New Mission President~ July 2011 ~

New Mission President

The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has called Donald E. Anderson and his wife Janet Lee Anderson to serve as the mission president and wife of the Florida Ft. Lauderdale Mission. They will be begin their service on or about July 1, 2011.

Donald E. Anderson, 51, and Janet Lee Gietz Anderson, four children, El Paso 4th Ward, El Paso Texas Stake. Brother Anderson serves as stake president and is a former bishop, stake young men's president, high councilor, ward young men's president and missionary in the New Zealand Auckland mission. He is a retired vice president and chief financial officer for Stagecoach Trucking. Born in El Paso, Texas to Forrest L. and Dorothy Freestone Anderson.Sister Anderson is a counselor in the ward relief society presidency and a former counselor in the stake young women's presidency, ward young women's president and ward relief society president. Born in El Paso, Texas to Frederick and Alice White Gietz.

Elder & Sister Golden Visit
JD is behind Sister Hale

~A Better Feeling Elder~

Hola mi querida familia!!! How is everybody doing?! I hope that all is going well with all of you!Everything is going great here for me! Yes Mother, I feel so much better! I am completely 100% ready to go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded!

It was last Wednesday, I was still sick but I couldn't take it anymore, I had to go out and work. I couldn't stay in the house any longer while the work wasn't getting done. I said a prayer that the Lord would give me strength and energy to work that night, and he answered my prayers ten fold. I was able to ride my bike and go and visit some people. It wasa really great night. Ever since then, I have just been feeling great! So don't worry about me Mother, I am fine. Not a thing to worry about.

Oh my gosh it looks like you all had SO much fun with the Family Vilorio! They are great people and I love them so much. It is true what Sister Vilorio said, she really was my mom while I was serving in that area. That family has a great and special spirit, as does the whole West Palm Beachward. I woke up this morning, and the first thought that popped into my mind was, "Oh man I forgot! I really hope that the Vilorio's went and saw my family!" Sure enough, they did.

Thank you so much for the pictures! What a great experience it is to be able to share my family with others that I have served, and in turn have served me. I hope you all know how much that means to me that you were all able to meet. Elder Vilorio is a great kid, and is going to be a great missionary! Thank you all so much for that! I love you all!

So as far as how far I ride my bike everyday, it's crazy lol. My guess is that we ride our bikes at least 10 miles everyday. But, that's a minimum.We ride so much. Don't worry Mother, yes, I am drinking water. By the way Big D, thanks for making me buy those handkerchiefs. They are coming quite in handy lol. As you all can imagine, I sweat quite a lot. The humidity is crazy, but,I'm being able to adjust to it alright. While I'm riding I'm OK, it's just when I stop and let that humidity sink into me is when I really feel it. But this place is great, I love it here. The new area is progressing very well. We're working a lot with the members, and they have helped us SO much! They are great people here. There are so many Latin people here too. It's such a good thing though, I am using my Spanish constantly, and I love the Spanish people. They have been very good to us.It is a beautiful area though. Lots of beautiful homes, beautiful scenery,and wonderful people.

I am very sorry to here about the struggles that Hermana Tyson is having with her knees. All will be well with her though, I am not worried about that. She has a lot of Faith, and a great and strong spirit. She'll get through this. I am so excited to see her. She is doing great preparations at the MTC. Actually right now, one of the Elders that I live with is fresh from the MTC, and was in the same zone as Hermana Tyson. Crazy right that he knows her! It's true Mom, this Gospel weaves peoples lives together to create Zion. It is a great and marvelous work. I know that this Gospel is true, and is the only correct Gospel on the face of the Earth. We truly are guided by men called of God, who communicate with Him for our welfare.

How is the ward doing? How is everybody doing in the ward? I hope that all is going well. Is Landon Hancuff getting prepared to go on a mission? Tell him that I say "Hi" and that I love him. He is a great kid who needs to serve a mission. All young men need to serve a mission. What a great and rewarding work it is. The love that you gain for the people is amazing.

So I got a call from Elder Sepulveda this morning. He told me that some of the people that we were teaching together got baptized, and that many miracles are happening. Likewise, I am seeing many miracles in my area with my great companion right now. We had an investigator of ours come to church this last week, and the members were completely amazing with her. They took her under their arms, welcomed her, and just helped us as missionaries so much! It has been great to see.

