Dear Family,

   I hope you're all having an amazing day! I love you all so much and I am so grateful for your support. Thank you, you wonderful peaches. :)

   Guess what?! This last Tuesday was my 6 Month Mission Birthday! Yay! (Yeah, I'm strange, but I love celebrating special days, so it makes me excited when I have a "mission birthday".) Anyway, 6 months have gone by since I last saw all of you, isn't that insane? Time has passed quickly when you look back on it like that, but these 6 months have been packed with stuff! I love all the things I am learning. I'm excited to see who I'll be and where I'll be at in another 6 months, or even in a year! Yeah, I imagine that triumphant moment of coming down the escalator at the airport to crowds of loving people, with a victorious song playing in the background. It will probably happen in slow motion too. Haha okay just kidding, not crowds of people. Just my wonderful family. :) I'll see you all then! But...till then I am loving my mission! This work is so amazing to be a part of. I'm excited for what it is teaching me about what I want to do and how I want to be and how I want to serve when I get home. Dad, I love hearing about your geneology work. You're such a great example.

   So our investigators are doing really well. L. is amazing and loves coming to church so much. The ward loves him. He's quite popular. This week we went and taught him and M. the Plan of Salvation and the Word of Wisdom. The lesson went really well. I love teaching about the Plan of Salvation and Eternal Families. That's my favorite! :) S. is so sweet and she is doing really well. She's having her baby in a couple weeks and has finals just a few days before! She's awesome!

   I am loving this ward. Each time we have dinner with a family and get to know them and share a message with them, it feels so good. Families in the church are amazing. I love that anywhere you go in the world, you can find instant friends in the church that share your beliefs and knowledge of what's important and how blessed we are to have the Gospel. In our gospel principles class yesterday the teacher asked us the question what do you choose faith over? He wrote on the board: "I choose FAITH over..." When he asked for one of our responses I answered, "I choose FAITH over Fear." I have really been coming to learn that on my mission lately. That when we choose faith over giving into feelings of fear we are given courage. The Lord loves us and is not going to abandon us. When we have faith in Him and we are doing His will we have NO reason to fear. I'm striving to develop that. :)

   Our apartment has become really unified this week. We all love each other so much and we have so much fun together. We support and encourage each other. Me, Sister Moure, Hermana Winn, and Hermana Newman. (I even made white chocolate popcorn for all of us this week and they loved it. Thanks for teaching me, Beth.) We love talking over lunch and in the evenings after planning. Last night we were all lounging on the floor making planner covers together. I was actually reading from the Book of Mormon from Alma 5. Alma is teaching the people of the church, and he was asking all these amazing thought-provoking and self-evaluating questions. Suddenly I exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! Prophets ask the BEST questions!" That made all of them laugh. :) It was a pretty funny moment. And yes...I love it when something I say or do can make others laugh. But seriously...prophets ask the best questions. ;)

   Well I loved your emails today! Mom, I am SO excited for that this week. Thank you for all you do! Thank you again for all of your support and love. Have a wonderful week!

Love,

   Melanie (Sister Hardman)

My 6 month mission birthday!!! J

The wonderful district that I came to love so much this last transfer at our district BBQ this last Monday.