus referral and that person did not live there. It was a 40 min drive, so we got there and basically turned around. We didn't stay to work as when the zone leaders are gone there is no way for me to get there. However it was a successful day and we have some possibly new investigators.
The on Wednesday we were with a member family finishing up our posters for our tour project. We found some new issues with them, but fixed them and they are currently on there way to be printed. We should have them by the end of this week. I will send some pictures of them asap. :)
Other than that my week was pretty boring, really. We have hit the streets hard these fast few weeks and have been contacting a lot. Were struggling to find people right now. However once my tour project is in full bloom, I feel we will have some success. I have no doubt. :)
Nicole my recent convert is still doing well. She is going strong with her new boyfriend in the church. Shes enjoying the "Mormon way" of dating. haha. She says the relationship feels more real then what she previously has experienced. She came to church yesterday with her boyfriend and son. Her sons name is Eric and is about 3 years old. Eric had a great time at church and that made Nicole very happy. Eric has never ever been to church before in his life and asked Nicole a very interesting question. During church Eric saw a picture of Christ on the wall.It was just a cartoon picture as he saw it near the primary activity board. Eric asks, "Mom is that man a King?" Nicole just looked at him.. speechless. She commented after and didn't understand how he could have known that. I also thought it was very weird as I know Nicole and Eric really well, and I honestly have no idea either. I just told Nicole...," well, he was with Christ only like 3 years ago... so it comes to reason that maybe he remembers..." She just smiled and said, maybe. I thought it was an interesting experience... It was a good Sunday and Nicole is doing well. Shes happy. I have also heard my other concert Christina is doing well and shes trying to make her way to BYU. She told me that shes planning on at least vising Utah this summer whether she gets in to BYU or not. So shes getting excited for that and is also doing well.
Well my spiritual message for the day goes with Gods plan for us. I have really been thinking about it a lot lately and realized God really is in control of this world. I know sometimes he seems this world is out of control and bad... but if you really think about it... God planned it that way. I have sort of gotten a better understanding in my studies this week that God really planned out our lives and this world pretty well and pretty detailed. He left nothing out. How amazing is that? One think I know is that God really does have a plan for each of us, and that really has been a faith builder for me. I know that if I just simply follow him and do my best in this life, God will keep me on his plan and life will be full and meaningful. It doesn't necessarily mean it will be easy, but I do know it will be more worth it in the end. I hope all of you really think about that plan of his and realize we have nothing to fear as God really is in control. Hes driving this world. SO lets just strap ourselves in and have the faith he gets us safely to our destination. :)
well Everyone, I hope you have an amazing week. Thanks again for all your love and support! Take care!
Din Danske Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Din Danske Missionær 01-10-2011
Kære Familie og Venner,
Det er so utrolig fantastisk at snakke med dig idag. Vi har haft en god uge, men det var i lidt langsomt, desværre. Men vi forsatte at arbejde hårdt og ser frem to fremtiden! Mig og Æ.Pfeil har det godt og er meget spænd for vores rundvisning project. Det er svært men vi håber fordi vi har arbejdede so hårdt, at meget succes vil kommer. Husker mig og min kamerat og selvfølgelige min område, i din bønner. Vi altid har brug for dem. Ha det godt! :)
Yep everyone I am still using my danish on you. I hope all of you have had a great week. Its been a little bit of a slower week for my companion and I. However were managing and still having a lot of fun while working. I actually hope all of you are doing well. Its a new year filled with many new things. I hope things are well and that you find much success in 2011.
So we kind of had sad moment on Monday. We had our last appointment with our English student Thu. She arrived and we had a normal class. We spoke some English and taught her a few things. Then the hour ended and I could tell she didn't want the class to end. She kept talking about things and kept ignoring the clock... which was fine as I didn't care. Finally 45 minutes past the hour we ended the class. We then gave her a packet filled with English stories about the church, and even a book that talks about church history. She was very grateful, and started putting her things away in her backpack. Then she got up with tears in her eyes and said, "Thank you.... sooooo much...." I could tell from the way she was saying it she wanted to say more to express her gratitude, but didn't know how in English. That alone, I could tell how grateful she was. She said goodbye and shook our hands and left. She gave us a note and said, I hope we will be friends forever. It brought emotion to my eyes as even though she was not baptized, My companion and I still had a strong impact on her life. I hope and pray because of these English classes she will accept the gospel one day. So it was a sad moment on monday. I will miss teaching her. We had a lot of fun in our classes.
