Monday, January 31, 2011

How the heck are ya'll??!?!?

Well hello there Family! How the heck is everything going there for y'all? Things are just going dandy down here in South Florida! We have all had a pretty good week. It's been kind of crazy, but nothing bad lol. Except for my poor Elder Neeleylol he's not feeling very good. But he is starting to get better. Pray for him.
Oh before I forget, next week is transfers. So remember that I am not goingto E-Mail next week until Tuesday. And also, I already know that I am getting transferred. President Hale told me when we had our interviews with him a week and a half or so ago. However long ago it was lol. So I don't know where I am going, all I know is that I am going. So we'll see, and I'll keep ya updated after I move and go. I don't know if it will be on the blog before I write you after I transfer or not. I don't know.
Okay another thing before I forget. A kid in the Ward that I am at write now got his mission call a little while ago, and enters the MTC on Feb. 23.They are going to leave here for Utah on Feb. 19. So on February 20 they want to come and see you! I already gave them our address and your phone numbers and stuff, so they will probably be calling you some time soon. So if you get a call from a weird number, it's them most likely lol. So answer the phone. They would like to come and see you at about 5:00 or 6:00 p.m.Sunday evening. That will be so great for you to see them!!! The parents don't speak much English, but the kids speak it so don't worry. That wouldbe cool for Matt and Devin to go up and talk to them too! Flip the whole Family!!!!!! Please do it, I know that they would love it, and that you guys would love it!

Okay so the activity that we went and did last week on P-Day was we went to the batting cages and go carts!!! Yeah, I won at go carts lol. Right at the last second. It was freaking sweet! I'll send you some pictures. It was a lot of fun!
* see post before this for pictures*
The work is going really good. Just moving along, talking to a lot ofpeople, and doing what the Lord has called me to do. That's not to say tha tI have got a LONG ways to go, because I know that I do. Not really much to report on, just that the Elder Elder's had a baptism this last Saturday and this guy was amazingly prepared! He is a great guy, and I'll send you some pictures of that baptism too.


Thank you for sending me that of Jared. Sounds like he is doing pretty good over there! I hope that all is going good for him! Tell him that I love him, and hope that he keeps himself safe, and to continue praying! I think about him a lot. How are Kit and Leisa doing? Hope all is well! "All is well, all is well." I loved that package that you sent me!!!!!! It was amazing! I wrote a little bit about it in Spanish last week, I think. I don't know, but I flippin' loved it! Thank you so very much, and the other Elders loved it too!!!!!!
How was your trip to Vegas Daddy? Hope all was good, and you had a good time! Well family, I hope that all is going well for each and every one of you.Thank you so very much for all of your love and support for me, and you inreturn have my love and support. Take care, have a great week, and be safe in everything that you do! I love each and every one of you with all of my heart! I hope that you can feel and know of my love in everything that you do! Most importantly, I hope that you can feel and know of the Love of ourLoving Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ in your lives, andeverything that you do.

Love,

Your Son, Brother, and Uncle
Elder Hardman

* Hair-cut*Pizza*and*a PDAY*

*Hair-Cut*
Elder's NEW hair-cut..he says "the people are turning me Latin"

*PIZZA*
Just Enjoying the pizza! BBQ chicken Pizza, and wings with homemade SPECIAL sauce!

Eating @ "Papa Bambino's Pizza" for FREE! The guy that owns it is a member

*PDAY*

Wait....Why is JD not in the picture?? Oh yeah, because he is in FRONT! LOL..Final lap too! WINNER...WINNER...WINNER!!

Just get out if his way! Some people are starting to call him "Bowser" now because of this picture! He LOVES this picture

Batting Cages! He said he was a little rusty!

~A Day to Go Fishin~

Mi querida familia! Hola como estan? Todo bien aqui! Todo tranquilo. Yo he tenido una gransemana! Gracias por todo que ustedes han hechos para mi! Si yo recibi mipaquete! Muchisimas Gracias! Todo de los elderes dicen gracias por lascorbatas! ellos les encantan! Igual que nuestro converso nuevo! A el leencanto! El queria que les dijera muchisimas gracias por la corbata. Okay sorry I just wanted a little bit of Spanish in there. I don't knowwhy, but you know haha. Have the boys translate it for you.


So how iseverything going for you all? Sounds like you all had a great week! HappyBirthday you little stinker Kenley! I can't believe you are 2! Wow what acute little stinker I love that little girl, and ALL of those little kids!

So I have had a really good week. Nothing really in particular I guess.Except for the personal priesthood interviews that we had with President Hale this last week! It was so much fun to talk to him one on one, as wellas with Sister Hale! I really love them a lot! We talked about a lot ofthings, and it was a really good interview. I even made them that dessert Morgan! They absolutely loved it! I took a picture of the dessert, but I forgot that card at the apartment, so sorry about that lol.

