Hunting For Ancestors

Family History continues to be one of my main interests in life so I have been grateful to be involved in some unique experiences here in the mission field doing  genealogy research. It is part of the work of Salvation, as our President reminds us.

What a pleasure it was to spend four days driving across Newfoundland, from Gander to Twillingate, then about 4-5 hours south to Harbor Breton and Head' Bay D'espoire, where Sister Leavitt's parents were born and raised.

 These small coastal communities, sitting right on the harbors, are wonderful --- isolated, small towns that depend on fishing and sometimes tourism for their income.

We started out in Twillingate, then hit the road and took turns driving or sitting in the back and falling asleep. We talked, joked, ate junk food, and took lots of pictures along the way.

Best of all, we found and walked through several old cemeteries, hunting for Sister Leavitt's ancestors. We loved it!! 

This was the first time that Sister Leavitt had ever been to these small towns where her parents lived, so it was extra special for her and we were excited to be with her.

We tromped through several old, and overgrown graveyards, plus some that were more current and overlooked the beautiful harbours.

It was an incredible experience to walk through the mist and rain, peering at old headstones, trying to locate anyone by the last name of "Rose" and "Roberts", Sister Leavitt's family names.

This was the best one of all, to actually find her Grandfathers grave!  What a moment this was, and look at the view from this cemetery!  Imagine this on resurrection morning!   Wonderful!

We felt very blessed to have these few days together,.. these memories will last a life time. We clearly felt and knew that we were being guided by the Lord in our search and we now look forward to getting these family names entered into the Leavitt Family Tree so that she and her family can take these ancestors names through the sacred Temple.

Missions are full of experiences like these --- unique experiences that you have the opportunity to participate in, that you would not get to do anywhere else. This has been a real blessing in our lives.

We send our blessings  and prayers to you all in the great work that you also do in your homes, communities and church callings. No work is too small, no kind act goes unnoticed. I bear you my testimony that the Great Jehovah leads and guides this church, that He loves you and me more than we comprehend. May you fell this in your heart today ----
Sister and Elder Harding

Icebergs and Whales

We recently traveled to Gander, Newfoundland for Zone Conference, with President and Sister Leavitt. It was a lot of fun! Our flight  arrived at 1:30 am, then we stuffed the four of us, plus the two AP's, into a car to drive to the Hotel ---- the later it got, the more lost we got, and the more we laughed, finally arriving at the Hotel about 2:30 am. Elder Dudley, we will never forget you riding in the middle, in the front of the car, with your head sticking out of the sunroof!  Quite memorable!  Zone conference went really well, a time for final hugs and words of advice as this is the Leavitts last round of Zone's.

    We were able to go on a short road trip afterwards with the Leavitt's, driving up to Twillingate and taking a two hour boat tour to look for icebergs that had floated down from Greenland. We were all hoping to actually see some icebergs  and we were not disappointed!

The icebergs were beautiful and inspiring!

Our tour guide, the "Iceberg Man", had gotten up early that day and gone out on the ocean in the fog and rain to locate icebergs for our 9:30 am tour group.

A piece on one  of the largest iceberg actually  broke off, right while we were looking at it, and fell into the ocean ---- bonus!! The Iceberg man's assistant scooped bits of it out of the water and handed around some "iceberg ice" for us to try----- you will be happy to  know we did not catch any dread disease!

The blue color in the iceberg is a result of "pure" ice, with no air bubbles in it ---- beautiful!

The surrounding coastline was rugged, rocky, and amazing. 

These pictures do not do it justice. Newfoundland has a beauty all its own. 

As we turned  back for the harbor, we also caught sight of a whale ---- we all felt that we were so fortunate to  not only see these icebergs, which float in and out of this area quite quickly, but to have the rain stop, no one got sea-sick, and... we saw a whale.It just does not get much better. This is a remote, isolated and remarkable  corner of the world. We are grateful to have this chance to see it, and to share this time with our missionary friends! Aren't God's creations amazing and humbling.

A Beautiful Experience

A few days ago, we had a beautiful teaching experience. A Jewish woman in her 60's phoned the Halifax Temple and asked if there was anyone about her age who could come and teach her about our religion!  We jumped at the chance  --- her name is Lesly. She met a woman at a health retreat this past spring who she really connected with, and when she found out this woman, named Mary, was LDS, she decided to find out more about our faith.

