YOU've got a FRIEND in ME...

YOU've got a FRIEND in ME

this is tate's elmo...his very first friend.  he would carry elmo everywhere with him.  when elmo started to lose his eye sight  tate would bring elmo to me and i would color in elmo's eyes.  elmo and tate did a lot together.  one of tate's favorite movies is "TOY STORY"  he loved how andy had such loyalty to his "friends".  he loved the song 'you've got a friend in me".   friends have always been important to tate.  once you are tate's friend you are one for life.  his first partner in crime was another little blonde haired boy who lived just down the street.  these two got into plenty of mischief before they even entered kindergarten. ironically this young man is also serving a mission in chile.   tate has a special friend who he met at preschool.  these two have always been there for each other...helping one another through good and bad times.  he met one of his friends while playing little league baseball and continued to be best of friends whether playing on the same team or against one another.  he has a special friend who he writes to weekly and always asks me if i have seen her :) he has too many friends to list or name one by one but  this last year as tate and his friends were contemplating going on missions and then preparing he was as excited for him self as he was for his friends and their decisions to serve.  he has attended many farewells of friends and have seen them leave to serve.  this last week as two of tate's friends entered the mtc... tate was waiting inside to greet them and give them a big hug.  he loves to hear about the many other friends who are just receiving their calls or preparing to go.  if you are lucky enough to be a friend of tate's...you know he will always be your biggest fan and that "youv'e got a friend in him".

hollay i am so freaking excited to get to chile....this week better go by fast. haha this last week flew by and i cant even remember what i did. its the same old same old here in the mtc so other than soccer and devotionals nothing cool happens. best part of my week was seeing nick and derek. i wasn't allowed to go to the curbside but i still waited for them right after they actually got into the mtc and gave them both big hugs..

one theme i have felt this week is when things get hard you just have to work harder. this was an awesome comparison that one of my friends made. He said "are we better than christ? NO. so then why should the things in my life and the trials in my life be easier than his." i hope you all take a second to think about that. He probably had one of the hardest lives out of all of us and yet he never complained once. be grateful for how easy our life is and how many blessings we have been given. i also have wanted to study the saviors life more in depth. who better to study than the savior himself.

and remember when your life gets hard or seems tough, think how much harder the saviors was. love ya! 

Elder Harding