* YELLOW CAKE BROWNIE*

*Elder Sent a pic on 1/31/11*

This was After 10 min out of the oven

The pictures I have for today are amazing though lol. But it was a really good time witht hem. So Daddy sorry that I forgot to answer your question last week, but I'mgoing to answer it right now lol. Yes I do get the chance to serve the finepeople of South Florida every once in a while. In fact we helped a recent convert move this last week. It took literally all day lol. But it was agood time, and him and his family really needed the help.
Okay Dad and everybody don't hate me, but I have something to tell you thatI did this morning. For this is the reason that I am e-mailing a little later than normal. WE WENT FISHING!!!!!! Yeah one of the senior missionary couples took us! It was so much fun! They also brought an investigator,and at the end he asked me a question that about killed me. He invited us to come with him on his 38 foot sail boat! Oh man I was SO sad! But very happy because I knew that I was being obedient. But I'll send you somepictures. I caught a "Blue Fish." Another Elder caught a Blow Fish lol.But we had to throw that one back because you have to have a special license to kill and fillet one of those due to the poison that they have. But yeah it was a lot of fun, and we're planning to go again soon.

Well family there's not a whole lot more to report on this week. Sorry but this letter is probably a little short. We got something else we're heading to do in just a little bit too, so yeah.


It's the work of the Lord, and I love it! Everyday I can feel my testimony and conviction growing stronger.I can also feel it from all of you guys! I love each and every one of you!Take care, and I will talk to you next week in the e-mail. I love you!
Love,
Your Son, Brother, and UncleElder Hardman

P.S. how is Jared doing? I hope that all is going well with him! Send himmy love and care and prayer for his protection.


Elder Sepulveda, Investigator, JD, Elder Collins *who took the elders*


JD's Blue Fish he caught....Sister Collins, Elder Neeley, JD, Elder Fine



YES, that is an AIRPLANE on a boat behind JD, The cool bridge lifted up to let it go by


What Beautiful Scenery!!

Normal boat size in Flordia..the BIG one not the litte one

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

~Get R Done~

Elder got him a new hat....who does he look like???
*2nd picture is the best*
JD with his CAMO hat...in front of a trailer that was parked at Cracker Barrel..He says "OHYEAH!"
This is where the GET R DONE comes in...doesn't he look like LARRY the CABLE GUY!?? just get him a flannel cut off shirt!!
Here is JD kicking it back in a Rocker...this is his Favorite Picture!

Family that took us to Cracker Barrel...minus their 2 girls..they were off playing
*this guy was one that was baptized on Christmas day...after he was baptized..they were married*
Here's the Whole Family

Inside the Cracker Barrel...I'm home!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Beautiful Florida in January

What a beautiful day it is here in South Florida! It is such a nice day, and has been an amazing week! Now that I have read e-mails it's an even better week! I have had a lot of fun doing things, but more importantly, I have seen and felt the hand of the Lord working with us so much this week.
First I'll tell you about the "temporal" stuff.

This week one of our recent converts invited us to dinner, the one that got married and baptized on Christmas. One of them works at a restaraunt that I haven't been to forever! Anybody know what that restaurant is? I'll just say this, it gave me a little taste of home and the things that I love.
Give up? We went to Cracker Barrel!!!!!! It was amazing! Don't worry I took pictures and I'll send them home. I bought me something there too. I found a Florida Camo Hat! Yeah I bought it. It's pretty sweet lol. So that was a lot of fun. Also last Monday we played basketball with some ward members. Today we are going to go and play too, but the best part is is that today we have some investigators coming. Really really sweet investigators.

I'm looking forward to receiving the ties!!! Actually I should say we all are. Everybody says Thank You so very much Morgan, and they love you a lot! That's coming from the other missionaries and I. We really are grateful for that service to us!

Will you please tell Karli Tyson that I love her and I can not wait to see her!!! Also, please tell her that when she gets to the MTC to keep going.
Everything works out, and she'll be here in Sunny South Florida in no time.
Tell her that I am so proud of her and what she is doing. She has made an amazing choice!