We also met with Nicole. Shes doing so well, and I feel so blessed I have been able to remain in Århus a little longer after her baptism. Its been a lot of fun teaching her the new convert lessons and seeing her adjust to the church. I must say I am a proud missionary. The ward also seems happy to have her as a part of the ward. This week we just ate dinner with her. She was proud to invite us over just for dinner as a member. We of course shared a Litte message about setting goals in the new year. We also told her not to limit herself by saying, "I cant do this, I am not good enough... osv" I told her that we have the ability to be anything we want to be as we are daughters and sons of God. Meaning, We have the same genetic structure of our Heavenly father, which gives us the possibility to be as he is. It was a good message and I think she enjoyed it.
Then on Tuesday we had a new missionary meeting here in Århus. The mission president and the assistants came and we basically talked about how the training is going of Elder Pfeil. It was good and Elder Pfeil was able to see his MTC group. I was also able to see the other trainers and talk to them. However most of all I was able to speak to the mission president. It was a easy enough meeting and i think I am doing ok with training. We will see what happens in the future. I will tell you this... Elder Pfeil is tired of being a greenie. He is ready to get off the training packet and be a real missionary. I take it he feels ready, which is a good sign.
Then on Thursday we had a crunch day. We basically were at the computer all day finishing up our posters for our tour project. We found out that we had created them all in the wrong size for printing. so we had to re-do all of them. We also had to create a few more as the member helping us said it would make more sense for the tour. So we did a ton of computer stuff.
Then on Friday we went over to his house (His name is Brother Kreiberg) and he showed him what we had. He was very impressed with the graphics and how professional they looked. I guess my 3 years of yearbook finally payed off. lol. We had of course a few spelling errors, as they are in danish. We spent the rest of friday evening going over things and fixing things to get them ready for printing. It was nice to have their help. They had really nice MACS and Programs such as photoshop and indesign, to help us make these posters look great. Brother Kreiberg actually owns a business that sales display exquipment for Expos or conferences. So not only are these posters going to look great, they are going to be put up in a professinoal manner. I will send pictures ASAP, as soon as they are finished. Its going to be great. We also have new pass along cards getting printed this week and were looking forward to the sucess of this project.
Then on Saturday as we were out and about we were waiting at a bus stop when I caught this ladys attention. As I was looking at her I realized I knew her. So I went up and was like, "I think I know you?" shes was like I also think I know you. Then it hit me, she was an old investigator when I served in Randers! haha. When she realized it, she smiled and we started talking. She was not interested in the gospel anymore, but she did say she still has the book of mormon and looks at it from time to time. It was a good experience for me that people still remembered me from Randers, lol. What was also good was the relationship is still good with the church. So when that day finally comes and I pray it does, where she needs the gospel, she will know where to turn to. She did take my card and I invited her to church. So you never know.
We also on saturday met with Less active Fareed. He still is not coming to church, but I have a few new ideas up my sleeve to get him to come. haha. He just struggles in the morning. So I think this week we might stop by and pick him up for church. We will figure something out. He tells us every week he wants to come, but something always seems to come up. However he is a great guy, with a great spirit. We will get him coming soon. I have no doubt in my mind. :)
It was a good week, a litte slow, but nontheless a good one. I have no complaints. I am very excited for this tour project. I have a good companion and a good area. So things are good for me in the Århus area.
My spiritual message for the week is about Jesus Christ. One thing about him is he is always the example for people to follow. Thats one of the reasons (Besides the atonement) our heavenly father sent him. He was to show us how to live our lives. We as members of HIS church also have need to do the same thing. We need to show others that following the gospel is a good way to live, it can be a normal way to live. So always be alert and be a good example, as you never know who might be watching. I am gratful that old investigator from Randers saw me and that I was showing a good example. I hope and pray my example will help her in the future.
Well everyone have a great week! I sure love you all and wish you the very best!
Din Danske Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy!
Det er so utrolig fantastisk at snakke med dig idag. Vi har haft en god uge, men det var i lidt langsomt, desværre. Men vi forsatte at arbejde hårdt og ser frem to fremtiden! Mig og Æ.Pfeil har det godt og er meget spænd for vores rundvisning project. Det er svært men vi håber fordi vi har arbejdede so hårdt, at meget succes vil kommer. Husker mig og min kamerat og selvfølgelige min område, i din bønner. Vi altid har brug for dem. Ha det godt! :)
Yep everyone I am still using my danish on you. I hope all of you have had a great week. Its been a little bit of a slower week for my companion and I. However were managing and still having a lot of fun while working. I actually hope all of you are doing well. Its a new year filled with many new things. I hope things are well and that you find much success in 2011.
