Kære Familie og Venner og heck, HELE VERDEN! :)
Det er so dejligt og fantastisk at denne uge er Jul! Jeg er so lykkelig og taknemlig denne uge har endelig kommet. Jeg håber vi alle sammen husk hvad Jul er virkelig om. Det handle om Jesu Kristi og hans forsoning. Jeg håber når du er ud og købet nogen ting du husk ham og hvad an har gjort for us! So Glædelig Jul og godt Nytår!
Hello everyone! Guess what, Christmas is finally here! I am so excited and cant believe it! I love the decorations, the music and how this time of the year brings the best out of people. But most of all, especially now as a missionary I am grateful to talk to my family! Its been something I have been waiting for, for many months! Now this opportunity is only a few days away! Oh how great Christmas is! :)
So to begin we had a fun time on Monday pulling up the carpet in our apartment. It was a TON of work. I mean the carpet was old and was falling apart as we were pulling it up. There was this rubber dust all over the floor and it got all over us. I mean it was gross. So we ripped it all up and threw it away. I never felt more happier in my life. Then we had to scrape all the glue off the floor that was holding the carpet down. It was quite exhausting. Then after we got all the glue off, we sweeped the floor, then vacuumed. Then we grabbed a mop and wiped down the floors. To our surprise there was a beautiful wood floor underneath. However we are getting new carpet so that wood floor will be covered again. Its such a shame as it is very nice, but unfortunately missionaries don't know how to take care of things.Then after doing that we decided to go into the city again to see the sights and sounds and enjoy the Christmas atmosphere. We also ran to the post office and sent our Christmas packages home.
Then later that night we headed to a members home who invited a non-member friend over to eat.We had a great dinner and taught the man about the church. I honestly don't know how interested he really is, but its a start. It was nice the member even did this. I was very impressed. He said he wants to meet again so we will see. Most of all I just felt very honored that the member trusted me to teach her friend. I thought that was very wow, to me. It takes a lot to get members here in Denmark to invite there friends over and be taught. So it meant a lot of me that she trusted me.
Then on Tuesday we met with our new convert Nicole. We have had many scheduling conflicts since her baptism, so this was the first real teaching appointment since her baptism. I mean we have taught her in church and met up with her a few times during the last few weeks, but not in a formal teaching environment. We taught her about being patience through our trials and how our trials help us learn and grow in our lives. We showed her this Mormon messages film called Patience by Elder Uchtdorf and another one that talks about forgiveness. Then to end the lesson we showed her a 3rd Mormon messages called Good things to come by Elder Holland. That one talks about how if we fight through our trials and do our best- good things are sure to come. Below are the links to these films. If you get the opportunity to see these, please do. They are very good and have great messages.
Continue in Patience - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=654QGjYHlJY
Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7zwQ_7q-fU
Good Things to Come - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nczw6xHJ0I
The lesson turned out great and Nicole learned a lot. She is progressing and doing much better. Shes making a lot of changes in her life and working really hard to follow Christs example.
Then on Wednesday we woke up early all 4 of us in Århus and ran to Langenæs Bakery and purchased some pastries, as today was the last day we all 4 would be together as 4 missionaries in Århus! It was a delicious pastry and we had a lot of fun. Then later that evening we met up all 4 at the church as the Young women in the ward decided to throw us a Christmas party. It was a lot of fun. The girls were all cute and they reminded me of my little sister MaKenzie a lot. There is this one girl in there that is the same age as MaKenzie and she asked me if I had a sister. I told her I did and ended up talking about MaKenzie all night. I showed her some pictures and they were all, "THAT'S YOUR SISTER!! SHES ADORABLE!" I just laughed and asked them, "Why are you so shocked? Am I not as pretty?" They all laughed and had a great time. We played games, ate food and just had fun. This is a good group of girls over here in Århus. I was so impressed with them as they are doing whats right, following the savior, and keeping their standards high. In a country where morals don't exist, It was a breath of fresh air to see hope and happiness in the future of these young women in this country. It was a testimony builder for me as i have seen some ugly things here in Denmark. The night was a lot of fun and I sure appreciated them doing that for us missionaries.
Then on Thursday we went all the way to Odense for a training. Odense is the middle island between Sjælland and Jylland. It was a long train ride but it was worth it. The training was good and my Greene bore his testimony in danish and did a great job. We learned how to better commit people to baptism and how to help them keep their baptismal dates. I learned a lot and will hopefully apply what I learned soon. We also said goodbye to the other missionaries so now its just me and my Greene in Århus.
Then on Friday we met with a less active member named Fareed again. Hes struggling with coming to church, but he just loves our visits. We had a good appointment and we told him to try to make it to church, especially this Sunday as its Christmas! He said he would try.
Then on Saturday we finally got these Christmas Cards the mission has created for us to give to people. I ordered a lot as I decided to send a Christmas card to every less active in the ward. So we spend most of Saturday writing these cards and putting them in envelopes. There is over 100 less actives in Århus ward... so it was a lot of writing, licking, and stamping! lol! I hope the cards are a success and will bring a little Christmas joy into these peoples hearts and hopefully rekindle there feelings they once had for the church and most of all for their savior Jesus Christ. We also included a card that gives instructions on how they can get a free Christmas DVD about Jesus and his birth if they call a certain number for there Christmas gift. :) It was a lot of work but everyone likes getting a card.
Then on Sunday we didn't have any of my investigators come. Its a busy time of the year and a lot of them are with their families, which is where they should be. However Nicole arrived and is still doing well in church. She even brought her son. She sacrificed some things to get him to come as she wants him to grow up in the church as much as possible. Shes having issues with custody and is in the courts right now. I hope and pray things work out as this little boy also needs the gospel. However it was a nice to see how important church is to Nicole as she brought her son. It was nice.
My spiritual message for this week is simply MERRY CHRISTMAS! Remember the CHRIST part in that and remember truly why we celebrate it. I promise if Christ is a huge part of your Christmas season this year, you will find a sweet spirit in your home, stronger and more wonderful then not.
So to each and everyone that reads my emails, I love you and wish you the very best Christmas!
GLÆDELIG JUL OG GODT NYTÅR!
Din Danske Missionær
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Din Danske Missionær 12/13/2010
Hej alle min Familie og Venner!
Jeg er altid taknemlig at snakke med dig på email! Det glæde mig meget! Jeg håber du alle sammen har haft en dejlig uge! Det har været en god uge for mig. Det er so sjovt at have 4 missionærer i Århus. Det er also rigtig sjovt at trainer en ny missionær. So jeg har det godt og kan ikke vent at fortælle mig om din uge.
Hello everyone! It is great to be at the computer today to send you all an email. I hope this letter finds you well and happy, and I wish you the best Christmas Season ever. So Denmark is getting all ready for Christmas! The stores are packed with people and Santa Claus lit the city, so all the Christmas lights are on. They also have tons of street stores with all types of home made treats that are only available around the holidays. People are in a better mood it seems and a wift of Christmas spirit is in the air. Not to mention, all the Christmas music playing, and all the wonderful decorations. By the way, Christmas music in Danish is a lot of fun! I just love it! :)
So to begin, we began the week with a p-day. This is Elder Feils first p-day in Denmark. I don't think I let him down. We decided to do some Christmas shopping, as he wanted to get a package sent home asap. So we went through all the stores, and I made him speak danish to the employees. haha. He did a great job. I also gave him a huge taste of Danish culture by eating a subway with him. haha. What also added to our joy is we have 2 other missionaries with us. So we have 4 of us doing some Christmas shopping. It was a lot of fun. Were just rocking and rolling over here in Århus.
Then later that evening we had a really weird appointment with a man named Morten. He is a really nice guy and he actually called us to make the appointment. So we met with him and all he was really interested in was what our church does to serve others. I just laughed inside my head, when he asked that, as our church as one of the largest humanitarian effort system in the world. So I shared that with him and of course brought op the Gospel. Well in short he really wasn't interested. He said he would not pray and would not read the Book of Mormon. So I told him, then there is nothing else I can do for you. He got kind of upset as he was expecting me to convince him with Scriptures and with my words, but i cant do that, especially in Danish! lol! If he is not willing to read and pray, then tough, I need to move on. We ended on good terms, but unless he reads and prays, he is on hold with the teaching. In short it was a good experience for Æ.Feil. He did a great job explaining things to them in danish, with a little English too. He was a great help. I was way impressed, especially since its his first week in the land.
