tate harding and tanner harding were cousins by birth but friends by choice. since day one these two hung out. tanner would get dropped off and eat breakfast with tate and then they would get their morning bath... and then the mayhem began. they would play all day until tanner would be picked up and then the next day it would start all over again. anyone who knows these two will agree they are as different as day and night but this did not stop them from playing cowboys and indians, pirates or building forts. i am sure this will not surprise anyone when i say that tate seemed to always be the bad guy while tanner followed all of the rules. i would even go as far as to say that any trouble these two cousins got into i am sure tate did the talking and convinced tanner it was a great idea. they both came to preschool together at apple dumpling gang preschool. i remember one occasion everyone was drawing an apple tree with five little apples in it. tanner's picture looked like a second or third grader had drawn it while tate's looked like a green blob with a bad case of the chicken pox. hmmm somethings probably will never change.
tate's message...
My comp is the spitting image of the personality of my cousin tanner . He is making me remember all those times we spent back in the good old days playing together and at grandma and grandpa Hardings. I know tanner and i will always be friends even if though we are so different and had different activities that interested us. Some of the best memories I have of my childhood are of me and tanner. I'm grateful for the example he always was to me and for the friend he has always been to me. So let's just say me and my comp get a long pretty well after all.
This week started good but stressful with changes again helping everyone get to there sectors and everything but finally at about 1 my comp got here and we went to the house and talked for a while about the zone and area. It was good and it will be a good change. After we wrote our families and went shopping and then just went back to the house. The night time we had some good lessons with some converts as well as talked with some good people in the street. We also stopped by a few members houses to introduce my companion. And then the day was over. I was really tired from changes and all that so I just went to bed.
Tuesday we started by going to the government offices to do something for my visa and then we bought a bunch of meat to do a BBQ here in the house at night. After our lunch fell through so we ate in the house. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for me. And then the day began. We started by meeting three young kids who got baptized but haven't been able to come to church in a long time. They are a really cool family and we helped them set some goals for this coming year. They were excited and I want to help them reach those goals as much as I can. Then we met a lady who was pretty interested and told us that the missionaries always arrive at her house when she needs it. So that was a cool lesson. And then we ended the night doing a few contacts. We had to be in the house at 7 because it was New Years. We did a pretty good BBQ with a lot of meat and rice so that was fun. I also got a call from some elders in my old sector in buin. One of the families I found up there is getting baptized this month. No cooler feeling than knowing you helped someone in some way. Even if you aren't there to see it. We went to bed early to get some extra sleep. Woo.
Wednesday started well with district meeting and it was cool to see all the new faces excited to work in there new sectors and stuff. One elder did a class on what motivated us to come on a mission. What motivates us now. And what We wanted to get out of our missions. It was cool to think about how much I have grown and the things that motivate me now and how they are totally different than before. Crazy how focusing on other people for a while can help you find yourself better than you ever thought you could. After we ate lunch in the house again and then the teaching began. We started by finding a old man who accepted us in his home with out even thinking twice and we taught him a little. He might not have got all the information we gave him but it was a good lesson and he was happy to have visitors. Later we had a family of four who are less active. We had an incredibly spiritual lesson about mosiah 2:41 and we related it to the New Years goals we have. We asked them to share all the things they wanted and hoped for this next year. After we told them that now we have to see HOW we can get all those things. We shared the scripture that teaches that all we have to do is keep the commandments and god will bless us in all things. Even a happiness that will never end if we persevere in doing what god wants. It's that easy. It was cool to see their desires to change. That is my favorite part. Seeing the people want to change for the better. That's what it's all about.
Thursday went well for us. We started in the morning by doing some computer stuff. And then our lunch got cancelled again so we ate at a restaurant. After we had a really good day. We started with a lesson with Alicia our convert. She is passing through some hard times but it was good to share some scriptures with her about the atonement and how Christ knows exactly what she is going through and is there to help. She will be okay. Just a couple little tests in her life. One day we will all look back and thank god for those little tests we had that made us stronger.
Then we found a family to teach and it was really cool! They are excited to learn and to listen to our message. They have some pretty cute little kids too. In excited to see them receive blessings from the gospel. And then we found another family who was really nice but very strong in their other beliefs. We shared our message and told them to ask god if it was true. They said they would. We will go back next week and see how it went. It feels good to start helping others again.
Friday was a really long day. Not much happened. In the street all day talking to everyone and doing contacts But it is those days that I learn a lot and make me grateful for the better ones. We ended the night with soccer with some jovenes. It was a decent day.
Saturday was a really hard day for us. We were in the street the whole day and couldn't find anyone to teach at all. And we were fasting in the Chilean heat...........i dare you to try it..... We got to the house and we were dead so we planned and went to bed.
Sunday was a decent day. We had church and then ended our fast so I was less grumpy after lunch haha. We planned for the week and then had a couple lessons. One with a convert who is struggling to make some decisions right now and we really need to help her. But god is blessing her life. We just need to help her see the little miracles god is working in her life daily.
The next lesson we had was with some less actives and we talked about not looking back. We watched the Mormon message about New Years called don't look back I think. I love that video. I hope everyone put some goals for this next year. If you haven't. DO IT NOW!!!! Man it is getting hotter and hotter here. But don't worry I come back in the winter time here so I will be my old white self again when you all see me.
It was an interesting week to say the least. But I lived it and loved it. Just as always. Life's to be enjoyed....not just endured. World peace. Chao.
Elder Harding.
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