We spoke with her for  almost two hours the first time we met and she came to church with us the next day. As  you can imagine, this is a HUGE step for someone who is Jewish to ask about and even attend a Christian faith. Lesly was  on the verge of cancelling more than once, but she persisted, and we are really loving getting to know her and to teach her. 

We all cannot help but benefit as we sit down and share and learn from each other --- it is Beautiful! The spirit filled the room and tears ran her cheeks and ours as we spoke together. 

We are looking forward to many more such times over the next days and weeks with her.

These four Missionaries represent another Beautiful part of our Mission. Sisters Fincher and Heirtzler, with Elders Blum and Tauffer came over to our apartment to practice a song for church services, titled "Fear Not". We learned it in three days and you have to know that the Spirit was helping us to learn a difficult piece and perform it that soon.  Love these Missionaries, their willingness to serve and their courage to act.

Here is Elder Blum following Elder Harding's direction to clean the stove during last transfer, even right down to wearing his own Tie Dye shirt! 

Elder Harding is having fun recording and posting "Cleaning" videos for the mission --- "toilet man", became "oven man" and soon will be known as "vacuum man" after he posts today's video! 

Of course, we have to mention one more "Beautiful" thing here in Halifax, and that is the flowers and the bushes that are in full bloom. They look so lovely.

There are many brightly colored houses around Dartmouth and Halifax. They make the streets look bright and cheery.

Tulips are quite popular, and can be seen in many flowerbeds, maybe because they grow so easily 

in this climate.

We continue to be busy and are looking forward to having more time to teach the Gospel in the coming months as we have been re-assigned to do Member and Leader support. We are training our replacements in the Mission Office this month, Elder and Sister Stewart, leaving us free to assist and help to train our new  Mission President and his Wife in July. We anticipate that the Pratts will adjust quickly, pick our brains clean in about 10 mins, thank us and then carry on ---  we will then move into doing more teaching and reactivation work -- should be fun!! 

Spiritual Growth

Outside our Apartment, just in front of where we park our van, there is an area full of undergrowth, some dead branches and bushes. During the winter, most of the growth was flattened by the heavy snow, and we thought it had been ruined. But in May, these unique plants started to grow.

Within a few weeks, they had grown to about 5-6 feet in height! We were quite surprised, and spoke about how these plants are sort of like a parable for the spiritual growth that occurs with Missionaries, young and old.  When we greet the brand new Missionaries, fresh from the MTC, there is a bit of the "Deer in the headlights" thing going on, but within a few weeks and months, the growth starts to occur, and it is really remarkable!

Each one of us has so much potential and capacity for "growth", and as we turn to the Lord, He will bless and magnify our efforts.

Our Granddaughter, Kyla, mailed "Flat Stanley" to us, with her cute little head on top, and asked us to take "Flat Stanley" with us whereever we went that week, write about our "adventures" in Halifax on our Mission, take pictures and send it back to her so she could share it with her classmates.  Here is Flat Stanley at the Mission Office...

....with Grandma and Grandpa Harding...

....and here we are with the Leavitts,

outside the Restaurant, "The Wooden Monkey" with the Halifax harbour behind us. It is a gorgeous view  of the Harbour from inside the restaurant. .

And here is Flat Stanley sitting on Sister Ranglack's shoulder!  We met here with the Leavitts and the Ranglacks, for an evening together before the Ranglacks leave for  home.This couple has served the last few months of their mission  in Corner Brook, NL,  and are now returning home to their family. They are a wonderful, kind couple and were so loved in NL. They will be missed.

But Missions are full of "change"!  Soon our dear friends, the Leavitts, will be completing their time here as the Mission President and Wife. We will miss them! A lot!!  But there is room in our hearts for more friends and we are excited to meet and assist our new Mission President and his wife, President and Sister Pratt.

I told the young Missionaries, at our Farewell Dinner and Testimony evening this past week, it is hard to say goodbye, but we are not done with each other!

One day, we will all sit down in Heaven and visit, laugh and love together again. It will be great! I look forward to it!

We are enjoying this time in the mission field, we love each other and we Love the Lord.

Spring has Sprung

 It is amazing to think that three weeks ago snow was everywhere.   Water, water everywhere you look.   This is a view looking onto Halifax Harbour from Downtown Halifax.   A popular restaurant called the Bicycle Thief is on the corner.  We haven't been yet but will before we leave.