Well family, it's about time to go. I hope that each and every one of you know and feel of how much I love you. You all mean everything to me, and I am so very grateful for the blessing to have my family together forever. I know that that is true. I love you all.

Love,

Your Son, Brother, and Uncle

Elder Hardman

*Elder's "other" family*

This is the Vilorio family from West Palm Beach Fl. Elder Hardman lived in their neighborhood and ward while he served with Elder Sepulveda in West Palm Beach.

Sister Vilorio was ELders "mom" while he served. The family is Carlos the father, Carmen the mother, Kayla the daughter, Carlos the oldest son going to CA for his mission, that is why they are here in SLC, he is entering the MTC on Feb 23rd. for the Carlsbad Spanish Mission, the youngest boy is Hyrum.

It was so great to have them in our home and that we could all share our Elder and the love we have for him and this perfect gospel that keeps us all connected.

Love.... MOM

~Keep Him in your Prayers~

Hello everybody! How is everybody?

I hope that all is going well with everyone. Everything is going good here, except for the past few days I have been sick.Yesterday I had a temperature of 102.2, and when I woke up this morning I woke up with a temperature of 102.6. I'm taking medicine and everything, it's just when the medicine wares off I go back to not feeling very goodagain. It's okay, I'll live.

Happy belated Birthday Grandpa!!! I love you! Happy Early BirthdayGrandma!!! I love you!

So as you all may know now from the blog, I am in Miami Lakes South now with Elder Bowler. He is a great companion. He is from Colorado, and has been out for about 14 or 15 months now. I've been feeling bad that he's had to kick it around the apartment with me being sick, but I just cannot do anything. Yes, this area is a biking area again. And I'll tell you what,it's tough. We have to ride our bikes for 20 minutes before we even get into our area. Where we live is the other Elder's area (Miami Lakes North),and we live with them too. So yeah, it's crazy. My goal this transfer is to lose 20 pounds. I have already lost 8. But, that could be due to me being sick. I don't have much of an appetite as of right now. But, I can almost guarantee you that I am going to reach that goal, if not more too.

So, Elder Sepulveda wrote me and told me that one of our investigators is going to get baptized this Saturday! I'm so excited for that! I do miss Elder Sepulveda, but I have a great companion now. When Elder Sepulveda ends after this transfer, in April he's going to come back and find me, and we're going to go out and teach with him just being a member. It's going to be sweet! I'm really excited for that. Before I forget, has the Vilorio family called you yet? I sure hope that they have. Everything has been fine with this transition of areas and companions. At first it was a little weird, but that's normal. But now I'm feeling perfect and ready to go. I've got something to do in this area. If I didn't, the Lord wouldn't have sent me here. So I just gotta buckle up and keep going. This week we are going to have a Zone Council, and Elder Golden from the Seventy is coming to talk with us. I'm really excited for that! It will bea great experience!

I too am glad to hear that Jared is back on American Soil. That is such a huge relief! So is he back for good and not going back to Afghanistan, or what? I sure hope that he doesn't have to go back ever again! Speaking of that, Matt when do you leave for basic? Be careful and have fun and do good. Where is it at that you are going again? I can't remember lol.

So far in this area we have two baptismal dates right now. One will get baptized for sure, the other one we're still working with more. It's very exciting though I can't wait! So this area that I am in right now is different than West Palm Beach. Down here it's a lot more rich. But that's okay the people are still great, I love working with them.

Our Ward Mission Leader is awesome. He served his mission in Carlsbad, California. He was describing one of his areas to me,and it was sweet. He was literally in the mountains with a 4 x 4 truch, and just out in the middle of nowhere. My kind of livin' lol. But even with that, the Great Florida Ft. Lauderdale Mission is better. What a great mission we have.

Well family, not much else to report on this week. Oh, I'm not going to be e-mailing again until Tuesday next week because of Presiden't Day. Just sayin'. I'm not going to be able to send any pictures home because we e-mail at a library now. I'm going to have to buy a little adapter thing first before I do. So hopefully next week. I'm sorry! I love you all from the bottom of my heart, and continue to be in my prayers. I ask that you continue to keep me, my companion, and our area,and the whole mission in your prayers. They are truly felt, and I am grateful for them. I love you all! Have a great week, take care, be careful in everything that you do. Don't drive and talk on your cell phone at the same time, especially in the snow and ice. I love you all! Give allof the little kids big hugs and kisses from Uncle Elder Hardman!

