A Letter To Elder Hawley from the Beards 11/29/16

December 2016

Dear Elder Hawley,

Hello sweetheart!  Hope this letter find you well and happy.  You deserve such goodness.  I love that you are doing what you are doing and that you are doing it well and obediently.  I cannot pretend to know what you are experiencing—the good AND the bad—but your example is certainly inspiring to more people than you know. Every week your letters amaze me more and more.  I joke with your mom and Gabbey that I end up crying and laughing both at the same time.  You’re awesome and we all sure miss you.  I feel like I have sent one of own children on a mish.

Hunter, Dylan and Thomas dropped by over Thanksgiving Break when Gabbs was home.  We all definitely agreed we were missing you.  Gabbs had a slip of the tongue a little bit ago when she said she was going out with “Meeshel and so and so and so and so….”.  She stopped, we both looked at each other and she teared up just a little.  Boy, you are missed—but we are so happy you are serving.  You make us proud every day.

Gabbs leaves for Madrid January 25.  She will be back April 25.  She and a friend will take the last week to travel all over Europe and have fun before coming home to Spring term and working full time.  YAY!  You two can chat some when you get home.  She is dating and happy at BYU this year.  Big difference from last year.  She aims to move down to Provo on a permanent basis this August to begin her Junior year.  Kaylin Avery just broke Gabrielle’s 1 Back high school record last week.  By less than a second, but broke it nonetheless.  I thought Gabbs would have been more upset about it but she said 5 years was a good run, she’s busy with other stuff now.  She’s just glad it wasn’t Nuenschwander.  Ha ha.

Joshua is still our hippy child.  Loves MAP, HOSA, and Mr. Bird.  He put his phone in military time cuz that’s how medical professionals tell time.  Lol.  He will grow his hair until the last possible moment.  He is getting ready for high school soccer soon.  Still on swim team.  Still hates it.  Still hates me for it. Oh well. Travels extensively still for soccer.  It’s coming to an end and he is getting quite burned out.  He has decided no collegiate soccer for him.  Much like Gabbey, he just wants to college like a regular kid.

Ducky still so sweet and loving.  Just turned 12 this past fall and is passing sacrament each week.  Still soccering all over the western US.  San Diego over Thanksgiving, Phoenix in February, Vegas in March, Phoenix again in April.

Daniel Avery and Becka are engaged.  Jeanne thinks a May wedding.  Very small.  Family only.

Sorry so boring.  It’s just regular life day by day.

Merry Christmas.  May 2017 be an incredible year for you.  Be safe, be happy, be obedient.  The Lord is mindful of you every single day.  I know that.  I do not doubt it.  I hope you don’t either.

Remember….”be still and know…”.  You can know and you will know always.  You are in His keep.

See you soon.  Keep enjoying that amazing food.  Mission perks.  Miss you, miss you.

So many hugs and such big love,

The Beards—Ryan, Kori, Gabbey, Joshua, and Noah

NEW AREA!!! 11/28/16

Hello everyone!!

First I want to start off by giving thanks to everyone that has been in my life. Everyone that has helped me in every way. You all honestly mean so much to me.  I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving! I miss the food there but it’s okay because I have tamales here and if you didn’t know... I love tamales. Like so much. I want to give a shout out to my mom-family for the Thanksgiving dinner in a box, they are the best I love them.

Second I am getting transferred to a new area tomorrow (Tuesday)! Me and my new companion are going to reopen it!  We don’t have a house yet because the area we are going to was closed before but we are going in to open it back up so we are looking for a house right now. The new area is in Reynosa also but a little bit far away! It is a little tiny town! I am super super excited.

I’m getting a new companion. His name is Elder Jeronimo and he has been a zone leader. He is a native and he is super awesome! He doesn’t speak a lot of English but a little. He has 3 months left. My current companion was only with me to finish my training.

Oh man like the weather here is so crazy. It is super cold in the morning and super hot in the night. I was super sick like 2 days ago because the weather keeps changing. I gave a talk in sacrament  and I was talking so funny. I am feeling a lot better!

I don’t have a ton of time because I need to pack still but I love you all and I miss you all a lot. Remember to give thanks for everything that we have in this life because we really have so much to be grateful for!

-Elder Hawley

Pictures 11/28/16

Counting Blessing/Gifts A Letter To Elder Hawley 11/27/16

Hey Elder,

How is it going? We hope you had a great Thanksgiving, were able to eat a lot of good food, thought of what you are thankful for, and enjoy what came in your box. We had a good Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa's with Grandma Suz joining us. It wasn't the same without you though. The kids were able to have lots of fun with cousins and friends during the long weekend. We are so blessed to have you serving a mission. We think of you always and pray for your success each day. 

How is the weather there? We are expecting a big snow storm tonight. We will see. Miles wants you to know he now has 40 Pokemon cards. He is also wearing your first football jersey, # 36. It is super long on him but he likes to wear it.  

Dad says to remember to be grateful and count your blessings. Counting your blessings helps you to remain humble, allowing the spirit to be your companion. Having the spirit is what allows the work to move forward.