So we kind of had sad moment on Monday. We had our last appointment with our English student Thu. She arrived and we had a normal class. We spoke some English and taught her a few things. Then the hour ended and I could tell she didn't want the class to end. She kept talking about things and kept ignoring the clock... which was fine as I didn't care. Finally 45 minutes past the hour we ended the class. We then gave her a packet filled with English stories about the church, and even a book that talks about church history. She was very grateful, and started putting her things away in her backpack. Then she got up with tears in her eyes and said, "Thank you.... sooooo much...." I could tell from the way she was saying it she wanted to say more to express her gratitude, but didn't know how in English. That alone, I could tell how grateful she was. She said goodbye and shook our hands and left. She gave us a note and said, I hope we will be friends forever. It brought emotion to my eyes as even though she was not baptized, My companion and I still had a strong impact on her life. I hope and pray because of these English classes she will accept the gospel one day. So it was a sad moment on monday. I will miss teaching her. We had a lot of fun in our classes.
We also met with Nicole. Shes doing so well, and I feel so blessed I have been able to remain in Århus a little longer after her baptism. Its been a lot of fun teaching her the new convert lessons and seeing her adjust to the church. I must say I am a proud missionary. The ward also seems happy to have her as a part of the ward. This week we just ate dinner with her. She was proud to invite us over just for dinner as a member. We of course shared a Litte message about setting goals in the new year. We also told her not to limit herself by saying, "I cant do this, I am not good enough... osv" I told her that we have the ability to be anything we want to be as we are daughters and sons of God. Meaning, We have the same genetic structure of our Heavenly father, which gives us the possibility to be as he is. It was a good message and I think she enjoyed it.
Then on Tuesday we had a new missionary meeting here in Århus. The mission president and the assistants came and we basically talked about how the training is going of Elder Pfeil. It was good and Elder Pfeil was able to see his MTC group. I was also able to see the other trainers and talk to them. However most of all I was able to speak to the mission president. It was a easy enough meeting and i think I am doing ok with training. We will see what happens in the future. I will tell you this... Elder Pfeil is tired of being a greenie. He is ready to get off the training packet and be a real missionary. I take it he feels ready, which is a good sign.
Then on Thursday we had a crunch day. We basically were at the computer all day finishing up our posters for our tour project. We found out that we had created them all in the wrong size for printing. so we had to re-do all of them. We also had to create a few more as the member helping us said it would make more sense for the tour. So we did a ton of computer stuff.
Then on Friday we went over to his house (His name is Brother Kreiberg) and he showed him what we had. He was very impressed with the graphics and how professional they looked. I guess my 3 years of yearbook finally payed off. lol. We had of course a few spelling errors, as they are in danish. We spent the rest of friday evening going over things and fixing things to get them ready for printing. It was nice to have their help. They had really nice MACS and Programs such as photoshop and indesign, to help us make these posters look great. Brother Kreiberg actually owns a business that sales display exquipment for Expos or conferences. So not only are these posters going to look great, they are going to be put up in a professinoal manner. I will send pictures ASAP, as soon as they are finished. Its going to be great. We also have new pass along cards getting printed this week and were looking forward to the sucess of this project.
Then on Saturday as we were out and about we were waiting at a bus stop when I caught this ladys attention. As I was looking at her I realized I knew her. So I went up and was like, "I think I know you?" shes was like I also think I know you. Then it hit me, she was an old investigator when I served in Randers! haha. When she realized it, she smiled and we started talking. She was not interested in the gospel anymore, but she did say she still has the book of mormon and looks at it from time to time. It was a good experience for me that people still remembered me from Randers, lol. What was also good was the relationship is still good with the church. So when that day finally comes and I pray it does, where she needs the gospel, she will know where to turn to. She did take my card and I invited her to church. So you never know.
We also on saturday met with Less active Fareed. He still is not coming to church, but I have a few new ideas up my sleeve to get him to come. haha. He just struggles in the morning. So I think this week we might stop by and pick him up for church. We will figure something out. He tells us every week he wants to come, but something always seems to come up. However he is a great guy, with a great spirit. We will get him coming soon. I have no doubt in my mind. :)
It was a good week, a litte slow, but nontheless a good one. I have no complaints. I am very excited for this tour project. I have a good companion and a good area. So things are good for me in the Århus area.