Then on Tuesday we had a coordination meeting with My mission leader. We are working a ton in making this Church tour project a reality. I just cant believe how slow the ward is moving. Its like trying to pull teeth to get these members to do stuff. They all love the idea and think its great, but then nothing. Flemming my mission leader is the only one moving at my pace, but hes limited as everything has to go through the Bishop. I am not quite sure why Mission work is not more of a priority in the Århus ward. I mean if they don't make it a focus this ward will be nothing in about 15 years. Converts are required to keep this ward alive. But I am way excited for this, and look forward to seeing this project roll out.
Then on Tuesday we boarded a train to head to Copenhagen. We have a Zones conference on Wednesday. That was a lot of fun. It was about a 4 hour train ride and my companion just passed out and slept the entire way. He is way tired. I can remember my first few weeks in the land. They were long and slow, haha. We were able to see the Copenhagen Temple and it was beautiful. It really is a unique building. Something I learned was that it was originally a church building, and this church building was one of the first in Denmark. I mean there is a lot of history in it. From using the basement as a shelter during WWI and WWII, to having Prophets giving talks in there. Its quite amazing. And Now its a temple. I believe that's quite fitting for a building with so much history. Well the Zone conference went well as we had Elder Kapesky from the area presidency come. He gave a great talk and I learned a lot. After the zone conference we stayed in Copenhagen that night again and attended a fireside were Elder Kapesky was speaking again. Except before that fireside we had to go out and contact for a few hours and invite as many people as we could. That was kind of weird, but fun at the same time. The fireside was great and there were a lot of non members present. It was a success.
The on Wednesday we all came back to Århus and continued our work. We were way tired. I am amazed at how tiring traveling is. For the rest of the week we mainly just contacted people on the street and continued visiting people that used to be taught by the missionaries. We tried visiting this lady and well we got lost in the middle of now where. haha. Me and Elder Fiel forgot our maps and we got off too early at a bus stop. Well we were literally in the middle of now where, all we saw was snow, roads, and power lines. Nothing else. It was kind of freaky actually. However we caught the next bus, and we did find that Lady's house. However she was not home... uge! haha. Well at least now I know how to get there without getting lost.
Other than that my week was pretty mellow. It has been fun to train and I am really enjoying Elder Feil as my companion. He is a hard working and were just doing the work of the lord as best we can. Life does not get any better, then when your following the Lord. So that's my spiritual message for the day. Just follow the lord. If you do that true happiness and huge blessings come your way. You stop worrying about all the things you do and you truly start enjoying life. The plan of our Heavenly Father is happiness, we just need to do things his way. His way is the right way! :)
I sure love you all and pray for your success in all that you do! May the lord bless you and your families this Christmas Season!
Din Danske Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy.
Jeg er altid taknemlig at snakke med dig på email! Det glæde mig meget! Jeg håber du alle sammen har haft en dejlig uge! Det har været en god uge for mig. Det er so sjovt at have 4 missionærer i Århus. Det er also rigtig sjovt at trainer en ny missionær. So jeg har det godt og kan ikke vent at fortælle mig om din uge.
Hello everyone! It is great to be at the computer today to send you all an email. I hope this letter finds you well and happy, and I wish you the best Christmas Season ever. So Denmark is getting all ready for Christmas! The stores are packed with people and Santa Claus lit the city, so all the Christmas lights are on. They also have tons of street stores with all types of home made treats that are only available around the holidays. People are in a better mood it seems and a wift of Christmas spirit is in the air. Not to mention, all the Christmas music playing, and all the wonderful decorations. By the way, Christmas music in Danish is a lot of fun! I just love it! :)
So to begin, we began the week with a p-day. This is Elder Feils first p-day in Denmark. I don't think I let him down. We decided to do some Christmas shopping, as he wanted to get a package sent home asap. So we went through all the stores, and I made him speak danish to the employees. haha. He did a great job. I also gave him a huge taste of Danish culture by eating a subway with him. haha. What also added to our joy is we have 2 other missionaries with us. So we have 4 of us doing some Christmas shopping. It was a lot of fun. Were just rocking and rolling over here in Århus.
Then later that evening we had a really weird appointment with a man named Morten. He is a really nice guy and he actually called us to make the appointment. So we met with him and all he was really interested in was what our church does to serve others. I just laughed inside my head, when he asked that, as our church as one of the largest humanitarian effort system in the world. So I shared that with him and of course brought op the Gospel. Well in short he really wasn't interested. He said he would not pray and would not read the Book of Mormon. So I told him, then there is nothing else I can do for you. He got kind of upset as he was expecting me to convince him with Scriptures and with my words, but i cant do that, especially in Danish! lol! If he is not willing to read and pray, then tough, I need to move on. We ended on good terms, but unless he reads and prays, he is on hold with the teaching. In short it was a good experience for Æ.Feil. He did a great job explaining things to them in danish, with a little English too. He was a great help. I was way impressed, especially since its his first week in the land.
Then on Tuesday we had a coordination meeting with My mission leader. We are working a ton in making this Church tour project a reality. I just cant believe how slow the ward is moving. Its like trying to pull teeth to get these members to do stuff. They all love the idea and think its great, but then nothing. Flemming my mission leader is the only one moving at my pace, but hes limited as everything has to go through the Bishop. I am not quite sure why Mission work is not more of a priority in the Århus ward. I mean if they don't make it a focus this ward will be nothing in about 15 years. Converts are required to keep this ward alive. But I am way excited for this, and look forward to seeing this project roll out.
Then on Tuesday we boarded a train to head to Copenhagen. We have a Zones conference on Wednesday. That was a lot of fun. It was about a 4 hour train ride and my companion just passed out and slept the entire way. He is way tired. I can remember my first few weeks in the land. They were long and slow, haha. We were able to see the Copenhagen Temple and it was beautiful. It really is a unique building. Something I learned was that it was originally a church building, and this church building was one of the first in Denmark. I mean there is a lot of history in it. From using the basement as a shelter during WWI and WWII, to having Prophets giving talks in there. Its quite amazing. And Now its a temple. I believe that's quite fitting for a building with so much history. Well the Zone conference went well as we had Elder Kapesky from the area presidency come. He gave a great talk and I learned a lot. After the zone conference we stayed in Copenhagen that night again and attended a fireside were Elder Kapesky was speaking again. Except before that fireside we had to go out and contact for a few hours and invite as many people as we could. That was kind of weird, but fun at the same time. The fireside was great and there were a lot of non members present. It was a success.
The on Wednesday we all came back to Århus and continued our work. We were way tired. I am amazed at how tiring traveling is. For the rest of the week we mainly just contacted people on the street and continued visiting people that used to be taught by the missionaries. We tried visiting this lady and well we got lost in the middle of now where. haha. Me and Elder Fiel forgot our maps and we got off too early at a bus stop. Well we were literally in the middle of now where, all we saw was snow, roads, and power lines. Nothing else. It was kind of freaky actually. However we caught the next bus, and we did find that Lady's house. However she was not home... uge! haha. Well at least now I know how to get there without getting lost.
Other than that my week was pretty mellow. It has been fun to train and I am really enjoying Elder Feil as my companion. He is a hard working and were just doing the work of the lord as best we can. Life does not get any better, then when your following the Lord. So that's my spiritual message for the day. Just follow the lord. If you do that true happiness and huge blessings come your way. You stop worrying about all the things you do and you truly start enjoying life. The plan of our Heavenly Father is happiness, we just need to do things his way. His way is the right way! :)
I sure love you all and pray for your success in all that you do! May the lord bless you and your families this Christmas Season!
Din Danske Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy.
Din Danske Missionær 12-6-2010
Hey dad, I forgot to hit send last week for last weeks email... whoops. Here it is.
Kære alle min familie og venner!
Det har sneet meget i Århus denne sidste par dager! Det var helt spædende at se! Det her meget kalt og jeg følge som jeg skal fryse! Men jeg har det godt og faktisk har en ny kammerat! Han har lige kommet from mtcet.