Okay so now the spiritual stuff. So a couple of days ago Elder Sepulveda and I were out working. You know we talk to everybody. So we're riding our bikes and we come across these kids out in the street playing football. We go up and talk to them and it turns out that one of them was baptized about a year ago, but is inactive. The other one is visiting from Tennessee and is really cool. Their Grandma was sitting out on the front porch, and so Elder Sepulveda went to talk to her and I stayed talking with the kid. We got talking and we went up and sat on the porch with his Grandma. They really wanted to hear and know what we had to say. So Elder Sepulveda taught the Grandma, while I taught the kid. Turns out the kid was in jail like a week ago, and prayed for another chance and that he really really wants to change and go to church. I gave him a Book of Mormon and is going to read it and pray about it. He told me he wants to be baptized into the correct church, and thinks this is it. I bore testimony that it was and he was really excited about it. He is amazing. Now the grandma loved it too.
She loved it so much she came to church yesterday! She also excepted a baptismal date for the 29 of January! We're going to set the kid for that too. He couldn't come to church because he was getting some surgery done on his mouth like a tooth getting pulled. Or something like that. But he committed to going next week with us.

Another story. Yesterday I was at church and Elder Sepulveda went with a member to go and pick up another investigator that we had come to church.
So I stuck around with our ward mission leader. He said he had to go and so I went with the next closest Priesthood holder. It was the first counselor in the bishopric. Turns out that he brought somebody to church and was talking to him. He didn't speak a drop of English. The counselor then told me that he had to go, and that he was putting me in the hands of this man.
He wanted me to show him around the church and everything like that. We started going around and I was explaining things to him, and then we got to the baptismal font. I opened it up, and another member that I was with that just got his mission call and I started explaining things to him. He got real teary eyed and started talking to me a lot. He was born Catholic but doesn't believe it. He said that he could feel something different here and that it is real and knows that it is true. I gave him a Book of Mormon, marked a place for him to read and to pray about, and we went into Sacrament meeting. After the meeting he went in a lesson with another Elder. He came out and had accepted and committed to a baptismal date for the 29 of January. He is truly prepared to receive the Gospel. I love this man he is really amazing.

Between the other Elders, the Sisters, and Elder Sepulveda and I, we had so many investigadors come, and the members were bringing people too. The members here are great, and really want to do missionary work. I love them a lot.

Then last night, Sunday night, we had a "missionary fireside." It was for all members, investigators, inactives, less actives, and everybody who wanted to come. The main focus was on those invesigators. But the members were there as support and testimony. The other Elders explained and gave a little bit of background on The Restoration. We then watched the movie "The Restoration", not the same one as at the JSMB but the missionary one. After that we split up into four groups with us missionaries separated, and did a little question and answer time. It was very spiritual, and the investigators could feel the Spirit very strong.

The hand of the Lord is working hard and truly does prepare people to receive the Gospel. I have seen the hand of the Lord so much in my life this week, but most importantly in the lives of others that do not have the Gospel yet. My testimony has been strengthened greatly.

I love you family. I hope that you can feel of the love that I have for each and every one of you. I ask for your forgiveness if I have wronged any of you in any way. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. I leave you all with my testimony for the week, In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,
Your Son, Brother, and Uncle
Elder Hardman

Monday, January 3, 2011

New Year....


Hola mi familia!!! Como estamos? Estoy muy bien. yo he estado un pocoenfermo por como 3 dias pero estoy bien. How is everybody doing? I am doing just fantastic.

This week of transfers has been really really good. It was a choice experience to listen to Elder Zwick talk. I got a chance to talk with him for a little while, not personally but he came over to our table when we ate after the meeting and we talked for a little bit. I totally forgot that he was a customer of yours Mother, or else I would have talked to him about it. When we were listening to him, he talked about some things that I really needed to hear.He was truly inspired. His wife and His son spoke too. His son has a mental and physical handicap. He is the sweetest and has a genuine love for missionaries. I went up to him and told him that I love him too and he just kept saying, "I love you too. We really love you a lot. I love you." He kept saying that. It was the sweetest, and most genuine thing that I have heard in a long time. He truly brightened my Spirit, as well as Elder and Sister Zwick. The whole meeting was just amazing. So much learning and growing going on. Looking back on it, it truly is a blessing.

So Elder Robinson is an AP now, and the new Elder that we are living with is named Elder Neeley. He is a GREAT missionary, and a GREAT kid. So Morgan,we have a new Elder...You know what that means lol. We're thinking pink or red. But nothing too flashy. Something that we would feel comfortable wearing around President Hale. And can we get 5? Elder Sepulveda and I have a recent convert that I want to give one too. He means a lot to me.Gracias Sister! Love you! I'll pay you back! So as far as thing that I may need right now, I don't need a coat. I'm fine Mother don't worry. All part of the missionary work. Can you send me a new SD Card for my camera? Mine is almost full, and I don't want to delete any of the pictures. When I get the one from you all, I will send the other one home and you can download all you want and make CD's if you'd like.Gracias! My birthday package was sweet!!! Love the salami and cheese and crackers!!! Good pick on the salami Dad! But most importantly, good pick on the red clothes!!! They are sweet I love them!!! Sorry Mother lol but blue, you know. As far as clothes for Karli Tyson, I don't know lol. Just tell her to follow what her packet tells her. That should tell her everything. I don't know is there a specific question that she has? Tell her to write me and I can help her out easier. As far as seeing sisters often, it just depends on your zone and district and stuff. Right now we have sisters in our district, so I see them often. But other sisters I don't see all that often. The ones in the zone maybe once or twice a transfer but that's it.Others, not unless we have a whole mission reunion/meeting or something like that.