Mom received this in Relief Society today...During the month of December, remember the greatest gift ever given to earth was Heavenly Father's gift of His Beloved Son. What gift can we give in return for the gift of his Only Begotten Son? What gift would be appropriate, suitable, and acceptable? One possible gift is found In D&C 97:8 "Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice-yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command-they are accepted of me." The gifts of a contrite spirit, an honest heart, commitment to the gospel, our sacrifices, these are the gifts acceptable before the Lord.

We are eager to hear how your week went. Also if you have a picture of you that you want us to include in our Christmas card, please include it in your letter. Or we can use the one with you holding the Mexico Flag that Sydnee took.

May God bless you. We love and miss you lots!

Love, Your Family

Baby, Firefighter, Pianist 11/21/16

This week a little girl in our ward told me that I talk like a baby, but at least she could understand what I was saying. In addition to being a baby I am also a pianist and firefighter.

This week in the ward they had the presentation of the primary. They didn’t have anyone to play the piano so on Monday they asked me if I knew how to play the piano because apparently all Americans know how. I told them that I could see if I could play the songs because I know a little piano. They gave me one and asked me to see if I could play it and it was more or less easy. I told them yeah I could do it. Then they handed me a folder with 11 other songs, and told me that I had these too. When the presentation arrived I had only played the songs like 4 or 5 times. The sister that was in charge was super worried that I was going to mess up haha so I prayed because they had worked really hard to learn the songs and I wanted to do everything that I could to play the piano good enough. I started to play and I was playing perfectly. I don’t know how but I played all 12 songs super good, almost without mistakes. It was super cool.

Also a firefighter. We were in a lesson with a family that lives in some apartments, and they live on the first floor. Like 3 floors up someone was welding and the sparks were flying everywhere. Like 10 minutes later the dad turned and looked out the window and there were huge flames coming from the other side of the wall. The family has a wooden roof and the flames were getting super close so immediately I jumped up and ran outside with the dad and climbed the wall and he handed me a hose and I started to spray the crap out of the fire. It was like a dream come true but instead of wearing protective clothing I just had a name tag and dress clothes haha. I don’t know how the fire got put out, it was honestly a miracle.

We get some super good hamburgers sometimes at this little building. And food sometimes at a place called Tacos Barron that is super close to our house.

We found a really cool family this week whose kids want to be baptised. They told us they were going to come to church. As church started they still hadn’t arrived and none of the other people we invited had either. I was really disappointed. With like 20 minutes left of sacrament meeting they got there. Better late than never to the classes after the kids had a ton of fun.

The mission is going super great. I have a great watch tan line and am having a great time.

Love you guys, Elder Hawley.

Greater Love Hath No Man A Letter To Elder Hawley From Dad 11/20/16

Hi Elder,
John 15:13. Greater love hath no man. If you follow footnote for the word life. It takes you to consecrate. There is more than one way to lay down your life. True you can give your life or die for love it is a single heroic act. But if you lay down your life by consecrating your life this requires daily effort and daily sacrifice. As you consecrate your life to the savior you show your love for him and the people of Mexico. He will bless you. Im proud of you keep up the good work.
Love, Dad

Playing Sorry A Letter To Elder Hawley 11/20/16

Hi Elder,

How are you doing? How has your week been? We have been praying that you had a successful week. 

We have been playing Sorry a lot. Remember when you would be losing or come from behind and win? Yeah, that's what Miles is doing now. He literally is losing and he ends up winning every time. He now calls himself the Sorry Master. He wants to play you when you get home so he can beat you.

Your letter last week was great. Dad said it's a good moment when an American is let out of the goalie box. He never got out when he played in Brazil.

When do you get to have scripture study? This week read scripture Romans 15:4..."that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." 

Nothing too exciting happened with us last week...just work, school, and homework. The kids are excited about this week only having two days in school for the Thanksgiving holiday.

We can't wait to hear about your week. 

Love and Miss You Lots!

Your Family

Taking Baths With a Bowl of Water and Miracles 11/14/16

Well this week we didn’t have water...they turned it off...well because there was some confusion and nobody paid the bill for like 3 months haha. So we had to ask our neighbor member for buckets of water because the water company couldn’t come to our house to turn on the water for a week. So we bathed in ice cold water with a bowl haha. It was definitely an experience to remember.

Things are super great with my new companion.  I have learned so much Spanish. Some days are a struggle with the language but we communicate almost normal. The area we are in is such a challenge. We were teaching almost 15 families and right now we have like 5. It is just hard to see people turn away from the chance of a lifetime. We just need to love them. There is a scripture in Moroni 7:46- 48. It talks about being filled with the pure love of Christ.

This week we had a miracle. One day it was pouring rain so we were running through the muddy streets looking for shelter and we found this little ledge on the side of a building that was blocking the water. So we took shelter there for a little to see if the rain would go away or if we were going to have to go out through it. Like 10 seconds later this mom runs over with her hija (daughter) for shelter and we started to talk. Turns out she had been hearing the lessons from other missionaries and was progressing really good but then her work changed and she couldn’t go to church or hear the missionaries. We found her and she is doing great, still reading the Book of Mormon and working towards baptism. It is so crazy how that works out.