Ok, so hey everyone! It is really good to be at the computer today to write to you! I don't have much this week as its been really busy with other stuff then missionary work. I will explain as the letter goes on! I hope this letter finds you well and I hope you are enjoying the Christmas Season! I know I am!
So to begin me and Æ. Warner had our last P-day as a companionship. We decided to do again go to that amazing bakery here in Århus and by some pastries. We also did some Christmas shopping and enjoyed the sights and sounds of Århus. We also took all of our old carpet to this recycle station in Denmark. It was a relief to see that disgusting carpet disappear out of my life! Yes, this sounds dramatic but its true. It was pretty bad. So I look forward to my new carpet coming this week.
Then on Tuesday we spent some of the day visiting some people that once were taught. Unfortunately they were not home, but we did talk to some nice people on the street. Then we came home and did some packing as we had to leave Tuesday night for Copenhagen. So we packed all his stuff off and caught a train. He got off at another stop and I continued with another missionary that's training to Copenhagen to pick up our Greene's.
Then on Wednesday we got up and started getting ready to go meet our Greene's. We decided to get breakfast at this 7-11, so a muffin and some chocolate milk. Then we went inside this store called Super Best and it has an American Isle. haha. So I went a took a look and saw AMERICAN DIET COKE! It was glorious and I bought a can. It was delicious, expensive, but worth it. I was very happy.
Then at 10 we met at the church in Copenhagen, which is close to the temple, to meet our Greene's. I am training Ældste Feil. He is from California, and likes to play water polo. He is pretty cool so far and I think its going to be a great companionship. He already speaks pretty good danish. I was impressed. When I got to Denmark I could barley speak anything, he is actually managing to participate in conversation. So that's impressive. Then we got a train back to Århus and he just collapsed on the train! lol! He was so tired. I was just thinking the whole time how this was me a year ago. So crazy to think how fast time has flown. We came home, unpacked, and we had a planning session as I also have 2 other missionaries in my area that need to keep busy. So we did that, and I am excited to see that this next month brings. :)
Then on Thursday I took Æ.Feil for the first time out to contact. Well the first person we talk is the pretty danish girl and was way nice. She talked to us for quite a while and even new about the Mormon Temples. She said she had a friend married in one. She would not give us her number, but we taught her a little bit about our church so you never know. I just couldn't believe the first person we contacted actually listened. So it was a good experience for Æ.Feil. Beginners luck maybe?
We also had a dinner appointment with a member. That was Æ.Feils first experience with danish member. haha. It was as danish as it could get. We had potatoes, meat, and gravy, and an old lady that speaks very hard to understand danish. So it was quite the first experience for Æ.Feil. I just grinned and laughed inside as I knew exactly what he was feeling. However I think that Lord has really blessed me lately with my danish. I am doing much better than I ever thought I would. For the first time last week a member talked to me and I replied back instantly in Danish. Normally I take a minute to translate, but it just came out without me thinking. It was a good eperience, and that's a sign that language is starting to really click. I am so happy and I thank the Lord every day that he is helping me learn this difficult language. :)
Nicole is doing OK. She is down a little bit this week and truly struggling with a few things. Some serious family events have occurred in her life and she started questioning a few things. However the members were there and I think shes being taken care of. Just know she has the Gospel and the Lord will take care of her.
We also met with Thu, the girl I teach English with. She is doing so much better with English and we started teach a little bit about the gospel to her. I did find out she is moving to Canada in January. So I am going to find out where she is going, and maybe refer her to my brother in Canada. You never know. How cool would that be! :)
So my spiritual message for today is something I have been thinking a lot about lately. Why do people leave God? Why do people leave the church? I think about this because I read a scripture that said, "All good things come from God" so if all good things come from God, then all bad things must come from Satan. So why do people leave God, the person that can give you the GOOD things? Interesting question, and I don't have an answer. So my spiritual message is don't ever forget your Heavenly Father. Don't ever leave him. If you want a life full of "Good things" then don't leave the provider of the good things. Yes trials will still come because Satan is also competing against you. However I believe and know the path that Jesus Christ has laid before us is much happier then any path we can create or any path Satan will create. so remember him in all you do. You will be blessed.
Thanks everyone for your love and support! It means the world. I wish you the very best Christmas season! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Din Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Kære alle min familie og venner!
Det har sneet meget i Århus denne sidste par dager! Det var helt spædende at se! Det her meget kalt og jeg følge som jeg skal fryse! Men jeg har det godt og faktisk har en ny kammerat! Han har lige kommet from mtcet.
Ok, so hey everyone! It is really good to be at the computer today to write to you! I don't have much this week as its been really busy with other stuff then missionary work. I will explain as the letter goes on! I hope this letter finds you well and I hope you are enjoying the Christmas Season! I know I am!
So to begin me and Æ. Warner had our last P-day as a companionship. We decided to do again go to that amazing bakery here in Århus and by some pastries. We also did some Christmas shopping and enjoyed the sights and sounds of Århus. We also took all of our old carpet to this recycle station in Denmark. It was a relief to see that disgusting carpet disappear out of my life! Yes, this sounds dramatic but its true. It was pretty bad. So I look forward to my new carpet coming this week.
Then on Tuesday we spent some of the day visiting some people that once were taught. Unfortunately they were not home, but we did talk to some nice people on the street. Then we came home and did some packing as we had to leave Tuesday night for Copenhagen. So we packed all his stuff off and caught a train. He got off at another stop and I continued with another missionary that's training to Copenhagen to pick up our Greene's.
Then on Wednesday we got up and started getting ready to go meet our Greene's. We decided to get breakfast at this 7-11, so a muffin and some chocolate milk. Then we went inside this store called Super Best and it has an American Isle. haha. So I went a took a look and saw AMERICAN DIET COKE! It was glorious and I bought a can. It was delicious, expensive, but worth it. I was very happy.
Then at 10 we met at the church in Copenhagen, which is close to the temple, to meet our Greene's. I am training Ældste Feil. He is from California, and likes to play water polo. He is pretty cool so far and I think its going to be a great companionship. He already speaks pretty good danish. I was impressed. When I got to Denmark I could barley speak anything, he is actually managing to participate in conversation. So that's impressive. Then we got a train back to Århus and he just collapsed on the train! lol! He was so tired. I was just thinking the whole time how this was me a year ago. So crazy to think how fast time has flown. We came home, unpacked, and we had a planning session as I also have 2 other missionaries in my area that need to keep busy. So we did that, and I am excited to see that this next month brings. :)
Then on Thursday I took Æ.Feil for the first time out to contact. Well the first person we talk is the pretty danish girl and was way nice. She talked to us for quite a while and even new about the Mormon Temples. She said she had a friend married in one. She would not give us her number, but we taught her a little bit about our church so you never know. I just couldn't believe the first person we contacted actually listened. So it was a good experience for Æ.Feil. Beginners luck maybe?
We also had a dinner appointment with a member. That was Æ.Feils first experience with danish member. haha. It was as danish as it could get. We had potatoes, meat, and gravy, and an old lady that speaks very hard to understand danish. So it was quite the first experience for Æ.Feil. I just grinned and laughed inside as I knew exactly what he was feeling. However I think that Lord has really blessed me lately with my danish. I am doing much better than I ever thought I would. For the first time last week a member talked to me and I replied back instantly in Danish. Normally I take a minute to translate, but it just came out without me thinking. It was a good eperience, and that's a sign that language is starting to really click. I am so happy and I thank the Lord every day that he is helping me learn this difficult language. :)
Nicole is doing OK. She is down a little bit this week and truly struggling with a few things. Some serious family events have occurred in her life and she started questioning a few things. However the members were there and I think shes being taken care of. Just know she has the Gospel and the Lord will take care of her.