My spiritual message for the week is about Jesus Christ. One thing about him is he is always the example for people to follow. Thats one of the reasons (Besides the atonement) our heavenly father sent him. He was to show us how to live our lives. We as members of HIS church also have need to do the same thing. We need to show others that following the gospel is a good way to live, it can be a normal way to live. So always be alert and be a good example, as you never know who might be watching. I am gratful that old investigator from Randers saw me and that I was showing a good example. I hope and pray my example will help her in the future.
Well everyone have a great week! I sure love you all and wish you the very best!
Din Danske Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Din Danske Missionær 01-03-2011
GODT NYTÅR TIL JER ALLE SAMMEN!
Jeg håber I har haft den bedste nytårs aften nogensinde! Det var en dejlig aften for mig og det er rigtig svært for mig at tro det er året 2011! Er det mærkelig eller ej? Det er meget mærkelig for mig at jeg skal hjem denne år. Jeg følge lidt nervøs og stresset at tage hjem, men det vil nok komme og jeg vil har det fint. En ting jer er lykkelig om er at jeg har alle min familie og venner at komme hjem til. Jeg ved det godt nok at jeg har I at hjælpe mig justere til normalt liv. Det er jeg meget taknemlig for. So mange ting at ser frem til! Jeg håber jeg kan arbejder hårdt for herren før jeg komme hjem!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU! Can you believe it, another year down. Its just incredible to me how fast time is going. The concept of time is quite interesting, if you think about it. Its weird how to all of us it feels different, throughout the year. While my first 2 months on my mission were some of my hardest and slowest times, for others it was speeding by. I am grateful right now at time is just screaming by. Lets just say if a cop were to pull "Time" over for me... the ticket would be outrageous. 2011 is going to be great! So my week was good, quite boring and slow, but fun.
On Monday we continued the remodeling of my apartment. Yes it is finally finsihed and I am happy to report it looks amazing. I uploaded them onto the online web album. Take a look! (Click or copy and paste link)
We also went around the city and did some shopping. My companion really likes to shop and be out. So we walked around and checked out all the stores. It was kind of fun. we didnt buy anything but were just enjoying the sights and sounds of Denmark. I realized that day how much I really am going to miss it here. It kind of hit me like a ton of bricks... I only have 8 months left... scary.
Then on tuesday we had the Jylland Zone Christmas Gathering. We got together as a Zone and met in Århus.Mission president and his family also came. We had a spiritual message of course, then after that we just played games, and ate great food. Then after we did some games and things together as a zone president let us play Wii and talk with each other for the rest of the evening. It was a lot of fun. I was able to see a lot of my old companions and missionary friends. It was a very relaxing day and just plain fun. That took most of the day. Then after the gathering Elder Pfeil and I stayed and cleaned up the church building a little better then how the rest of the zone left it. We ended up coming up a little later that evening. It was a great day.
Then on Wednesday we met with our wonderful English student Thu. We started recently pushing more and more with the gospel and she has really enjoy it. We have her the Joseph Smith story in English and it Vietnamese and she read it and found it very good. Then she also gave us some sad news, and that is she is moving Jan 8th to Canada. Her Husband showed up and thanked us for all our help and teaching his wife English. I could see he was very grateful. I encouraged them to look up the church in Canada as they can continue to offer her classes. Then I told them that the church would be a great way to meet some new people in Canada. They thought that was a great idea. I got there email and they have mine and said if we cant find it we will call you! haha. So I am excited. I also told Thu that church is in English, so she could practice English all day. She just loved that idea. So I hope and pray things will continue to go good and well for her and her husband in Canada.
I also this week got my papers to renew my visa. I am approved and Now I just had to go into the Police station and get a work permit sticker in my passport. So I headed over there and I find the door locked and closed, even though it says its supposed to be open. I figured because of Christmas it must be closed that day. So we waited until the next day and we went over. The thing with my visa is I have to get this done ASAP and before Jan 1st or I might get deported! haha. So I was getting a little stressed out. I finally made it in and they guy told me that I have to go to the immigration office again. I questioned him and he told me he was pretty sure. So again i had to wait until the next day as the immigration office is only open to 12:00. Stupid, yes, but so Denmark. haha, Finally I made it to the immigration office and I went WAY early and was 2nd in line. The lady that helped me was super Nice and was very impressed that an American was speaking danish. She even went out of her way to make sure I got my hospital card (Denmark as socialized health care). I thought that was very nice of her. I said yes I had it and she smiled and wished me a merry Christmas. Normally these immigration people are never nice. So it made my day and I was proud to speak decent danish with her! :)
Then on Friday we had a normal work day planned when we got a call from our Zone Leaders informing us that president as cancelled work for the day and that we need to get home. So we ran home and had a really boring day. lol! We have nothing to do in the apartment. So we slept and listened to music. Then at 6:00 we went to a members home for New Years. We went to Brother and Sister Bohonkos. They are a really old couple but really fun. She made great food and we played a lot of fun board games. We also watched the Queens speech she gives every year. It was a lot of fun this year as I was able to understand her. She mentioned issues in the country and mostly how we need to have more respect and love for each other. She really gave a great speech. It was a lot of fun. :) To see the Queens speech check out this link.
