May 5, 2019

May 5, 2019

This week Matthew got to go on exchanges with the Spanish speaking Missionaries.  I asked him if he understood anything being said and he said "nope".  Maybe if they do it more often during the next year or so he'll start to pick up a little bit.

He says the headaches are finally much better after his bike accident.  He was even looking forward to playing a little volleyball for PDay last week. 

This coming week is transfer week.  We are waiting to see if he stays in Bellevue or moves somewhere new.

He sent a few pictures this week...all of them FOOD!!

I guess he was pretty excited to get to eat at the Cheesecake Factory.  Seriously, that boy...no wonder he's always out of money before the end of the month.

At least he remembered to send me his scripture this week: Alma 7:24.

With him being able to call on the phone and chat we never get emails, but I guess at least getting some pictures is worth it in the trade off.  It just means I get to be his narrator :)  Until next week, we leave Matthew as he suffers from the food coma he got from eating at Cheesecake Factory.

April 28, 2019

April 28, 2019

Pictures of our missionary in action??
Looks like he needs to be reminded about the rules of feet off of tables ;)

It is fun to finally be getting some more pictures of him.

Matthew tells us that life is good this week.  He is feeling much better after his bike accident and concussion, but says he still gets a bit nauseous and headaches if he starts riding too fast.  This makes their travels slower, but he is still up and going which is good.

He tells us that last week he got to spend dinner with a members family.  He said they served lamb; it was his first time trying it.  He said it tasted pretty much the same as a beef roast.

Other updates he tells us are that it is still raining a lot there and that he is still studying from the Pearl of Great Price and likes that is shares a lot of things we know about God that other religions don't.  

He sent us a few pictures during their P-day activity this week.  At first all he knew is that there was going to be a secret activity and they needed to be ready at 1:00 to be picked up.  Their surprise activity was bowling. He and 4 other Elders spent the afternoon enjoying a couple of games.  He said it was fun and that he realized he had really missed going bowling.

He ended the day by sharing with us his scripture for the week: D&C 77:5 which explains part of the revelation of John and talks about the Elders who were faithful.  I will have to ask him to expand why he chose this scripture and if it relates to something he was reading from the Pearl of Great Price.

For now, this is where he leave him until we hear from him this coming week :)

April 21, 2019 - Easter Sunday

April 21, 2019

We got to talk to Matt his past week on Wednesday (different than his normal Pday).  His Pday was late this week because he apparently had a small accident the previous Saturday when we was out on his bike.  As he tells it, he was going down a really steep hill when he grabbed the front brake too hard.  He says he supermaned over the handle bars and crashed.  He received a concussion.  After this he was put on "brain rest" for 4 days.  So he was still on rest on Monday, thus the change of their Pday to Wednesday.

The good news about brain rest is that there's not much to do in a missionary apartment when you are forced to rest except talk to your companion.  So that helped him to have the opportunity to communicate better with Elder Fullmer.

He did send us these pictures from his week:

He called and talked to us all a little bit on Wednesday afternoon.  He seems to be doing very well in Bellevue and is adjusting to the change well.  His new challenge is to learn to budget :)  He also shared his scripture for the week which is Enos 1:27.

Today, we received a couple of pictures of our missionary.  This picture below is from a baptism of a new friend they have in Bellevue.  One of his new ward member sent it.  She says that they love having Elder Harding in their ward and wanted to share with us this picture :)

We also received this picture today from Kristina :)  It sure is fun having a niece close enough to occasionally run into our boy.  What fun for them to share the same church building.  We were hoping maybe he would get to call home today (we heard lots of missionaries were), but he didn't...so here's to waiting until tomorrow to get his next update.

We wish you all a Happy Easter.  We are happy to know that our Elder Harding is out sharing the gospel and helping more friends Come Unto Christ and learn the true blessing of the atonement and the resurrection given to us as a gift by Jesus and celebrated at Easter.