We also met with Thu, the girl I teach English with. She is doing so much better with English and we started teach a little bit about the gospel to her. I did find out she is moving to Canada in January. So I am going to find out where she is going, and maybe refer her to my brother in Canada. You never know. How cool would that be! :)
So my spiritual message for today is something I have been thinking a lot about lately. Why do people leave God? Why do people leave the church? I think about this because I read a scripture that said, "All good things come from God" so if all good things come from God, then all bad things must come from Satan. So why do people leave God, the person that can give you the GOOD things? Interesting question, and I don't have an answer. So my spiritual message is don't ever forget your Heavenly Father. Don't ever leave him. If you want a life full of "Good things" then don't leave the provider of the good things. Yes trials will still come because Satan is also competing against you. However I believe and know the path that Jesus Christ has laid before us is much happier then any path we can create or any path Satan will create. so remember him in all you do. You will be blessed.
Thanks everyone for your love and support! It means the world. I wish you the very best Christmas season! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Din Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Din Danske Missionær 11/29/2010
Hej alle sammen!
Det er helt fantastisk at snakke med dig idag på email! Det er jeg helt sikkert på. Jeg håber du alle sammen har haft en dejlig uge og alt har skete godt med din Thanksgiving hellidag. Ting var godt for mig og jeg har haft det meget travlt. So det her rigtig slap af at være på bibliotek idag for at skriver til dig! :) So spædende.
Did you catch that? haha! If you did, then you should be in Denmark right now helping me! haha. So what a week it has been for me. It has just been simply crazy! I don't honestly even know where to begin as I am worried i might forget to tell you something! So I think the best idea is to just begin with the start of the week.So here it goes...
So the week begins on a Monday and my poor companion Elder Warner was as sick as he could be. The only problem with him being sick was.... we had to paint our apartment! haha. So we woke up that morning bright and early at 6:30AM, got some work clothes on and began painting our lovely apartment. The reason were painting it this week as next week we are getting new carpet, so our mission leader thought it would be a good idea to paint ASAP so the new carpet wont get paint on it. So we began painting and let me tell you it was a lot of work. My companion was out of commission, so he just did some touch ups. I told him to go sleep but he really wanted to help. So in short I took the roller and basically did all the large painting while my companion followed me with a little brush. We got just about everything finished, except the bedroom and managed to not get too much paint on ourselves. The apartment looks great and it was surprisingly kind of fun! :) Then we went out and ran to the church to finish typing up Nicole's Baptismal program. We needed to get it finished so we could send it to the mission office to be printed. So took care of that then ran back up to let Elder Warner rest.
Then After Monday comes Tuesday! haha. In case you didn't know. Tuesday began with us finishing up painting our bedroom. That didn't take long at all. Then we cleaned up and put the apartment back together. Then we waited until 10 as we had someone coming to install our new oven as our old one died. While we were waiting for him a huge snow storm began and within 2 hours, we had
almost a good foot on the ground. It was insane. So 10 o clock came around and our installer was a no show. So we gave him a call and he said he would be there in an hour. So we waited. Well the hour came and still he was a now show. So we again called him and he said he was on the way. So around 2 he came and installed our new oven! I was happy with the new oven but a little disappointed that took a big portion of our day. Then that even around 6 we had an appointment with Nicole to go over her baptism. We practiced how it would work and basically prepared her for the big day! She was excited and the appointment turned out great.
Then on Wednesday we had our thanksgiving party for the Zone! They decided to hold it in Århus, so I had to do a lot of the planning with the Zone leaders to make it possible. So we had an amazing thanksgiving. I unfortunately got way sick with the cold. I hit the climax of my cold that day and am still a little sick today. It was not happy about the cold. We played some football and had amazing food. We sang some songs, even the national anthem of American and even had some pumpkin pie! It was a completely amazing day! It however snowed the entire day! haha. So it was kind of crazy playing out in the snow! Then that evening we again met with Nicole to go over again the baptism stuff. So said she is ready and had a hard time sleeping that night for Thursday!
So Thursday finally arrived! Let me tell you it was a crazy day! I woke up feeling way sick, congested. I had a cold and it was hitting me hard. Luckily I had 4 missionaries coming to the baptism to help me out, so I was very grateful for that. So we woke up and ran to the church at 9:30 ish to clean the font. It was kind of dirty. We got some strong chemicals and scrubbed that font like crazy. I was surprised to find out the tile in it was white and not a creamish color.... :) Then we began feeling the font around 10:20AM. The bishop warned me it takes about 6 hours to fill up! I was like wow, what a long time. So while the font began filling up we set up the chapel for the baptism, made sure we had towels, refreshments, hymn books were out, etc. Then to top it all off it was snowing again. So we had to stay alert and keep the sidewalk in front of the church shoveled. That was an adventure. Then to top it all off the one coordinating the baptism (ME) was way sick. So i took some really good cold medicine and drugged myself up to get me through the day and the baptism. Well 4:00 finally arrived and so did Nicole and her son. We also had some members. Well the baptism went great. We had the Bishop conduct and a member play the piano and also a musical number.Nicole asked that I speak along with another missionary named Elder Davis. I gave a talk about Baptism and Davis gave a talk about the holy ghost. We also had a member named Bent give a talk about Agency. I got the privilege og baptising her and Elder Davis confirmed her.
It was quite an exciting experience being in the water. I got the privilege of confirming Christina when I was in Slagelse, so Now it was my turn to be on the other end. Well Nicole actually made and brought her own Baptism dress. She looked great... However that dress did not do well in water. She ended up being dunked 4 times as the air could not leave the dress. It was like a water repellent material! lol! So the dunking was not my fault! :) Finally on the 4th try a few members pushed the dress under the water while I pushed Nicole under. So she got baptized, finally! She was way cool about it and jokingly said after, " Maybe I needed those extra dunks! haha. ) Then at the end of the program she gave her testimony and she did a great job. She apologized for how difficult she has been and thanked everyone for their patience. The program went great and Nicole had an amazing experience! I am way happy for her. Ever since she has gotten the Holy Ghost she has not been the same person. She was been more forgiving, patience, and loving to people, when before she was very hostile and angry. Its been a nice change to see in her and I am proud of the changes she has made in her life to get to this point.
So it was a great baptism and she had a great first day at church that following Sunday! The entire ward was so supportive and loving. I could sense a different feel in the ward as they called her "Sister Jensen." though she still has a lot to learn and she still relies on missionaries a little too much, I feel she well be a strong member one day. The lord works in marvelous ways and changes people for the best! :)
Then on Friday me and Elder Warner were as sick as could be! lol! We collapsed in the apartment as those last 2 days we were running around like a chicken with its head cut off! So when we finally got some down time we just collapsed. I am not entirely sure what really happened on Friday. All I know is I remember sleeping a lot and taking lots of cold medicine. It was a nice day.... a well deserved rest.
Well Then on Friday we also found out about TRANSFERS!!!! Are you ready for this.... I don't know if you are.... its quite exiting... maybe I should wait.... yea maybe... OK here it is....
I AM STAYING IN ÅRHUS! Can you believe it!?!?! I get to stay here for Christmas and be with my new convert for a little longer! I was so relieved to hear I was staying. Its always hard to transfer right before Christmas. But wait it gets better, Not only am I staying but Århus is getting another set of missionaries for a month! So there will be 4 missionaries in Århus! I was way stoked for it! We are going to rock Århus and get so much work down! Its going to be amazing! :) But wait.... it gets even better... I AM TRAINING! Yes you read that right I get to train a Greene completely new from the MTC! I am a little nervous but way excited! It was a nice feeling having the mission president call me and tell me I am ready to train. That means he trusts me. So I am excited! I just hope I do actually know what I am doing. Good thing I have the Holy Ghost right?
Well everyone I think that just about raps up my weeks adventures. My spiritual message is quite simple this week, its that I know this church is really Gods Church. How cheesy that may sound, but I have really come to understand this last week how true it really is. I have seen the atonement in action and its REAL. I have also seen the Spirit effect people in ways I have never seen before, I have seen it bring relief to those in need. GOD does exist and he is there and he LOVES us all. This church is not just another religion or another belief. This church is REAL and its True. It always has been and always will. How grateful I am for it and how grateful we all are because of it.
Ok so i have posted more pictures on my online photo album on facebook. You DO NOT need a facebook account to look at the pictures. Simply click on the link below! Enjoy!