THEN MIDNIGHT HIT AND 2011 BEGAN! It was insane as last year. HUGE FIREWORKS and drunk people everywhere! Honestly that night is the only time on my entire mission where i felt a little concerned for my life! The fireworks here that normal people can buy are the fireworks that are illegal in most parts of USA. So it was a lot of fun. We didn't stay out long as missionaries and drunk people and fireworks don't really go together. We got home late and with presidents mission got to sleep in. It was a nice day.
The on Saturday (New Years day) we cleaned our apartment and relaxed. We took a walk outside and just enjoyed the danish air. Then we also got permission to see a Christmas movie in Danish. We watched Polar Express or in Danish, Polar Expressen. It was a lot of fun in Danish. Our apartment is clean and beautiful. I will let you know the results of the mission wide contest. The missionary companionship with the cleanest apartment wins dinner at a nice danish restaurant, on president! haha. I am pretty sure i won...but we will see.
Then on Sunday we met with Nicole after Church. She is doing well and seems very happy in the church. She is still struggling with a few things but she now has a new boyfriend that is a member and he is teaching her and helping her out a lot. I think shes really enjoying the community that comes with the church. Most of all though, she is still progressing in the gospel and I cant be any more proud. The gospel truly does change people. Its a miracle.
Well everyone, I think I officially wrote way to much this week. However I do have a spiritual message for you. If you read in the good Old Testament in the Bible in Genesis 19, you find the story of Lot. This is the story where he was commanded to leave a very wicked city and told not to look back. Well his wife did, and she became a pillar of salt! Its quite a wow sort of story. However the message I got out of it is "Keep moving Forward," It is a new year, with a new beginning you can say. Now is the time to take what we learned from the previous year and move on, move forward, be better. Lets not get caught up in past mistakes or just in the Past in Genernal. Lets look to the future, and future more focused on Christ. How great are lives can be and will be if we keep moving forward, keep moving forward to Christ!
Happy New Year everyone! or in Danish, GODT NYTÅR! ( Pronounciation Got Newt Ore)
Din Dansk Missionær.
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Jeg håber I har haft den bedste nytårs aften nogensinde! Det var en dejlig aften for mig og det er rigtig svært for mig at tro det er året 2011! Er det mærkelig eller ej? Det er meget mærkelig for mig at jeg skal hjem denne år. Jeg følge lidt nervøs og stresset at tage hjem, men det vil nok komme og jeg vil har det fint. En ting jer er lykkelig om er at jeg har alle min familie og venner at komme hjem til. Jeg ved det godt nok at jeg har I at hjælpe mig justere til normalt liv. Det er jeg meget taknemlig for. So mange ting at ser frem til! Jeg håber jeg kan arbejder hårdt for herren før jeg komme hjem!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU! Can you believe it, another year down. Its just incredible to me how fast time is going. The concept of time is quite interesting, if you think about it. Its weird how to all of us it feels different, throughout the year. While my first 2 months on my mission were some of my hardest and slowest times, for others it was speeding by. I am grateful right now at time is just screaming by. Lets just say if a cop were to pull "Time" over for me... the ticket would be outrageous. 2011 is going to be great! So my week was good, quite boring and slow, but fun.
On Monday we continued the remodeling of my apartment. Yes it is finally finsihed and I am happy to report it looks amazing. I uploaded them onto the online web album. Take a look! (Click or copy and paste link)
We also went around the city and did some shopping. My companion really likes to shop and be out. So we walked around and checked out all the stores. It was kind of fun. we didnt buy anything but were just enjoying the sights and sounds of Denmark. I realized that day how much I really am going to miss it here. It kind of hit me like a ton of bricks... I only have 8 months left... scary.
Then on tuesday we had the Jylland Zone Christmas Gathering. We got together as a Zone and met in Århus.Mission president and his family also came. We had a spiritual message of course, then after that we just played games, and ate great food. Then after we did some games and things together as a zone president let us play Wii and talk with each other for the rest of the evening. It was a lot of fun. I was able to see a lot of my old companions and missionary friends. It was a very relaxing day and just plain fun. That took most of the day. Then after the gathering Elder Pfeil and I stayed and cleaned up the church building a little better then how the rest of the zone left it. We ended up coming up a little later that evening. It was a great day.
