"Celebrate Good Times!"

Hola mis queridos amigos! 

This week was a whirlwind and I absolutely loved it!! So many fun and crazy things happened and my companion and I have just been along for the ride! I know that this is God's work and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be an instrument in His hands 

Highlights:

- The past week the school close to our piso played the song "Celebrate good times" every time the kids switched classes so the whole morning as we were studying we heard that song over and over and it was hilarious!

- On Wednesday we went to visit the funnest members Estela and Oscar and their kids and we had a blast! They are so fun and kind and kept us laughing the whole time! Also shout out to Brother Bawden back home who is friends with them which was so nice to have a connection to home 

- On Thursday we had a lesson with our friend Liseth about temples and it was such a breakthrough lesson! Something about eternal families really resonated with her and she just lit up and got so excited! I love her 

- On Thursday we also met with our new friend Ronald! He lives in Soria (a small town in the south of our area that meets as a small group in a hotel) we had a great lesson with him and he was so excited to go to church! He went yesterday and loved it!! We are so excited for him!

- On Friday we were waiting to meet up with our friend Fai and we saw a big group of people watching this wall with police officers below it so we went to check it out and there was a huge bird up there that looked like a vulture which was kind of crazy!

- On Friday we had one of my favorite lessons I've probably ever had on my mission with our friend Fai!! We met in a park and taught her the end of the Plan of Salvation! Everything just started clicking for her, and she told us she wants to be baptized!!! She is now on date for November and we are so excited for her!

- On Friday we also had a videocall with our cute new friend Cinthia and she is amazing!! She has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and wants to get baptized with her son and her partner!! We are so excited for her!

- On Sunday the cutest Hermana named Angelica came up to us after church desperate because she had locked her keys in her apartment that morning and couldn't get back in! A few weeks ago, my companion and I had done the same thing in our apartment and the Elders had helped us get it open with a plastic water bottle, so we went over there with her and her kids and the Elders met us there and we were able to help her get her door open and she was so grateful!! She cut up a melon right there and gave it to us and we ate it in her doorstep and it was so cute 

- This week a huge festival called San Mateo started here in Logroño and it has been kind of crazy!! Wine is a super big deal here in Logroño so this festival is basically a week of people partying in the streets and drinking wine so it's going to be a crazy and interesting week 

Miracle: 

On Monday we had plans to meet with a girl named Mayra who was interested in learning English and hearing our message about Christ! We met up with our member who was helping us and Mayra asked us to meet her at a restaurant with her friend that had joined her! We decided to go and as we walked up to the restaurant, a lady waved at us from a table with 5 people at it!! We walked over kind of nervously, pulled up chairs and started chatting! They ended up being super sweet and 2 of them had friends who are members in Colombia and they knew all about the church already so they helped explain and it was so cool! We got their number and they want to come to church on Sunday and English class!!

Spiritual Thought:

This week a theme that we've seen with a lot of our lessons and experiences has been service! I was reading a talk this week from a 2014 devotional that Elder Christofferson gave to the young adults called, "Saving your life" and I loved this quote,

"When we serve others it become easier to find ourselves because there is so much more of us to find."

I know that as we serve, we are able to grow and feel true joy! We become more as we give more of ourselves to others! I invite you all to look for a way to serve this week and I promise you will be blessed for it!

I love you all so much! Have an amazing week!

Hermana Hardy  

ehardy@missionary.org 

Pictures:

- Mayra and her friends 

- Liseth 

- our favorite park 

- Oscar and Estela 

- my compyy 

- Fai 

- hike to the top of Logroño