">http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050153&id=1429813720&l=949816a8a6
I sure love you all and look forward to seeing you all again soon. I am starting to come to the end of my mission with only 9 months left. I have a lot to do and its nice knowing I have such an amazing support group at home to keep me motivated! However don't forget about my brother, I have to share you now, so keep him and the Canadian people in your prayers. I pray and hope my brother will have an even better mission experience then me! Again I love you all and wish you the very best! Merry Christmas.
Din Danske Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Det er helt fantastisk at snakke med dig idag på email! Det er jeg helt sikkert på. Jeg håber du alle sammen har haft en dejlig uge og alt har skete godt med din Thanksgiving hellidag. Ting var godt for mig og jeg har haft det meget travlt. So det her rigtig slap af at være på bibliotek idag for at skriver til dig! :) So spædende.
Did you catch that? haha! If you did, then you should be in Denmark right now helping me! haha. So what a week it has been for me. It has just been simply crazy! I don't honestly even know where to begin as I am worried i might forget to tell you something! So I think the best idea is to just begin with the start of the week.So here it goes...
So the week begins on a Monday and my poor companion Elder Warner was as sick as he could be. The only problem with him being sick was.... we had to paint our apartment! haha. So we woke up that morning bright and early at 6:30AM, got some work clothes on and began painting our lovely apartment. The reason were painting it this week as next week we are getting new carpet, so our mission leader thought it would be a good idea to paint ASAP so the new carpet wont get paint on it. So we began painting and let me tell you it was a lot of work. My companion was out of commission, so he just did some touch ups. I told him to go sleep but he really wanted to help. So in short I took the roller and basically did all the large painting while my companion followed me with a little brush. We got just about everything finished, except the bedroom and managed to not get too much paint on ourselves. The apartment looks great and it was surprisingly kind of fun! :) Then we went out and ran to the church to finish typing up Nicole's Baptismal program. We needed to get it finished so we could send it to the mission office to be printed. So took care of that then ran back up to let Elder Warner rest.
Then After Monday comes Tuesday! haha. In case you didn't know. Tuesday began with us finishing up painting our bedroom. That didn't take long at all. Then we cleaned up and put the apartment back together. Then we waited until 10 as we had someone coming to install our new oven as our old one died. While we were waiting for him a huge snow storm began and within 2 hours, we had
almost a good foot on the ground. It was insane. So 10 o clock came around and our installer was a no show. So we gave him a call and he said he would be there in an hour. So we waited. Well the hour came and still he was a now show. So we again called him and he said he was on the way. So around 2 he came and installed our new oven! I was happy with the new oven but a little disappointed that took a big portion of our day. Then that even around 6 we had an appointment with Nicole to go over her baptism. We practiced how it would work and basically prepared her for the big day! She was excited and the appointment turned out great.
Then on Wednesday we had our thanksgiving party for the Zone! They decided to hold it in Århus, so I had to do a lot of the planning with the Zone leaders to make it possible. So we had an amazing thanksgiving. I unfortunately got way sick with the cold. I hit the climax of my cold that day and am still a little sick today. It was not happy about the cold. We played some football and had amazing food. We sang some songs, even the national anthem of American and even had some pumpkin pie! It was a completely amazing day! It however snowed the entire day! haha. So it was kind of crazy playing out in the snow! Then that evening we again met with Nicole to go over again the baptism stuff. So said she is ready and had a hard time sleeping that night for Thursday!
So Thursday finally arrived! Let me tell you it was a crazy day! I woke up feeling way sick, congested. I had a cold and it was hitting me hard. Luckily I had 4 missionaries coming to the baptism to help me out, so I was very grateful for that. So we woke up and ran to the church at 9:30 ish to clean the font. It was kind of dirty. We got some strong chemicals and scrubbed that font like crazy. I was surprised to find out the tile in it was white and not a creamish color.... :) Then we began feeling the font around 10:20AM. The bishop warned me it takes about 6 hours to fill up! I was like wow, what a long time. So while the font began filling up we set up the chapel for the baptism, made sure we had towels, refreshments, hymn books were out, etc. Then to top it all off it was snowing again. So we had to stay alert and keep the sidewalk in front of the church shoveled. That was an adventure. Then to top it all off the one coordinating the baptism (ME) was way sick. So i took some really good cold medicine and drugged myself up to get me through the day and the baptism. Well 4:00 finally arrived and so did Nicole and her son. We also had some members. Well the baptism went great. We had the Bishop conduct and a member play the piano and also a musical number.Nicole asked that I speak along with another missionary named Elder Davis. I gave a talk about Baptism and Davis gave a talk about the holy ghost. We also had a member named Bent give a talk about Agency. I got the privilege og baptising her and Elder Davis confirmed her.
It was quite an exciting experience being in the water. I got the privilege of confirming Christina when I was in Slagelse, so Now it was my turn to be on the other end. Well Nicole actually made and brought her own Baptism dress. She looked great... However that dress did not do well in water. She ended up being dunked 4 times as the air could not leave the dress. It was like a water repellent material! lol! So the dunking was not my fault! :) Finally on the 4th try a few members pushed the dress under the water while I pushed Nicole under. So she got baptized, finally! She was way cool about it and jokingly said after, " Maybe I needed those extra dunks! haha. ) Then at the end of the program she gave her testimony and she did a great job. She apologized for how difficult she has been and thanked everyone for their patience. The program went great and Nicole had an amazing experience! I am way happy for her. Ever since she has gotten the Holy Ghost she has not been the same person. She was been more forgiving, patience, and loving to people, when before she was very hostile and angry. Its been a nice change to see in her and I am proud of the changes she has made in her life to get to this point.
So it was a great baptism and she had a great first day at church that following Sunday! The entire ward was so supportive and loving. I could sense a different feel in the ward as they called her "Sister Jensen." though she still has a lot to learn and she still relies on missionaries a little too much, I feel she well be a strong member one day. The lord works in marvelous ways and changes people for the best! :)
Then on Friday me and Elder Warner were as sick as could be! lol! We collapsed in the apartment as those last 2 days we were running around like a chicken with its head cut off! So when we finally got some down time we just collapsed. I am not entirely sure what really happened on Friday. All I know is I remember sleeping a lot and taking lots of cold medicine. It was a nice day.... a well deserved rest.
Well Then on Friday we also found out about TRANSFERS!!!! Are you ready for this.... I don't know if you are.... its quite exiting... maybe I should wait.... yea maybe... OK here it is....
I AM STAYING IN ÅRHUS! Can you believe it!?!?! I get to stay here for Christmas and be with my new convert for a little longer! I was so relieved to hear I was staying. Its always hard to transfer right before Christmas. But wait it gets better, Not only am I staying but Århus is getting another set of missionaries for a month! So there will be 4 missionaries in Århus! I was way stoked for it! We are going to rock Århus and get so much work down! Its going to be amazing! :) But wait.... it gets even better... I AM TRAINING! Yes you read that right I get to train a Greene completely new from the MTC! I am a little nervous but way excited! It was a nice feeling having the mission president call me and tell me I am ready to train. That means he trusts me. So I am excited! I just hope I do actually know what I am doing. Good thing I have the Holy Ghost right?
Well everyone I think that just about raps up my weeks adventures. My spiritual message is quite simple this week, its that I know this church is really Gods Church. How cheesy that may sound, but I have really come to understand this last week how true it really is. I have seen the atonement in action and its REAL. I have also seen the Spirit effect people in ways I have never seen before, I have seen it bring relief to those in need. GOD does exist and he is there and he LOVES us all. This church is not just another religion or another belief. This church is REAL and its True. It always has been and always will. How grateful I am for it and how grateful we all are because of it.
Ok so i have posted more pictures on my online photo album on facebook. You DO NOT need a facebook account to look at the pictures. Simply click on the link below! Enjoy!
">http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050153&id=1429813720&l=949816a8a6
I sure love you all and look forward to seeing you all again soon. I am starting to come to the end of my mission with only 9 months left. I have a lot to do and its nice knowing I have such an amazing support group at home to keep me motivated! However don't forget about my brother, I have to share you now, so keep him and the Canadian people in your prayers. I pray and hope my brother will have an even better mission experience then me! Again I love you all and wish you the very best! Merry Christmas.