April 14, 2019

April 14, 2019


Matthew says this week felt long and he is struggling a little trying to settle into a new routine, but that he most enjoyed conference.  He was excited to hear about the 8 new temples that were announced.  He said his favorite conference talk was President Nelson's talk in the Priesthood session.

The bike has been different for him, and he is still adjusting to that.  He really likes to call and talk to Dave.  He didn't do a phone call to the family this week.

I still need to convince him that we need more pictures, and I didn't get a scripture from him...here's to a better update next week!

April 7, 2019

Matthew has moved to a new area and has a new companion.  Transfers were last week and Matthew has moved to the Bellevue area.  He also has a new companion.  His companion's name is Elder Fullmer.  They will be living in the apartments right near the Seattle temple.  He will have the opportunity to see the temple every day :)

This is his area for now:

Matthew has also celebrated his first birthday in the mission field.  Because he is in Bellevue, Kristina (his cousin) is really close and she was kind enough to go deliver some birthday treats and take a picture for us.  This is Elder Harding and Elder Fullmer on March 29, 2019.

We have learned that Elder Fullmer is also from Utah; the Cottonwood Heights area.  He has been our one transfer (6 weeks) less than Matthew.  

His new area is a biking area, so he will soon be learning to bike up and down the Washington hills.  He is a little less than thrilled about that, but I believe in a week he will be used to and doing fine.

He says there are a lot more people in the Bellevue area, but they are still learning which friends were already having discussions and working on meeting new friends.  He says the ward is different than home, but that he is looking forward to getting to know the people.

We got to talk to him on the phone just a little.  The boys love that they can now say hello to him more easily and more often.  He is studying a lot and gave us a tour of his new apartment (forgot to take screen shots) but seems to be settling in to the new place okay.  It will be great to get to hear from him tomorrow how he liked the conference talks and where he got to go to watch them.

For now his scripture this week is: Malachi 3:6 which tells us that the Lord does not change.  He is the same past, present, and future.

Until next week, keep our Matthew in your prayers that he will survive on a bike, that he will meet new friends, and most importantly that he will continue to feel the Spirit with him as he serves.

March 24, 2019

March 24, 2019

Here's the update for our Elder the past couple of weeks:

He hasn't called, but we've been able to chat with him a bit on Google Hangouts.  His area still feels small, and he says right now they aren't teaching anyone.  They have decided to take the time to teach each other.  So he bought a lot of different scripture study guides.  Right now they are studying the Pearl of Great Price.

He sent us a picture of the lake area...it looks so inviting!  It is very pretty. We also got a picture of him from his most recent zone conference.

Then this past week he had to take a driving test.  He passed the test, but with is ticket on his record he will have to take another defensive driving course before he will be allowed to drive the mission cars.  I know he is anxious to have that privilege.



This past week Matthew also passed another milestone.  He has now been on his mission for over 6 months!  Some days it feels that long, but others it feels like he just barely left.

This coming week is transfers week, so we will find out on Tuesday if Matthew gets to stay where he is or if a new adventure awaits him....

March 10, 2019

Here is our update from Matthew this week:

He writes (through Google Hangouts):

It's been a busy week

We went on 2 exchanges this week

It's been pretty sunny lately, but it's been staying in the 30s

He finally sent me a "tag pic", which is a picture of his missionary badge somewhere cool.  I was super excited to get this from him :)  The tag is kinda dark, but if you look closely you can see it.

He and Elder Talbot also shared the following video with us about the scripture Helaman 5:12

Matthew also called home again and told us that he is enjoying his area and being with Elder Talbot so much.  It is good to hear and see him happy and know that he is working hard.  In the next couple of weeks he will reach a big milestone - 6 months - 25% finished.  He says when they hit that mark they burn a tie, so he already has one picked out for that event.  Guess we will see that when it happens.  He will also celebrate his 20th birthday at the end of the month, and his first one while on his mission.  

We are excited to hear more from him this week.