2 Down 102 Left To Go

Week 2 was pretty good, I have been learning a ton and I'm practically fluent in Dutch now ( not really at all).  Really though it is coming along.  We got two new investigators on Saturday.  Their names are Dineish and Jane.  Really both of them are just our teachers pretending to be people that they taught in real life.  So that can be a bit strange at times.  It is good though because they make it more of a challenge to teach them and it helps me a lot honestly.  also our old investigator is now one of our teachers.  That was a strange twist.  But Sunday we had a devotional with president Weidman (one of the MTC Presidency people).  and my trio of companions was suppose to get called up to answer questions and talk and stuff but thence never did so that was a bummer.  I kind of wanted to be able to get up and talking from of 2000 or so people.  It would have been a cool experience.  anyways Sunday I got to talk to my family which was a blessing.  It was weird having barely been gone a talking to them again it felt like I had been gone forever.  Also in snowed yesterday and that was awesome.  I feel like it's been perfect weather for anything except for sitting in a classroom the whole time I have been here, so it was nice to actually want to be inside for once.  I was also suppose to go welcome new missionaries but then there weren't that many people coming in so I actually didn't get to.  It's cool to be here and I am grateful for the learning opportunities I have.  The days are all fairly similar so it all feels the same haha.  But then not that much new happened this week.  

Peace out,

Elder Harding

Also some pictures we took this week.  

Week One

A special blessing just when I needed it, came Thursday night after we dropped Austin off at the MTC, a new email!!

P-day is on Thursday but not this Thursday.  I didn't know we'd get to email.  My companion is Elder Nusbaum, he's from North Carolina and he is a swimmer who life guarded in high school and is also left handed.  So cool.  We are getting along pretty well.  It's been crazy here.  Also dad was wrong I did learn Dutch yesterday.  Ik van un zendeling! 

The following Thursday this arrived:

Hallo naar de mensen week 1

Well I made it to the MTC and so far am alive.  The whole week had been so much of a rush that I still feel like it's the first few days but it's all good.  The language is pretty fun to learn.  I've noticed that with dutch words they either sound the exact same as the english word of totally different so that's fun.  I am in a tripanionship with Elders Nusbaum and Schwinger.  (It was just me and Elder Nusbaum for a few days but them Elder Schwinger's companion went home.)  But anyways life here isn't too bad, the first few days weren't the greatest but it's better now.  We get an hour of excersize time everyday which is nice but we also have six hours of class each day so that can be a bit hot great at times.  The language is coming along, on my third day here we started teaching our first investigator but we have to teach her all in Dutch.  It is super hard for sure but also really fun and it helps me a lot to learn the language better.  The gifts of tongues is definiently real because there is no way I could have done that on my own.  The spirit is super strong here and it's super cool to be around 24/7.  My favorite thing so far is that in my zone there are five or six different languages being spoken so whenever we have a zone prayer or anything like that it is always in some crazy language and it is really cool to hear.  Also apparently it's a thing in mu zone that everyone sings in the choir but the choir has about a thousand people in it (not really but it's a lot) so no one can hear my bad singing.  It is super cool to get packages and letters thank you all for sending me stuff it means a lot to me, also I can read emails and whatnot whenever I just can only respond on Thursdays so send me emails and stuff.  Also there's this website called dearelder.com you can send stuff and you can send a message, they print it out and give it to me right then which is cool.  Also we found a bunch of empty mountain dew cans and an old bagel in our air vent which made us laugh, then the guy sitting outside is Elder Nusbaum and the one in the class is Elder Schwinger.  Then theres a picture of the Temple from Sunday and a picture of our room (yes, it is a tad messy)

Peace everyone, Elder Harding

The MTC Drop Off

 Austin gave his farewell talk on Sunday April 30, 2017.  He spoke on the Book of Mormon.  It was so fun to hear him share his testimony of the Book of Mormon with all our friends and family.  I was overwhelmed by all the people that came to support him.

After his farewell we welcomed everyone to our home for a fun Belgium Waffle Bar.  Everyone pitched in and we had a great time.  The next few days proved to be a little challenging as we had to fit in all the final details and final goodbyes for our son leaving for two years.  

 By Tuesday evening most of the goodbyes were said and the Stake Presidency came over to our home to set Austin apart as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We invited our parents to be a part of it.  We had Fran, my mom and my dad all there with us.  It was a wonderful experience.

Wednesday May 3, 2017 was the day to report to the MTC.  

 Our last meal as a family, for a while anyways.

 All I can say was this was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.  I know it is where he is supposed to be and there is no other place I would rather have him, but it is a hard thing letting your child leave.  It is comforting to know that he is so happy.  I may be full of tears but he is full of smiles.

With in the first hour I had this from him:

So I'm here, they gave me a bunch of stuff and a nifty little name tag then told me to watch videos and email you guys.  So I made it!
Love Elder Harding

Mission Pictures