Then on Wednesday we met with our wonderful English student Thu. We started recently pushing more and more with the gospel and she has really enjoy it. We have her the Joseph Smith story in English and it Vietnamese and she read it and found it very good. Then she also gave us some sad news, and that is she is moving Jan 8th to Canada. Her Husband showed up and thanked us for all our help and teaching his wife English. I could see he was very grateful. I encouraged them to look up the church in Canada as they can continue to offer her classes. Then I told them that the church would be a great way to meet some new people in Canada. They thought that was a great idea. I got there email and they have mine and said if we cant find it we will call you! haha. So I am excited. I also told Thu that church is in English, so she could practice English all day. She just loved that idea. So I hope and pray things will continue to go good and well for her and her husband in Canada.
I also this week got my papers to renew my visa. I am approved and Now I just had to go into the Police station and get a work permit sticker in my passport. So I headed over there and I find the door locked and closed, even though it says its supposed to be open. I figured because of Christmas it must be closed that day. So we waited until the next day and we went over. The thing with my visa is I have to get this done ASAP and before Jan 1st or I might get deported! haha. So I was getting a little stressed out. I finally made it in and they guy told me that I have to go to the immigration office again. I questioned him and he told me he was pretty sure. So again i had to wait until the next day as the immigration office is only open to 12:00. Stupid, yes, but so Denmark. haha, Finally I made it to the immigration office and I went WAY early and was 2nd in line. The lady that helped me was super Nice and was very impressed that an American was speaking danish. She even went out of her way to make sure I got my hospital card (Denmark as socialized health care). I thought that was very nice of her. I said yes I had it and she smiled and wished me a merry Christmas. Normally these immigration people are never nice. So it made my day and I was proud to speak decent danish with her! :)
Then on Friday we had a normal work day planned when we got a call from our Zone Leaders informing us that president as cancelled work for the day and that we need to get home. So we ran home and had a really boring day. lol! We have nothing to do in the apartment. So we slept and listened to music. Then at 6:00 we went to a members home for New Years. We went to Brother and Sister Bohonkos. They are a really old couple but really fun. She made great food and we played a lot of fun board games. We also watched the Queens speech she gives every year. It was a lot of fun this year as I was able to understand her. She mentioned issues in the country and mostly how we need to have more respect and love for each other. She really gave a great speech. It was a lot of fun. :) To see the Queens speech check out this link.
THEN MIDNIGHT HIT AND 2011 BEGAN! It was insane as last year. HUGE FIREWORKS and drunk people everywhere! Honestly that night is the only time on my entire mission where i felt a little concerned for my life! The fireworks here that normal people can buy are the fireworks that are illegal in most parts of USA. So it was a lot of fun. We didn't stay out long as missionaries and drunk people and fireworks don't really go together. We got home late and with presidents mission got to sleep in. It was a nice day.
The on Saturday (New Years day) we cleaned our apartment and relaxed. We took a walk outside and just enjoyed the danish air. Then we also got permission to see a Christmas movie in Danish. We watched Polar Express or in Danish, Polar Expressen. It was a lot of fun in Danish. Our apartment is clean and beautiful. I will let you know the results of the mission wide contest. The missionary companionship with the cleanest apartment wins dinner at a nice danish restaurant, on president! haha. I am pretty sure i won...but we will see.
Then on Sunday we met with Nicole after Church. She is doing well and seems very happy in the church. She is still struggling with a few things but she now has a new boyfriend that is a member and he is teaching her and helping her out a lot. I think shes really enjoying the community that comes with the church. Most of all though, she is still progressing in the gospel and I cant be any more proud. The gospel truly does change people. Its a miracle.
Well everyone, I think I officially wrote way to much this week. However I do have a spiritual message for you. If you read in the good Old Testament in the Bible in Genesis 19, you find the story of Lot. This is the story where he was commanded to leave a very wicked city and told not to look back. Well his wife did, and she became a pillar of salt! Its quite a wow sort of story. However the message I got out of it is "Keep moving Forward," It is a new year, with a new beginning you can say. Now is the time to take what we learned from the previous year and move on, move forward, be better. Lets not get caught up in past mistakes or just in the Past in Genernal. Lets look to the future, and future more focused on Christ. How great are lives can be and will be if we keep moving forward, keep moving forward to Christ!
Happy New Year everyone! or in Danish, GODT NYTÅR! ( Pronounciation Got Newt Ore)
Din Dansk Missionær.