Din Danske Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Monday, November 22, 2010
Din Danske missionær 11-22-10
Hej Alle Min Familie og venner!
Det er so viderundelig at blive en missionær i Danmark! Jeg er so taknemlig for det og ikke kan vent at tale med jer om min uge.
So this week has been... whats the word... slow! I cant even begin to tell you how much things have slowed down. I have managed to stay busy in other ways, but in short teaching appointments or anything with an investigator has been very minimal. I
So to begin we have an appointment,well multiple appointments with our investigator named Nicole. She came to church on Sunday and things seem to be on track for November 25th! We sent her programs in to be printed, got instructions on how to fill the baptismal font, and got approval from the Bishop. So things are on track with her and I am proud of the changes she has made to be ready for this date. She has really worked hard and has had to deal with ton in her life to get to this point. So shes excited and texts me constantly how exited she is! She was with a member today getting things worked out with her baptismal dress and that just got her all happy. So things are on track and I look forward to Thursday. I will let you know how it goes next week. However this week we continued our lesson on Christlike attributes with her. We taught patience and being humble. Those are 2 things I think we all, ALWAYS need to work on. She laughed when I told her what they were as these were 2 things she has struggled with for a long time. haha. The lesson went well and again she has taken what she has learned and began to apply it. I have already seen a big improvement in her.
We also met with our investigator named Tobias! He is doing alright. He is struggling to see the importance of the church. He thinks its great and interesting but I don't think he is 100 percent committed. So were working on finding a way to make church more interesting. However he is still way cool and constantly feeds us! haha. He also bought one of the new iphones and he showed it to me. I wanted to cry because it was so beautiful. We then showed him the Book of Mormon application and told him to download it.... it just laughed... I don't think he realized I was serious. :) We taught him the 2000 stripling warrior story. We told him that God can give one strength to face the challenges one needs in life. We told how the Laminites relied on their own strength and that's why they failed. We taught that when one truly relys on the Lord, he cannot fall. He found it interesting so we will see what the future brings! Way cool guy though!
We also this week went shopping with my mission leader and bought a new oven for the apartment. It was fun. He managed to talk to the guy at the store and get the oven for 1000 crowns off! WOW! That's a score in Denmark. So we ended up paying only 3200 kronor for the thing (so around 600 dollars). Not bad for Denmark. It was fun and it was a good deal. I am now cooking wonderfully and making good food. Our last oven broke so I have not really been cooking much... we have been eating sandwiches and so soup. We were pretty limited on our choices. But now I am eating well and cooking! I love the new stove. Now watch me get transferred next transfers haha, after putting all the work in to getting a new oven. :) The joys of missionary life.
I also this week got the chance to go to Copenhagen. My companion Elder Warner got permission to see an investigator he prevously taught get baptized. So we had to wake up early, catch a 4 hour train ride to get there. As we were on the train it began to snow! That was kind of crazy! It was actually sticking! Because of that a lot of trains were delayed and it caused a mess. Luckily mine had no problems and we arrived safely in Copenhagen. Then we saw the baptism and it was a great service. The spirit is always so strong and amazing during those. Except the missionaries there in Copenhagen made the water too hot... so they had to quickly run some cold water through it too cool it down. So that was kind of funny. Its a good thing God has a since of humor right? Then after the baptism we hung our for a few hours with the missionaries there. It was good to seem them as one was in my MTC group. Then me and Elder Warner again got back on the train and went back to Århus. However almost every train to Jylland (The main part of Denmark thats connected to Germany) was cancelled. Yikes! I was getting a little worried. We managed to find a train that took us to the middle island called Fyn. This is the island that is between jylland and sjælland. However it left a little later. So we grabbed some McDonalds, ahah, yes McDonalds, and waited for the train. Well we caught it and finally made it to Århus. It was not as smooth of a trip as it was getting to Copenhagen! :) Long day of traveling, but it was nice and fun to get to see Copenhagen for a few hours. I know Elder Warner was very grateful to get the oppertunity to go!
I also this week have gotten one step closer to getting ready to do my church tour idea. I will give your more details later, but I am getting some posters and flyers I created approved and then printed. Then were going to send out announcements and get this idea rocking. I am excited to see if any results come from it. I will keep you updated on the status of my project! The Bishop is excited and I am working very closly with the members to get this idea a reality.
I dont have much of a spiritual message for today. I am been very busy and just have not had much time to think about it. All I guess I want to say is remember the Lord is always watching our for you and taking care of you. I was a little worried about the whole train situation when coming home from Copenhagen. However I had the faith that the Lord is there and that he loves me and that he will get me where I need to go. So just remember that though life can get crazy and messed up, remember somebody is in control and that if you call upon his help and have the faith he can help, all things are possible!
I wish you the very best week! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I hope you guys all eat some extra food for me as the traditional thanksgiving food is hard to find in Denmark! haha. Love you all!
Din Danske Missionær
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Det er so viderundelig at blive en missionær i Danmark! Jeg er so taknemlig for det og ikke kan vent at tale med jer om min uge.
So this week has been... whats the word... slow! I cant even begin to tell you how much things have slowed down. I have managed to stay busy in other ways, but in short teaching appointments or anything with an investigator has been very minimal. I
So to begin we have an appointment,well multiple appointments with our investigator named Nicole. She came to church on Sunday and things seem to be on track for November 25th! We sent her programs in to be printed, got instructions on how to fill the baptismal font, and got approval from the Bishop. So things are on track with her and I am proud of the changes she has made to be ready for this date. She has really worked hard and has had to deal with ton in her life to get to this point. So shes excited and texts me constantly how exited she is! She was with a member today getting things worked out with her baptismal dress and that just got her all happy. So things are on track and I look forward to Thursday. I will let you know how it goes next week. However this week we continued our lesson on Christlike attributes with her. We taught patience and being humble. Those are 2 things I think we all, ALWAYS need to work on. She laughed when I told her what they were as these were 2 things she has struggled with for a long time. haha. The lesson went well and again she has taken what she has learned and began to apply it. I have already seen a big improvement in her.
We also met with our investigator named Tobias! He is doing alright. He is struggling to see the importance of the church. He thinks its great and interesting but I don't think he is 100 percent committed. So were working on finding a way to make church more interesting. However he is still way cool and constantly feeds us! haha. He also bought one of the new iphones and he showed it to me. I wanted to cry because it was so beautiful. We then showed him the Book of Mormon application and told him to download it.... it just laughed... I don't think he realized I was serious. :) We taught him the 2000 stripling warrior story. We told him that God can give one strength to face the challenges one needs in life. We told how the Laminites relied on their own strength and that's why they failed. We taught that when one truly relys on the Lord, he cannot fall. He found it interesting so we will see what the future brings! Way cool guy though!
We also this week went shopping with my mission leader and bought a new oven for the apartment. It was fun. He managed to talk to the guy at the store and get the oven for 1000 crowns off! WOW! That's a score in Denmark. So we ended up paying only 3200 kronor for the thing (so around 600 dollars). Not bad for Denmark. It was fun and it was a good deal. I am now cooking wonderfully and making good food. Our last oven broke so I have not really been cooking much... we have been eating sandwiches and so soup. We were pretty limited on our choices. But now I am eating well and cooking! I love the new stove. Now watch me get transferred next transfers haha, after putting all the work in to getting a new oven. :) The joys of missionary life.
I also this week got the chance to go to Copenhagen. My companion Elder Warner got permission to see an investigator he prevously taught get baptized. So we had to wake up early, catch a 4 hour train ride to get there. As we were on the train it began to snow! That was kind of crazy! It was actually sticking! Because of that a lot of trains were delayed and it caused a mess. Luckily mine had no problems and we arrived safely in Copenhagen. Then we saw the baptism and it was a great service. The spirit is always so strong and amazing during those. Except the missionaries there in Copenhagen made the water too hot... so they had to quickly run some cold water through it too cool it down. So that was kind of funny. Its a good thing God has a since of humor right? Then after the baptism we hung our for a few hours with the missionaries there. It was good to seem them as one was in my MTC group. Then me and Elder Warner again got back on the train and went back to Århus. However almost every train to Jylland (The main part of Denmark thats connected to Germany) was cancelled. Yikes! I was getting a little worried. We managed to find a train that took us to the middle island called Fyn. This is the island that is between jylland and sjælland. However it left a little later. So we grabbed some McDonalds, ahah, yes McDonalds, and waited for the train. Well we caught it and finally made it to Århus. It was not as smooth of a trip as it was getting to Copenhagen! :) Long day of traveling, but it was nice and fun to get to see Copenhagen for a few hours. I know Elder Warner was very grateful to get the oppertunity to go!