 Had a Fabulous Preparation Day.    Sealings at the temple and then out to another quaint restaurant on the Eastern Passage called Warf Wraps.   The Haddock with Creme Cheeze in the middle is more that you can eat.   The Pitts on the far left are from Boise Idaho, (They work in the Temple)  The Greens are a local couple who work in the office part time.  Elder Green is our resident Newfoundlander.  President and Sister Leavitt.

 No we don't want our picture taken.  Sister Leavitt and Sister Harding

 Now these two are very cute together.   We cherish our time with the Leavitt's.  They are so gracious and kind and humble servants of the Lord.

President Leavitt is Fabulous.  It's always fun to be with them.    He challenged the Missionaries to read the Book of Mormon during this transfer.  It's been very rewarding.   I am writing down all of the different titles given to Jesus Christ.   I am up to 118.  It has helped me appreciate and grow closer to the Saviour.   A title that is used very extensively is "The Lord of Hosts"

President Leavitt also has a physical challenge for the Missionaries.   5 min planking.   It was all that I could do to make one minute for two weeks, then all of a sudden I started to make some improvements.   I made 3 minutes last Saturday. (About 8 weeks into the challenge)   That which you persist in doing becomes easier, not because the nature of the thing has changed but our ability has increased.   The once impossible task of 5 minutes seemed totally out of reach.   There is absolutely no way, I would think.   But now with some persistant effort, it seems like it might be possible.  I now have hope that I could be able to do it.   There's a parable in this experience for me.

Tenacity -- the Parable of the Toque!

I love this picture of a toque that someone dropped on the edge of the road leading to the back of our apartment. It was lost back in about January, when the snow started to fall. A passerby picked it up and hung it from a dead twig. The yarn  must have gotten tangled in the branch, because this toque stayed there the entire winter, through multiple storms.

It even became completely buried in the snow at one point,

only to reappear in April as the snow finally  melted.

Each day as we drove up and down the lane, I saw the toque --- it just kept "hangin' in there", through the worst winter that the Maritimes has seen in a long time. That is one tenacious toque --- I just had to take a picture and write about it --- I told President about the toque in one of my weekly letters,  and also about some of the people that we had been able to work with on our mission. Some were at a place in their lives where they were receptive and ready to make changes, while others were not. 

We have not given up on those who struggle, but continue to reach out and invite and encourage.President said, "Before you leave, go and get the toque, and take it home with you. It will remind you of your service here and how it is important to become "tangled" in peoples lives and not give up on them."  That is a great insight ....

This young couple is also showing a lot of tenacity!

They have been through some challenging times, but they did not quit. This weekend, Elder Harding and some other members of the Dartmouth Ward are helping them as they move into a new apartment together, with their 2 year old daughter, Lily.

Lily has gotten quite comfortable with Elder Harding and will now come and sit on his lap.

When Matt and Andrea started coming back to church, Elder Harding would take Lily into the nursery so her parents could attend Sunday School class together. 

We were assigned to home and visit teach Matt and Andrea a few months ago and we are so proud of them and the choices and changes that they are making!

It is humbling to see what the Lord can do in our Lives as we open the Door and invite Him in. So grateful that we got to be involved in the process, and to play a small part. Meeting Matt and Andrea has been one of the highlights of our Mission.

Another highlight has been to see how the Lord has opened our minds and our eyes to see how the Saints in three different branches, throughout Newfoundland, could receive some much needed Training  . A few weeks ago, when we attended District Conference in NFL, and most of our group could not attend because the Ferry was cancelled. This meant that those scheduled to talk and teach could not make it --- as I later thought about how all of NFL joined into the conference via skype, the spirit impressed upon my mind to ask if the Stake Leaders

in Nova Scotia would allow the Branches in NFL to join in on  their stake training, twice a year, via Skype. 

This way, NFL would not miss out on valuable training due to uncertain weather conditions And the hearts of the Stake in NS would be turned towards their Brothers and Sister in NFL, to assist and help them out.

President readily agreed, and assigned me to follow through on it, so I called the Stake RS and Primary Presidents and they not only were willing, they volunteered to contact the NFL branches a few weeks ahead of their next training and get everyone on schedule. The missionaries will set up the Skype call, which takes the technical burden off the Stake -- this is the first time that this has happened and we are all  so excited! The Lord saw what needed to be done, He planted the thoughts, and showed us the way.