Love,

Your Son, Brother, and Uncle

Elder Hardman

*One Happy Excited Elder*

Well hello everybody!!! How the heck is everybody? I am doing just fantastic!

So transfers are tomorrow, so I don't know where I am going yet. I won't know until tomorrow. But today I have to pack and get ready to go for tomorrow. So,next week when I am where I am going, I'll let you know the details about everything. But I'm not going to lie, I am super excited to go to a new area. However, having said that, it is hard to leave this ward. Even though I have only been here for a short time, I have a very strong love for this ward and area and my companion. I know that the Lord has something for me to do in my next area. I am willing to do all that I can to find that mission, and accomplish it. It's been a great ride here in West Palm Beach. But like I said before, All is well, all is well.

Where are y'all goin' for Grandma and Grandpa's trip? That should be a lot of fun! Have fun with that and be careful! I'll let that family know, I'm sure that they can come and visit you on Monday. I gave them your phone numbers and everything, and when I see them today I will have them call you very soon. Don't worry about translation, the kids speak English. Oh by the way, Sister Vilorio (The Mom of the family that is going to come) wants a rock from Utah. Like a red rock or something like that. So, if you coulddo that for me please that would be GREAT! Because she has been a very big help for me, and has been my Mom in this area. She is such a sweet lady,and they are such a sweet Family. Carlitos, the boy that is going on his mission, is going to serve in the San Bernandino California mission.Spanish speaking. But, he already speaks Spanish lol. But I speak Spanish too, so it's all good.

Tell Grandpa and Grandma Cameron that I love them too. If they can, have them write me. I would LOVE to hear from them! As well as all the others in the Ward! Tell everybody "hello" from Elder Hardman, and that I love them so much and am extremely grateful for their love, support, and influence on me. They all mean so much to me.

How is everything going in the ward? How is the missionary work going over there? Have you had the chance to feed and/or talk with the missionaries lately? If not, do so soon. Get a hold of Brother McGee and tell him that you would like to do that. Because trust me, it blesses the lives of the missionaries more than you know. As well, it blesses your lives more than you know. So please do that soon. Have a nice meal with them, and then ask them if they can teach you a little bit. That will be AMAZING for both parts.

Thank you everybody for all of your prayers and support for me. I hope you all know that you have my prayers and support from me. Trust me, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for every single one of you. The Lord gives us angels in our lives. Every single one of you, have been an angel in my life. A literal Angel. I am so very eternally grateful for the gift of Families.The Lord has truly blessed me with the choicest Family, and the most choice parents. You all mean a lot to me. Also, I love the family that I have gained here in West Palm Beach. They as well have truly been angels to me.*One of the family of angels in this Area. Right to left, Pablo, Nubia,Ofelia, Me, Jaime, Sister Suarez, Sister Rodriguez, and Sarita in thecenter.*

Thank you for sending me those addresses Mother! I wrote Elder Bracken lastweek, and now I am going to send out to Elder Kinikini. I need to write Elder Cameron and Elder Burton. And trust me, I fully intend and plan on doing that.

So guess what, the sister missionaries were teaching 3 kids, and they got baptized and confirmed on Sunday! And guess who got to baptize one? Yeah,I did! It was amazing. She is a sweet little 10 year old girl. It was truly a choice experience because there Mom was there, and she felt the Spirit SO strong, as we all did. She too is going to be getting baptized very soon now. She loves it, and knows that it is true. I'll send you some pictures.

*The Baptism. I baptized the little girl in the front. Her name is Jelina. Such a sweet little girl. Elder Sepulveda baptized the little boy Nathaniel, and Elder Neeley baptized the girl in the back, Mimi.*

Well family, not much more to report/talk about this week. I'll have more for you next week with me getting transferred. I love you all so very much,and I thank you for all that you are doing for one another. Take care, havea good week, have fun, and be careful in everything that you do! Nos Vemos.

Love,

Your Son, Brother, and Uncle

Elder Hardman

*After we baptized them. We decided that a picture when we were wetwould be sweet!*

*At a cuban restaurant called Havana. Really good, but we got jipped.Long story. Doesn't matter lol.*