Holy cow the snow is ridiculous!!! My poor puppy dog that was such a cute picture. I'm sure that he is loving it though. Thank you so much for the pictures!!! I'll send some home in return. So yes my birthday was actually really really good! I'll send some picturesof it. It was a really good day. I took 2 naps! LoL it felt great. I was truly blessed on this Birthday. Don't worry Mother, the members took really good care of me just like you would have. I felt really at home with them.They are truly a blessing in my life and I love them a lot.

Well Family it is time to go. I love you all a lot! I too have a testimony of this Gospel, and that I do know that it is true. Everyday my testimony gets strengthened in one way or another. Mother, I'm making a goal for you to read the Book of Mormon twice this year. Once by your self, and once with Daddy. Daddy, same to you. Read the Book of Mormon personally and with Mother. I promise you that if you do, your relationship will grow so much stronger, and you will have the strength to do the things that you need to and want to do. These blessings are yours on account that you truthfully seek and work to reach this goal.
I love each and every one of you with all of my heart! I hope that you feel that, and know that personally each and every day.
Love,
Your Son, Brother, and Uncle
Elder Hardman

Birthday boy.....BIG 20...on Dec 28th



Eating some good food!

~Chistmas letter...& Birthday~

Hola mi Familia! Como estan? Estoy super bien en este dia porque hoy es mi cumpliano! Si yotengo 20 anos ahora. Ustedes pueden creerlo?! Porque este manana yo estuvepensando un poco sobre cuantos anos yo tengo ahora y yo no podia creerlo.Pero estoy feliz porque soy su hijo, hermano, tio, primo, y sobrino y todoel resto. no les gusta leyendo en espanol? Okay perdon yo voy a escribiren Ingles ahora entonces. I don't know why but I just felt like going off on a Spanish tangent rightthere lol.

Oh yeah sorry I totally forgot to tell you all that on the week of transfer meetings our Preparation Day is on Tuesdays. So sorry aboutthat. Mother I just knew that you were going to call the mission office haha. But I'm not getting transferred. Elder Sepulveda and I are stayingin our area. I'm pretty darn excited for it. Elder Robinson is leaving.He is the zone leader that we live with. He is amazing, and truly has beenone of the biggest influences on me right now. I look forward to hangingout with him when I get home. He's from Farr West, UT and loves theoutdoors. So, it will be pretty great.

Thank you SO much for all of the Birthday Wishes! They mean a lot. DaggomI'm getting old. 20 Years Old!!! Wow, it's amazing. I love it. It'salready been a good Birthday1 Thank you SO much for the package!!! It wasamazing! I love everything in it! And Dad, you know me. Easy Cheese,Crackers, and Salami? Wow, you know your Son SO WELL!!! I about cried whenI saw all of that. And the Card just about had me in tears haha. I was like..."YES! it is so funny!" I really was laughing so hard! So, thank you for everything!! I love you all!!
So the baptisms and the wedding were great!!! It was truly amazing, and an experience that I will NEVER forget!
Morgan thank you so much for the video of Drake! I could view it, but I couldn't hear it. But, I could tell what he is saying. He is so cute and getting so big! Everybody give all of the little kids big hugs and kisses from Uncle Elder Hardman!

Not a whole lot has happened in 2 days lol. But, it has been a great 2days. It's been so cold, the cold humidity just cuts right through ya. Ihad 2 sweaters on, and I was still cold (not to mention my insulation that Ihave built in). That's when you know that it's cold haha. I tell you what! I hope that everybody had a very Merry Christmas, and is going to have avery wonderful New Year! I'm really excited for illegal fireworks being legal down here haha.

Well family I love you all SO much with all of my heart! Feel that, and know that everyday!!! You are also in my prayers, and I hope and pray forthe best for each and every one of you! I love you!

Love,
Your Son, Brother, and Uncle
Elder Hardman



Christmas Day!

Christmas Breakfast FRENCH TOAST


One of the brothers that got baptized then he was married right after

Everyone that was baptized on CHRISTMAS DAY!!
What a great way to spend his first Christmas away from home...doing the Lord's work on the day of his birth..
Some of the people that were baptized on Christmas day!!