i LovE tO sEe tHe TemPle...

i LovE tO sEe tHe TemPle... I love to see the temple...I’m going there someday...To feel the Holy Spirit,To listen and to pray...For the temple is a house of God,

A place of love and beauty...I’ll prepare myself while I am young;This is my sacred duty.

 I love to see the temple...I’ll go inside someday...I’ll covenant with my Father;
I’ll promise to obey...For the temple is a holy place...Where we are sealed together...
As a child of God, I’ve learned this truth: A family is forever.

i have been thinking a lot of temples lately and the blessing we have in our live to be sealed as a family! GO TO THE FREAKING TEMPLE!!!!!!! that is all i am going to say to you guys...i see so many people down here who have been sealed in the temple but NEVER go...i don't care if you don't think you have time....MAKE TIME. i miss that place so much and want you guys to go constantly so you never forget! make it a goal to go once or twice a month at the least! we didn't go to the temple just to go once or twice a year...go more..

so family sounds like you guys are doing really really well and keeping busy...so am i! this week was a really busy one! i had another baptismal interview which are always fun. also we had an activity in the church that was really fun where we had like food and dances from 5 different countries so that got a lot of people too! we also found some really good investigators this week who look like they will progress really well! i am really excited to start having some good success in this ward. its an amazing ward!  also today we had a really fun activity with practically the whole mission. we went to a soccer field in buin and ate bbq and played sports and just chilled out! it was good to see elder page, lowrey, hna herrera, and others that i have missed a lot! i definitely have made some friends in this time here...for life! me and my companion are doing really well tho and he is very funny!

love you guys and miss you guys!! but i am doing good!

elder harding! 

mY dAd Is BetTeR tHaN yOuRs...

mY dAd Is BetTeR tHaN yOuRs...

but this week as it is fathers day i wanted to write a little something to my dad!!!  good old greg as i used to call him....or HARKING.....as travis john kunz used to call him....i wanted to write a message to the man who has influenced my life more than anyone else. happy fathers day dad! i want to thank you for being the best dad i could ask for! thank you for being a dad who always saw who i could become and pushed me to be better in everything i did. thank you for being a best friend, always willing to go to a movie, get a jamba or ice cream, or to go to a high school sporting event. thank you for always being an honest man in everything you do and giving everything  you have got in every situation. thank you for loving mom and showing us how to love her and respect her as well. 

thank you for being the perfect coach. full of perfect constructive critism and perfect love. in the perfect balance. thank you for always being worthy to give us priesthood blessings and being worthy to fulfill callings and church duties. thank you for showing us that there is a time to work and a time to play. dad you were the best example i could have asked for and still are to this day. you are my hero, best friend, and biggest fan. thank you for all the games you came to or coached, including driving all around the western states to watch and support me in my baseball games. one of the best memories i have to this day. even when it meant longer days at work and a constant catching up on work too. thank you for always going to church every sunday and always willing to lend a helping hand for those in need. thank you for all those times you were in your office late at night reading the book of mormon or another gospel book, showing me your true love for christ and your devotion to him. thank you for all the money you spent and gave to us because you knew it wasn't about the money...but about the memories we would make with our friends that would be worth it. thank you for being YOU dad.

i am the proudest son in the world to be the son of gregory alan harding. you will always be my best friend. i love you and miss you...more than you know...i wouldn't be the same man today without an influence from a dad like you...

SOOOOO this week was really good in the beginning! we had a lot of success and found a ton of people to teach but then friday and saturday and sunday came and everything fell... we had about 8 or nine lessons just fall through and so it was hard to find people to teach this weekend...we were kinda low on excitement but that,s okay just gotta keep working as well! we also had our final goodbye for president macarthur!

 it was really sad to see him for the last time and to know that he won,t be our president anymore! it was also good to see three of my companions from the past and to talk with them as well as one of the hermanas from peru who is like one of my best friends. it was a good week for all that kind of stuff!

have a good week! 

Elder Harding! 

cHeNz gAnG...

cHeNz gAnG...when i started working at the elementary school that i currently work at i wanted to save every child that i came in contact with.  i wanted to take them all home with me.  soon i learned that i realistically could not do that.  i then decided that i would along with teaching them to be better readers that i would make sure that they knew i cared about them and wanted them to succeed.  i decided that quite possibly my words of encouragement during the day may be the only positive words that they would hear for that day.  i wanted them to at least know that mrs. harding cared for them and believed in them.