I also this week have gotten one step closer to getting ready to do my church tour idea. I will give your more details later, but I am getting some posters and flyers I created approved and then printed. Then were going to send out announcements and get this idea rocking. I am excited to see if any results come from it. I will keep you updated on the status of my project! The Bishop is excited and I am working very closly with the members to get this idea a reality.
I dont have much of a spiritual message for today. I am been very busy and just have not had much time to think about it. All I guess I want to say is remember the Lord is always watching our for you and taking care of you. I was a little worried about the whole train situation when coming home from Copenhagen. However I had the faith that the Lord is there and that he loves me and that he will get me where I need to go. So just remember that though life can get crazy and messed up, remember somebody is in control and that if you call upon his help and have the faith he can help, all things are possible!
I wish you the very best week! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I hope you guys all eat some extra food for me as the traditional thanksgiving food is hard to find in Denmark! haha. Love you all!
Din Danske Missionær
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Monday, November 15, 2010
Din Danske Missionær 11-15-10
Hej Alle Min Familie og Venner!
Det er så dejligt at skriver til jer i day! Det betylder rigtig meget til mig og jeg ser meget frem til det hver uge! Her er min uge, og jeg håber du kan nyde denne brev!
So once again I have had a great week but it was been a little slower. I am afraid the slow weeks are going to start being a normal thing, as the Christmas comes closer and closer. I am so excited for the holidays, but not excited for the effect the Holidays have on missionary work.
So to begin we had a good start to the week. We met with our investigator Nicole. She is on track for her baptism on November 25th. She met with the mission president this week and is cleared for her baptism! So we have begun to create her program and do other things to prepare for that day. She is doing much better and has really changed. She is learning more and More and applying the stuff she is learning to her own life. She is attending institute and other young adult acitivies in other wards. She is enjoying those a lot! She also purchased new scriptures and has gained a stronger desire to study lately. she is doing better! I hope and pray the best for her! I will keep you updated as the date gets closer and closer! :) Lots of stuff can happen as the baptism day arrives.
Then on Tuesday we had our apartment repairman come to fix some things. I was hard to explain things in danish to him, but luckily we had our mission leader with us to help us. I was quite fun to practice my danish. I am really fixing up this apartment. Then on Friday I heard from the mission president that we are having a "Cleanest apartment contest" haha. I am determined to win! So I told my mission leader and he also got way excited! So me and my companion and my mission leader our going out to buy some new paint, and new carpet (As the apt really does need it... we have approval from mission office) and all kinds of things to spruce up my apartment! lol! Whats great is it was all Flemmings (My mission leaders) idea! Hes making it so fun, and were really enjoying this project! I am telling you, my apartment is going to rock, and I am so going to win! haha. Flemming and I have come up with design ideas and all kidns of plans to win this contest. He even wants to bring some of his furniture over to our apartment, just so it looks good when we send the picture in for the contest! :) He is also determined to win! GO ÅRHUS ELDERS! :)
Then on Friday we had a specialized training in Århus. Its kind of like a Zone conference except that only our mission president instructs us. It was really good and it was basically talking out making commitments with people. Things like committing baptism sooner then later, introducing Book of Mormon more in our lessons, etc. It was a great instruction and I learned a lot to improve my missionary work. That lasted all day and it was a lot of fun to visit with all the other missionaries in my Zone!
The on Saturday our Ward had a baptism of an 8 year old! Let me tell you the ward was just all excited about it! What was even greater about it, was this family invited every non member friend they had! It was amazing how many non-members were in that building! I talked to many of them and they seemed scared when they saw my badge but after I talked they calmed down as they realized I am not scary! I mean seriously, who couldn't resist my charming smile? haha. Just kidding. I met this American actually at that baptism that is friends with the mother of the daughter that was baptized. I had a great chat with her and I guess she is somewhat interested in the church. It was great to talk to her and introduce me as a missionary to her. Now she knows were nice people and not pushy or weird. So I hope with time and prayer maybe I could teach her. The baptism turned out wonderfully and this little girl was so excited to show the church to all her non-member friends. Before the baptism she was giving them all tours and showing them where she has class and primary, etc. She was a good little missionary to her friends. It was cute. All her friends were so supportive and sweet. Its a shame we cant be the same way as adults. We tend to judge to quickly as we get older. Kids just have a great way do love and respect people.
So my spiritual message goes with my story about the baptism. As we deal with people throughout our day, Mormon or not. Remember to always be respectful and loving to all and everyone. Sometimes we has members get so caught up in judging other religions because we know ours is true. Though we are the only true church, I believe many good things can be learned from the many other churches in this world. As we show our love and respect, just like those kids showed that 8 year old getting baptised, that's when we truly are being Christlike. That's the best way to show others our church, and one day the truth.
Have a great week everyone and thank you again for all your love and support!
Din danske Missionær
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Det er så dejligt at skriver til jer i day! Det betylder rigtig meget til mig og jeg ser meget frem til det hver uge! Her er min uge, og jeg håber du kan nyde denne brev!
So once again I have had a great week but it was been a little slower. I am afraid the slow weeks are going to start being a normal thing, as the Christmas comes closer and closer. I am so excited for the holidays, but not excited for the effect the Holidays have on missionary work.
So to begin we had a good start to the week. We met with our investigator Nicole. She is on track for her baptism on November 25th. She met with the mission president this week and is cleared for her baptism! So we have begun to create her program and do other things to prepare for that day. She is doing much better and has really changed. She is learning more and More and applying the stuff she is learning to her own life. She is attending institute and other young adult acitivies in other wards. She is enjoying those a lot! She also purchased new scriptures and has gained a stronger desire to study lately. she is doing better! I hope and pray the best for her! I will keep you updated as the date gets closer and closer! :) Lots of stuff can happen as the baptism day arrives.
Then on Tuesday we had our apartment repairman come to fix some things. I was hard to explain things in danish to him, but luckily we had our mission leader with us to help us. I was quite fun to practice my danish. I am really fixing up this apartment. Then on Friday I heard from the mission president that we are having a "Cleanest apartment contest" haha. I am determined to win! So I told my mission leader and he also got way excited! So me and my companion and my mission leader our going out to buy some new paint, and new carpet (As the apt really does need it... we have approval from mission office) and all kinds of things to spruce up my apartment! lol! Whats great is it was all Flemmings (My mission leaders) idea! Hes making it so fun, and were really enjoying this project! I am telling you, my apartment is going to rock, and I am so going to win! haha. Flemming and I have come up with design ideas and all kidns of plans to win this contest. He even wants to bring some of his furniture over to our apartment, just so it looks good when we send the picture in for the contest! :) He is also determined to win! GO ÅRHUS ELDERS! :)
Then on Friday we had a specialized training in Århus. Its kind of like a Zone conference except that only our mission president instructs us. It was really good and it was basically talking out making commitments with people. Things like committing baptism sooner then later, introducing Book of Mormon more in our lessons, etc. It was a great instruction and I learned a lot to improve my missionary work. That lasted all day and it was a lot of fun to visit with all the other missionaries in my Zone!
The on Saturday our Ward had a baptism of an 8 year old! Let me tell you the ward was just all excited about it! What was even greater about it, was this family invited every non member friend they had! It was amazing how many non-members were in that building! I talked to many of them and they seemed scared when they saw my badge but after I talked they calmed down as they realized I am not scary! I mean seriously, who couldn't resist my charming smile? haha. Just kidding. I met this American actually at that baptism that is friends with the mother of the daughter that was baptized. I had a great chat with her and I guess she is somewhat interested in the church. It was great to talk to her and introduce me as a missionary to her. Now she knows were nice people and not pushy or weird. So I hope with time and prayer maybe I could teach her. The baptism turned out wonderfully and this little girl was so excited to show the church to all her non-member friends. Before the baptism she was giving them all tours and showing them where she has class and primary, etc. She was a good little missionary to her friends. It was cute. All her friends were so supportive and sweet. Its a shame we cant be the same way as adults. We tend to judge to quickly as we get older. Kids just have a great way do love and respect people.