Also today we played soccer and since my skills are getting better they let me come out of the goalie box and play for real haha.  I got nailed in the face but I saved us from getting scored on. We play with our district and zone depending on where we have our weekly meeting. I love it here and I know that we can live joyfully even in the midst of our trials. I hope you are all doing great! Miss you all and love you!

Elder Hawley

Thankful......A Letter to Elder Hawley 11/13/16

Hello Elder, 
How are things with your new companion? We are excited to hear that the work is progressing in your area. It isn't always clear to us the difference you are making in peoples lives though. We sure enjoyed your story about how you met the taxi driver. The Lord can prompt us in many ways. That is the first story we have heard about THAT kind of prompting haha. We are so thankful for and loved seeing the video of you on the mission facebook page speaking Spanish with your current companion and others in the car. Seeing you makes us feel like you are right here with us and so thankful to see you are doing well.

Things are going good here. The kids are all doing well in school and all had great report cards for first term. Mom and dad are super busy with work and life itself. Dad is gone alot between very long hours at work and Bishop duties. We had the primary program today about scriptures and prophets, it was great. Miles and Malia did a great job singing and saying their parts. Malia is happy to be out of primary for good now that the program is over. She is enjoying being in young women. Did we tell you that Megan earned her Young Womanhood Recognition a few weeks ago? She is now working on earning her Honor Bee. So proud of her!

It is such a great privilege to hold the priesthood and to be a part of the miracles and blessings Heavenly Father has for his children. He has and will continue to bless his children in Mexico through you. What a great blessing that is. Remember who you represent and the power that supports you. The scripture for this week read Alma 26:37. We are so thankful to you for your willingness and for taking the time out to serve the people of Mexico.

God bless you. We love and pray for you always.

Much Love, 

Your Family

Video From the Reynosa Mission Facebook Page

Love You Guys 11/7/16

First off I just want to thank everyone who has been supporting me and who have helped me at all in my life. I am truly so grateful for all of you and I would not be who I am today without you all.

Second off, we have had a lot of success in our area. We have 8 people that hopefully will be baptised if everything goes well. I have faith that they can change their lives and become so happy through the gospel. I know that through obedience to the commandments of the Lord we will be blessed so much.

I heard an awesome quote. It was, “If we always focus on where we want to go, almost all the decisions we make on a daily basis and in our lives become easy.” There is a clear path that leads to happiness and it has been clearly defined because this life isn’t meant to be super complicated. If we follow the guidance of the prophets and the commandments we will be alright. Life isn’t meant to be easy either.

About 7 new missionaries (3 Americans) got here this last week and I tried talking to the American and it was so hard. I think like 20 get here in three weeks.

We have gotten soaked like every day. It’s so nice in the mornings and at night. We put chairs on our roof and study up there sometimes.

This morning we ate at a little taco restaurant and it was super super good. Oh tambien (also) we ate at a miembro (member) and they had this chipotle chicken. I am going to learn how to make it because it was honestly so so good. I’m going to buy a book and have the members write down the recipes that we eat.

I love you all so much. Miss you.

Elder Hawley

Swim Like Mitch A Letter to Elder Hawley 11/06/16

Hi Elder,

How was your week and Halloween night? How is everything going with your new companion? Does the time change for you in Mexico like it does here? We went back an hour on Saturday night and trying to get use to it getting so dark early. We enjoyed reading about your week last week and your story about the experience you had with the taxi driver. 

Megan says that she loves you and she knows you are doing a great job. She also says to make sure you always follow the promptings you get as soon as you get them. 

Malia wants to tell you that she did a round off back handspring on the floor by herself in gymnastics. Also that Miles said to her that he wanted to listen to "We Will Rock You because it reminds me of Mitch". It was so cute. 

Miles and mom went swimming on Wednesday with Grandma Paige, Aunt Ginger, Aunt Robyn, and the cousins.(Megan, Malia, and dad were raking leaves for a service project for mutual). It was fun but hard for mom going to the rec center and not because you were swimming. It brings back so many great memories. Miles says he got alot of candy Trick or Treating and he had his first swim lesson on Saturday. He did really good and is in level three. He has to really practice his kicks. He jumps in the water, floats, swims freestyle and loves to push off and do backstroke the best he can. He is having some private lessons with Lauren Barnes until group lessons start on November 28. When he was getting ready for his lesson, before we left home, he ran down the hall, grabbed your green Tsunami towel and your orange mesh swim bag and put the towel in the bag. He had his goggles and swim suit on and said, "I'm ready to go swim like Mitch." Awwww it was so cute. We really miss watching you swim!

For this week's scripture read 3 Nephi 18:15-19. Remember to look for the things Jesus taught about the blessings that come to us through prayer. 

We love you and miss you. Keep working hard, smiling, being positive, and following the promptings that come to you. 

Love, 

Your Family