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Din Danske Missionær 12-27-2010
GLÆDELIG JUL OG GODT NYTÅR ALLE MIN FAMILIE OG VENNER!
Jeg håber du alle sammen har det godt og at du har haft en dejlig jul tid. Det har været rigtig sjovt for mig og er meget taknemlig at være på computer idag! Jeg elsker jule og kan ikke tror det er næste den færdig! Det er rigtig uheldigt synes jeg. Men, ja, her er min uge! :)
So I hope all of you have had an amazing Christmas and are looking forward to the new year! I will tell you right now, I am looking forward to 2011! Its for many reasons, but I feel that 2011 is going to bring many exciting things! I am excited! Christmas was a great experience again for me! Its my second Christmas in Denmark! This year I learned a little more about Santa Claus. Santa actually visits the children here in the evening. He walks through their door instead of the chimney, and greets all the danish children. He gives them their gifts and then leaves. Then we goes and visits the kids in USA Early in the morning. So I thought that was a fun danish culture thing. Dont forget too, that the Santa here in Denmark is also skinny. haha. I just love it! ;)
On Monday we had a good p-day. We finally got our new carpet! YEA! So we spent some of the day helping our mission leader picking it up. Then we brought it in the apartment and began to cut it and lay it down! It was actually not too bad. The way they lay carpet here is quite different from what I have seen in the USA. The carpet our mission leader found is really nice and thick and quite comfortable. It is way expensive but he got it way cheap. However the color is red. So its kind of fun. We have red carpet in the Århus Apartment! haha. Future missionaries are just going to love me! lol! That took most of the day, then we went out and did some contacting on the streets. Nobody was really interested but we taught a few people and they were nice. We offered them a Christmas card and they took it, so you never know.
Then on Tuesday we met up at a cafe with a less active member. She is really sweet and wanted to eat out with us to wish us a Merry Christmas. She is starting to come to church more often now and is enjoying it more and more. So that is always good. She took us to a very danish Cafe and we at a very danish brunch. It was very good and consisted of Scrambled eggs, liver, sausage, bread, rybread, and a few other things. Its not supposed to fill you up, but keep you happy. So it was a great danish experience. My Greene is lucky! haha. After this less active we ran to the church and met with our English student THU. She is doing well and is learning English really fast. We had a fun lesson and for a Christmas gift we gave her the Joy to the World DVD. She may not understand too much English, but Music is kind of universal. :) Then after THU we ran to an appointment with Nicole. She is doing so much better and is progressing wonderfully in the gospel! :) We ate dinner with her and watched the Christmas devotional. It was fun and we had a great evening. Its always a pleasure to hear from our prophets.
Then on Wednesday we met up again with our mission leader and finished laying carpet down throughout the rest of the apartment. He also bought us some new furniture and we assembled that most of the morning. Then we took all the old furniture to the dump and cleaned out our storage unit in the basement of the apartment building. Let me tell you it has not been touched in years. It was quite gross and I found a spider the size of my foot. It scared me to death. Ugh,... That took a big portion of the day, but lt felt good to get things cleaned and organized! You know me! :) haha.
Then on Thursday, the day before Christmas eve we ate with the Bishops family for lunch. We had a little longer of an appointment as we made cookies, danish Christmas hearts and stars, and just had a great time hanging out with the family. The Bishop has a great family with great kids. We had a good time. Then we came home and worked some more on this tour project of mine. I will send a letter one day with all the project details. I am sure you are all curious as to what it is. So in time, I will give you the details! :)
Then on Friday we spent Christmas evening with an older lady named Eva Pallensen. She is a remarkable women. She has been on numerous missions, temple missions, and all types of weird callings and stuff for the church.She is a great lady and is a great missionary. We had a great evening with her and she made the traditional Christmas food. We had a great Time. Then on the 2nd day of Christmas we spent the day with our mission leader and his family. We also had a great time. I also called my family from his house. Then on Sunday we spent the 3rd day of danish Christmas with the kreiberg family. We played board games and had a great night also.
It was a great week filled with the wonderful, sweet spirit of Christmas. I hope all of you also felt that spirit. Remember to listen to it all year long, as the spirit of Christmas is really just the spirit of Christ. I sure love my savior, more then I ever had. I know hes real and that he loves me. I know he is aware of my problems and trails. I know he cries when I am sad and rejoices when I am happy. How grateful I am for him, how grateful I am to be a missionary for him.