This month in the Mission, all of the Missionaries are reading the entire Book of Mormon, cover to cover, in one transfer.  I am Loving it!! I have never read the Book of  Mormon in that short of a time before and my testimony and love for this sacred Book of Scripture is growing each day as I read. All of the parents of our missionaries were invited to read it with us. It is a great experience. 

Elder Harding and I are both enjoying this, and are having some good discussions about what we are learning.

Our friends  from Nepal were very worried about their friends and family back home during last months terrible earthquake -- they were relieved to hear that all of their family is safe, just tired out from spending a couple of nights outdoors, waiting for the after shocks to stop ---- what a horrible tragedy, over 4,ooo dead. 

  Our hearts and prayers go out to our brothers and sisters of Nepal.

A Season of Change

Elder Harding and I cannot believe how fast the time is going. It seems to go quicker each transfer.
 We had our first ever "Sisters Only Transfer" last week, as a group of  "Sister Missionaries" completed their 18 months, and flew home. It is reflective of the "Bubble" of Sister Missionaries that came into the mission with the new age change, about 2 years ago, and now this bubble of Missionaries have completed their service and are returning home.

Left to right are Sister's Renda, Aslett, Burton, Ward, Sharp and Maxwell, with the Assistants, Elder Erickson and Dudley on the front right.

My favorite pictures are always when we do "Fun" picture after the "serious" picture! It just always brings out a different side!

As we listened to the "Farewell Testimonies" of this wonderful group of Sisters, there seemed to be a theme that got started and was repeated, the theme of  "Change". One Sister said that  she had really had a change of heart on her mission, another said she had seen great changes in other people, but mostly in herself, and someone mentioned that going home was going to be such a big change, they were so accustomed to missionary life. Sister Ward talked about the scripture Ether 12:27 and how it  had come to mean a lot to her. It reads, "And if men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weaknesses that they may be humble: and my grace is sufficient for all men that if they humble themselves before me and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." She said that  being on a  mission had brought out her weaknesses, and for a while, that bothered her. Then she realized that the Lord was blessing her to be able to "Change" and turn her weaknesses into strengths!  One of the Assistants, in his testimony,  told us that he came on a mission thinking that he was going to "Change the world" --- and he ended up being changed the most.

How I LOVE these Missionaries --- their honesty, their strengths and all that they have taught me.

This picture reflects another "Change" that has happened.All of the snow that was outside our apartment

has now melted and become a small pond, complete with a "Duck!"

We had to stop and take this picture one morning on our way to the Office.We could not believe we were looking at a duck right where the snow drifts had been a few weeks ago. We are grateful for the change in weather and are enjoying it. 

We said a temporary "Goodbye" to Sister Drew.

She is just so much fun....she and her companion, Sister Maxwell, loved to call Elder Harding and ask him for help or advice. They admitted that they sort of came to rely on him, but he really enjoyed them calling. It as sort of like having daughters here to care for.

One week, when we had not heard from them for 3-4 days, we called them up and teased them a bit. We had to take this photo with the Sister Drew and Elder Harding on the phone, before Sister Drew got transferred. We will see her again in a few weeks time, before she too, goes home.

President reminded us, at the close of our Testimony evening, that it takes great courage to change ourselves. At 60 years of age, he said, you will have chosen your Face --- be it sad or happy, content or discontent. We will no longer be able to say it was this person or that, that made me what I am, but I am what I ultimately chose to be. This is just the beginning, at the end of our missions, he said. We are meant to go home, take off the name tag, and  use what we have learned, what we have become.

I really like these thoughts, and I have pondered on them. Being on a mission is a life-changing experience. It does bring out our weaknesses, it brings us to our knees and it gives us wonderful experiences that we would not have anywhere else.

I love the Lord, I am grateful for His tender Mercies. One of the  things that changes missionaries it to repeat, every morning, their Mission Commission ...... it reminds us that We are all called of God, we stand in His place and minister to the very people that He would minister to, if He were personally here. Our voice is His voice, Our acts are His acts, Our doctrine is His doctrine. Our commission is to do what He wants done, and to say what He wants said. 

As we strive to do this, it cannot help but Change us!