So my spiritual message goes with my story about the baptism. As we deal with people throughout our day, Mormon or not. Remember to always be respectful and loving to all and everyone. Sometimes we has members get so caught up in judging other religions because we know ours is true. Though we are the only true church, I believe many good things can be learned from the many other churches in this world. As we show our love and respect, just like those kids showed that 8 year old getting baptised, that's when we truly are being Christlike. That's the best way to show others our church, and one day the truth.
Have a great week everyone and thank you again for all your love and support!
Din danske Missionær
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Din Danske Missionær 11/08/2010
Kære Familie og Venner!
Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Let the winter season begin, officially! It has snowed in Denmark. It did not stick but it was snowing! Is that crazy or what! I cannot believe we are entering the 2nd week of November... its just crazy. Time is flying by and I am getting closer and closer to the end of my mission. Its just incredible how fast time flies. I am doing well and have had a decent week. This week again was more mellow.
To begin We had a rough beginning of the week. However we did meet with our investigator named Nicole. She is doing much, much better. In fact she has changed a lot and is finally making real progress. This week we decided to teach her about Christlike attributes. We began with Faith and Hope, and then continued on to Charity and Love. She really liked them and enjoyed the scriptures we shared with her. She has already begun to apply some of those attributes into her life. Her baptismal date is for November 25 officially now, and things seem to be on track for that. I will keep you updated as the date comes closer and closer.
We also met with Fareed again this week. He just loves having us over. She shared a spiritual message with him that involved the Book of Mormon. We encouraged him to begin reading the scirptures again and to try to make it to church. Other than that he just loves us. I mean I have never met a man so grateful to have missionaries come over. He truly is a good person and is doing his best with the life he has. I am glad I am here to help him to the best of my abilities. Whats also neat is, I am also learning things from him. Good man, good appointment.
We also met with another investigator named THU. This is the girl we teach English. She is doing better and better each week we meet with her. I am very impressed with the progress she is making. The only problem is she is really shy to speak. I understand her pain completely... I struggled and in all reality still struggle, having the confidence to speak danish. So I have been relating to her pretty well, and shes progressing. We teach her a little about the church here and there, but struggles understanding. I hope with time, things can progress farther.
Then on Saturday we had another apartment inspection from the new couple missionaries that serve in a city called Aalborg. They arrived in Denmark about 4 weeks ago. As I began to talk with them I found out they are from ALPINE with names Elder and Sister Jensen! Sweet! A little Alpine reunion. For those who are from Alpine I asked them the good old true alpiner question, "Do you live close to the buffalo?." They laughed and they passed my alpiner test. They are way cool and my companion and I gave them a tour of Århus. It was fun. By the way.... My apartment passed with flying colors.... I bet to most of you that was a shocker.... haha. :)
So Saturday evening came along and we sat down around 9 to plan and we realized how rough of a week it was. We have had very little contact with our investigators and in short never got the chance to invite them to church. So I was quite sad that none of my investigators were coming. So I said a prayer asking Heavenly father to prepare someone, anyone so I can have an investigator at church.
Well Sunday rolled around and I arrived at church. I began greeting the members and being social when in walks the Jensen's. They are the couple missionaries serving in Aalborg. Not only did they come to church but they brought this young girls around 24 years old in. They began to talk to me and said that when they pulled up they saw this girl starring at the church building deciding whether to enter or not. So Elder Jensen went up with a smile to her and invited her in. Well she stayed through sacrament meeting and had a good experience. I got her number and she is interested in learning more. Her name is Lykke and she answered my prayers.
So my spiritual message for the day is, don't EVER forget the power of prayer. This is something that's REAL and AMAZING. I knew my prayer was answered yesterday when the Jensen's brought that girl through the door. I know the power of prayer works. Maybe not always in the way we want it, but it works. In my case he not only got an investigator in church, but he also gave me a new investigator to teach. I love my Heavenly Father and how he continually blesses and helps his children. How grateful I am for his help, love, and patience. May you remember prayer and use it. He wants to talk to us and prayer is how we do it!
Well everyone, Have an amazing week. Everything is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, so enjoy it as it only lasts for a few months. Take care, and I wish the very best for you!
Din Danske Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy!
Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Let the winter season begin, officially! It has snowed in Denmark. It did not stick but it was snowing! Is that crazy or what! I cannot believe we are entering the 2nd week of November... its just crazy. Time is flying by and I am getting closer and closer to the end of my mission. Its just incredible how fast time flies. I am doing well and have had a decent week. This week again was more mellow.
To begin We had a rough beginning of the week. However we did meet with our investigator named Nicole. She is doing much, much better. In fact she has changed a lot and is finally making real progress. This week we decided to teach her about Christlike attributes. We began with Faith and Hope, and then continued on to Charity and Love. She really liked them and enjoyed the scriptures we shared with her. She has already begun to apply some of those attributes into her life. Her baptismal date is for November 25 officially now, and things seem to be on track for that. I will keep you updated as the date comes closer and closer.
We also met with Fareed again this week. He just loves having us over. She shared a spiritual message with him that involved the Book of Mormon. We encouraged him to begin reading the scirptures again and to try to make it to church. Other than that he just loves us. I mean I have never met a man so grateful to have missionaries come over. He truly is a good person and is doing his best with the life he has. I am glad I am here to help him to the best of my abilities. Whats also neat is, I am also learning things from him. Good man, good appointment.
We also met with another investigator named THU. This is the girl we teach English. She is doing better and better each week we meet with her. I am very impressed with the progress she is making. The only problem is she is really shy to speak. I understand her pain completely... I struggled and in all reality still struggle, having the confidence to speak danish. So I have been relating to her pretty well, and shes progressing. We teach her a little about the church here and there, but struggles understanding. I hope with time, things can progress farther.
Then on Saturday we had another apartment inspection from the new couple missionaries that serve in a city called Aalborg. They arrived in Denmark about 4 weeks ago. As I began to talk with them I found out they are from ALPINE with names Elder and Sister Jensen! Sweet! A little Alpine reunion. For those who are from Alpine I asked them the good old true alpiner question, "Do you live close to the buffalo?." They laughed and they passed my alpiner test. They are way cool and my companion and I gave them a tour of Århus. It was fun. By the way.... My apartment passed with flying colors.... I bet to most of you that was a shocker.... haha. :)
So Saturday evening came along and we sat down around 9 to plan and we realized how rough of a week it was. We have had very little contact with our investigators and in short never got the chance to invite them to church. So I was quite sad that none of my investigators were coming. So I said a prayer asking Heavenly father to prepare someone, anyone so I can have an investigator at church.
Well Sunday rolled around and I arrived at church. I began greeting the members and being social when in walks the Jensen's. They are the couple missionaries serving in Aalborg. Not only did they come to church but they brought this young girls around 24 years old in. They began to talk to me and said that when they pulled up they saw this girl starring at the church building deciding whether to enter or not. So Elder Jensen went up with a smile to her and invited her in. Well she stayed through sacrament meeting and had a good experience. I got her number and she is interested in learning more. Her name is Lykke and she answered my prayers.
So my spiritual message for the day is, don't EVER forget the power of prayer. This is something that's REAL and AMAZING. I knew my prayer was answered yesterday when the Jensen's brought that girl through the door. I know the power of prayer works. Maybe not always in the way we want it, but it works. In my case he not only got an investigator in church, but he also gave me a new investigator to teach. I love my Heavenly Father and how he continually blesses and helps his children. How grateful I am for his help, love, and patience. May you remember prayer and use it. He wants to talk to us and prayer is how we do it!
Well everyone, Have an amazing week. Everything is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, so enjoy it as it only lasts for a few months. Take care, and I wish the very best for you!
Din Danske Missionær,
Med Kærlig Hilsen,
Ældste Skyler Hardy!
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