  

coach vinny was one of those positive people in tate's life.  when tate left on a mission i wrote coach vinny a letter.  here is part of that letter:

You have prepared tate for a misison by coaching him in baseball in a manner that has made him an outstanding young man.  he has learned to be a leader, to be mentally strong in tough situations, to do things that he didn't think were possible, to perform under pressure, to believe in himself and to pick himself up and perform the next day after defeat.  all of these traits will make him a great missionary.  
as a parent one only hopes for those heroes that come into a child's life to make them a better person.  thank you for being a hero in tate's life.
good luck to you in the future and as a family we will always be "coach vinny fans"!



i want to say happy birthday to coach vinny....i hope you know how much of an impact you had on my life the two summers that i played for you. i would not be the man i am today or have the work ethic or have the determination to do hard things if it weren't for you and the lessons you taught us as a team. you are one of the best men i have ever known and also one of my best friends! CHENZ GANG OR DIE! shout out to willie cleary, andy villapando, coach swallow and kash heeb as well. love you guys.

SOOOOOOOOOO this week was really interesting.  on monday i did divisions  with the zone leaders and then tuesday morning the grant couple came and picked me up and we pretty much took a day trip to santiago....and as you can see from the photos....yes i did get pushed around in a wheelchair like a VIP boss! i was king of that hospital...joking! it was actually funny....i probably could have walked to the car but they don't let you! and the grants wouldn't let me either! 

we then picked up my new comp and from there it was just chilling in the house for 3 straight days of hell hahahh i wanted to leave that house so bad after like the first 2 hours....it kills me to just sit in there....i feel like i'm in a box....one reason is because i'm not used to just sitting there and two because it literally is a box...hahaha..but for reals.... 

my comp is awesome and i cant believe i am already training! nuts... he is a funny kid and likes sports and stuff so we get a long great! we will do amazing work here together in this sector so i am excited!
 one thing that was a thought i had this week was something i think we always need to have on our minds at all times! am i closer to Christ today then i was yesterday, or am i a better person today then i was yesterday......we can ALWAYS...be better....always....do the little things to always be able to look back and say i am better this week then last week.

love tate

tAtE's BiG tOe...

tAtE's BiG tOe...  tate's mom  is very thankful for a couple missionary serving in chile.  tate's mom is grateful for the love and caring and compassion that they have shown to tate during his mission.  tate's mom has never met this couple but has a love and appreciation for their service as missionaries but also for their love for tate.  words cannot express her love for this couple.  she knows that heavenly father puts people in our lives for a reason and she knows without a doubt he put this sweet couple in tate's life when he needed them most.

 tate writes...  i  have surgery tomorrow on my big toe and so what we are going to do is elder and sister grant  are going to take me to lunch and to santiago to have surgery.  this week will be a boring one for me because i will be in the house for a long time.

so family this week started off with the most insane rain i have ever seen in my life...i was literally like wading through the snake river over here in chile hahaha  I loved it! it was so fun! my comp didn't have boots so he kinda had a rough time but i enjoyed it!

  this week i met an even crazier cat lady who has 56 cats.......gross....and while we were there one of her puppies died and she cried and held a dead puppy in my face and asked me why it had to die...  wierdest day of my mission that is for sure....

  i am spoiled by the grants!!  they love me! also attached will be a letter that elder grant sent me...it is amazing! 

the following is an excerpt from the letter that elder grant wrote.  the grant's son served with tate's uncle troy on his mission.  when travis died they became aware of who tate was and have since then taken very good care of tate in chile.  the letter is entitled why do bad things happen to good people?  the letter was written following the death of travis...

God has guaranteed us with Eternal Life if we do our part. He knows us, he knows our names, our hearts and our minds. He provided us with a Savior, with living instructions or commandments to show us what we need to do to come back to him, he gave us two great gifts to help us in our journey, the gifts of the priesthood and the Holy Ghost. He gave us hope and faith, the light of Christ, the ability to repent of our sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Most importantly, he gave us our free agency so that we can grow and learn and progress in this life so that we will be forever strong.

What he did not give us was a guarantee that we will live another minute in our earthly lives. If we understand that, then we will understand that each minute is precious and should be used wisely. We will understand that life is so precious that we will always serve the Lord, our families, our friends, our neighbors, and those that may not be our friends. We will be humble and kind and be able servants to others.

I want you  to know that I have a testimony of my Father in Heaven and of his Son and my Savior and Brother Jesus Christ. I know that they live through the feelings of the Holy Ghost. I know that the gospel has been restored and that we have a living Prophet who guides and directs the church in these last days. I know that with the Priesthood, we can help our families and others and most importantly, I know that because of the plan of salvation and because of our special gift of free agency, we can grow and progress in this life and be able to return to live with our Father in Heaven as a family.

I say this in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen