good DAYS make the HARD ones WORTH it...

good DAYS make the HARD ones WORTH it...  we all have hard days...they come and they go.  when we are experiencing them they seem as if they will never end.  as our family moves on with life and we get into our routines we are busy with life.  just when we least expect it a song on the radio...a thought that enters our mind...a missed opportunity...the ache of missing a loved one...wishing we could just talk one more time...make for hard moments.  we lost travis just over six months ago.  it is amazing to me how often he is thought about in each of our day to day lives.  sunday was a hard day for many of us... as most sundays are.  i think because it is a day that is different than most and we have more time to think.  it is a day of worship and remembrance.  we remember the good things and the things that make us smile and laugh.  this past sunday as tyson was taking his sweet family to bern idaho to visit the place that travis is buried he came upon this sign...i want to believe that travis knew we needed to laugh...knew that we needed to know that he is always near.  he was always joking and teasing and apparently that hasn't changed and i want to believe he thought this was very funny...

tate's message...

Wednesday was one of the longest days I have had in a while. We had district meeting which went really well and then I did divisions with elder dale. This new missionary who is really cool and we have a lot in common so it was fun to talk to him about baseball and all that. But man did we have a rough day. All the lessons fell through so we were pretty much in the street all day. But it was a good learning day. The good days are the ones that make the hard days worth it. So just gotta hope for better days to come.

 Monday turned out to be a really chill day actually. After I talked to you guys we went and bought food for the week and them went home because we were going to meet up with elder Lamartine (my old comp from buin) at our house to say goodbye to him. His visa to Venezuela got here so he has to go to the mission he was really called to now. It was sad to say bye but he was also excited so that's good. Then we had to go clean the old house so that the mission can hand it back over to the owner. Actually had something funny happen. A mom and a teenage kid came in and started talking to us and asking about the how much it cost and all this stuff but at first we weren't really understanding them. Then we realized they were speaking English hahaha they used to live in Canada. Sooo we felt stupid ha. Then we just ended the night helping some of the young men from our ward do some seminary makeup work. Like that stuff I used to have to do haha.  So I tried helping them see how important it was. Then we just went home and planned and went to bed.

Tuesday was another long Santiago trip day. She burnt my toe with some acid. We ate Taco Bell. And then slept on the way home ha. Then when we got back we  updated the member directory for like an hour. And then we left to go visit some people. We saw a few little miracles where god put some people in our way so we were grateful for that. Amazing when you think every day about the little things god does for us. 

Thursday was another hard day in the street all day . We walked a ton and just when it seemed like it wasn't getting any better we had a really good lesson with a couple we are working with. They came to church and loved it. We asked them how they felt about our visits and everything and they told us that they are just talking it slow because if they make this decision, it's a life commitment. So we were really happy and at least we know where they stand now and they know where we do too. We also talked to them about temples. They asked how people get married in our church so we took advantage of teaching them the principle of an eternal family. It was really cool to see them get excited at the thought of it. 

Friday turned out to be a decent day!  In the morning we had to go email my doctor, Alejandra, (yes we are on a first name basis) about my toe. I will be going up in a week to see her again but it's getting better so no worries there. We ate lunch and then ran to centro to meet up with some other elders and give them some stuff. And then it was off to work. We spent about an hour updating the members list and looking for less actives and then we had a couple lessons before heading to soccer. Yes I still just play goalie. But we had tons of people come so it is starting to be a good finding opportunity for us. And the branch is really starting to work with us so that is cool to see as well. Hopefully you all are stepping up a little more to help in missionary work too.

 Saturday turned out to be a really cool day. We had a decent day all the way up until the night and then things just got really cool. We had a lesson with one of the families I have talked about a little bit. There is three boys and the parents. The dad is the only member and they are awesome. They are just a classic family who has their heads on straight. They just barely sold their car to give their son eye surgery. Just all around good people. I love them already and want to help them. I know the gospel is what they need. I feel like a lot of people might have a good life already and they just don't realiZe that they could have even more. That god has even more blessings for them. That is what is so cool about being out here. Is helping people see that there is more to this life than just "good"... That there is "amazing". All we have to do is look to god.

Sunday turned out to be a really good day. The couple we are teaching came to church again and are getting some friends so they seem to like it and we are really happy for them. We then did our weekly planning and then had a couple lessons fall through until we ended the night helping our best friend in the branch named pato see the benefits of going on a mission. I hope he chooses to. It's something I wouldn't trade for the world. Well i love you family. More than you know. Until next week.

Love,

Elder Harding