There are also more pictures on my online web album. Take a look! (Click or copy and paste link)
I sure love and appreciate all of you! I wish you the best New Year, and hope much success for you! Have a great week!
Din Danske Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Jeg håber du alle sammen har det godt og at du har haft en dejlig jul tid. Det har været rigtig sjovt for mig og er meget taknemlig at være på computer idag! Jeg elsker jule og kan ikke tror det er næste den færdig! Det er rigtig uheldigt synes jeg. Men, ja, her er min uge! :)
So I hope all of you have had an amazing Christmas and are looking forward to the new year! I will tell you right now, I am looking forward to 2011! Its for many reasons, but I feel that 2011 is going to bring many exciting things! I am excited! Christmas was a great experience again for me! Its my second Christmas in Denmark! This year I learned a little more about Santa Claus. Santa actually visits the children here in the evening. He walks through their door instead of the chimney, and greets all the danish children. He gives them their gifts and then leaves. Then we goes and visits the kids in USA Early in the morning. So I thought that was a fun danish culture thing. Dont forget too, that the Santa here in Denmark is also skinny. haha. I just love it! ;)
On Monday we had a good p-day. We finally got our new carpet! YEA! So we spent some of the day helping our mission leader picking it up. Then we brought it in the apartment and began to cut it and lay it down! It was actually not too bad. The way they lay carpet here is quite different from what I have seen in the USA. The carpet our mission leader found is really nice and thick and quite comfortable. It is way expensive but he got it way cheap. However the color is red. So its kind of fun. We have red carpet in the Århus Apartment! haha. Future missionaries are just going to love me! lol! That took most of the day, then we went out and did some contacting on the streets. Nobody was really interested but we taught a few people and they were nice. We offered them a Christmas card and they took it, so you never know.
Then on Tuesday we met up at a cafe with a less active member. She is really sweet and wanted to eat out with us to wish us a Merry Christmas. She is starting to come to church more often now and is enjoying it more and more. So that is always good. She took us to a very danish Cafe and we at a very danish brunch. It was very good and consisted of Scrambled eggs, liver, sausage, bread, rybread, and a few other things. Its not supposed to fill you up, but keep you happy. So it was a great danish experience. My Greene is lucky! haha. After this less active we ran to the church and met with our English student THU. She is doing well and is learning English really fast. We had a fun lesson and for a Christmas gift we gave her the Joy to the World DVD. She may not understand too much English, but Music is kind of universal. :) Then after THU we ran to an appointment with Nicole. She is doing so much better and is progressing wonderfully in the gospel! :) We ate dinner with her and watched the Christmas devotional. It was fun and we had a great evening. Its always a pleasure to hear from our prophets.
Then on Wednesday we met up again with our mission leader and finished laying carpet down throughout the rest of the apartment. He also bought us some new furniture and we assembled that most of the morning. Then we took all the old furniture to the dump and cleaned out our storage unit in the basement of the apartment building. Let me tell you it has not been touched in years. It was quite gross and I found a spider the size of my foot. It scared me to death. Ugh,... That took a big portion of the day, but lt felt good to get things cleaned and organized! You know me! :) haha.
Then on Thursday, the day before Christmas eve we ate with the Bishops family for lunch. We had a little longer of an appointment as we made cookies, danish Christmas hearts and stars, and just had a great time hanging out with the family. The Bishop has a great family with great kids. We had a good time. Then we came home and worked some more on this tour project of mine. I will send a letter one day with all the project details. I am sure you are all curious as to what it is. So in time, I will give you the details! :)
Then on Friday we spent Christmas evening with an older lady named Eva Pallensen. She is a remarkable women. She has been on numerous missions, temple missions, and all types of weird callings and stuff for the church.She is a great lady and is a great missionary. We had a great evening with her and she made the traditional Christmas food. We had a great Time. Then on the 2nd day of Christmas we spent the day with our mission leader and his family. We also had a great time. I also called my family from his house. Then on Sunday we spent the 3rd day of danish Christmas with the kreiberg family. We played board games and had a great night also.
It was a great week filled with the wonderful, sweet spirit of Christmas. I hope all of you also felt that spirit. Remember to listen to it all year long, as the spirit of Christmas is really just the spirit of Christ. I sure love my savior, more then I ever had. I know hes real and that he loves me. I know he is aware of my problems and trails. I know he cries when I am sad and rejoices when I am happy. How grateful I am for him, how grateful I am to be a missionary for him.
There are also more pictures on my online web album. Take a look! (Click or copy and paste link)
I sure love and appreciate all of you! I wish you the best New Year, and hope much success for you! Have a great week!
Din Danske Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
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