Howdy (7/26/10)

Hello family/friends

Today is a very beautiful day here in California, it's about 80 and I'm loving it. There is a cool breeze comin in and life is great. I am eating a cinnamon roll from walmart for $.50 can't get better than that and we are about to play a sweet game of scatter ball. Yup LIfe is great here in Carmichael.

The Training is over. 4 days from 9-4 everyday. I was exhausted but man did I learn a lot. I am so grateful I was able to go to those meetings. Now I just have to go share it will all the sisters in the mission. ha easy right. 4 days of learning and i teach them in 1 day exchanges. What I learned there has changed my mission and will change my life forever. The Prophet and his counselors really are inspired. SO is President Jardine. He is such an amazing man, best mission president in existence. They have changed the way they do things. Zone Conf. will be happening every quarter, every 3 months, along with interviews. crazy that is going to be different but it will give us more time to go out and work work, work, work. I am so excited. I have really noticed a difference in my mission already and the way I teach people.

They taught us things we already know but the focus of what and why we teach has changed. We teach the Doctrine of Christ (2 Nephi 31) we teach everything to help them receive personal revelation. Really just everything. I have learned to listen to the spirit better. I have a long long lo-----------------------ng way to go until I know how to listen to the spirit but I can recognize when it is speaking to me. Missions are SUPERB I love them. everything about them makes me want to shout for joy.

So because I was in meetings most of the time I didn't get to teach a lot of people but we did teach a few. Dawna (our hearing investigator) she is great. She came to church and loved it, learned a lot and showed us something really cool in the bible the Epistle of Jude it talks about Christ's church being mocked. Because people don't understand it. and many other things. She had never read that before and at church she felt like she should read Jude so she did. And it clicked to her. Because her friend that is a member said that he doesn't know any of his neighbors because the one that would talk to him moved and the others wont' becuase he is a mormon. then she read this chapter. and it amazed her. The one true Church will be mocked. Our church is the church that is most outwardly mocked because people don't know anything about it. she loved it and she felt really good about that. She is getting baptized on August 10 between Sister stoddard and my birthday. Aug 9 and 11. So we are going to have a baptism then a birthday party that day. So cool!! I am super excited. It is going to be so fun. She just needs to quit smoking then we are set to go. She is getting there. sSo pray for her.

Bobby is our man from the 80's he has long blonde hair and it is so beautiful. I love it. He cracks me up. But he came to church yesterday and loved it. we will see him again this week and his daughter so hopefully things will go somewhere with that one.

Something funny that i never mentioned. My responsibility in the marshallese branch was what??? RS chorister. Yup that is right there were 5 of us there and I was the one teaching all the marshallese how the hymns sound. THey will never learn with me. But I got to go back for a marriage and baptism. it was wonderful they were really happy to see me and it was good to see everyone again. I miss them lots.

Life is great as always and I can't wait to try the new things i learned this week and see how it goes. Wish me luck and pray that i can be an effective teacher to help the other sisters learn this material.

Love Sister HOlt

Time for a letter (7/20/10)

Hello you get a real letter today!!

Well the days have been crazy and full of new twists and turns... I love being a missionary and just learning how to go with the flow and accept whatever the Lord hands out to you. I'm back with my deafies and it is fabulous. I was a little nervous at first. I was excited for change again and don't like to do the same thing so when i knew I was coming back I felt it would be the same. But believe me IT"S NOT!! the branch needs a lot of help. A lot of the members are moving and transfering their records so we need the Less Actives to become active so they can support the branch for the new members we bring in. Great yeah? So this transfer is full and busy already. Not to mention some changes the missionary program is going through as well... More about that later...

Ok what did you miss the past two weeks i didn't email..

back in the islands (marshallese and tongan program), our investigator Hancelly who was a miracle if you remember, just accepted the gospl and wanted to be baptized but his girlfriend was against it and their parents. Well he kept faithful and read and prayed every night and finally came to church. The next day he called and said their parents okayed them getting married and also in whatever church they want. Miracle and then Miana (the girlfriend) had a chat with Hancelly's cousin, a super strong recent convert, and she prayed about the book of mormon and knew it was true and decided she wanted to be baptized with Hancelly. So the moral of the story is they are being married and baptized on the 24 of July their own day of religious independence and freedom from sin. Isn't that the greatest story in the world. THey are amazing and I miss them like crazy but I have the chance to go to their wedding and baptism so I will see them and take lots of pictures. I am so excited for them.

We have a few other baptisms going on with the marshallese and one of them is the daughter of Torken and Kestiney ( our eternal investigators) they decided they will be baptized by september and we are hoping the baptizm of their daughter will help quicken that proccess. Kestiney is ready but tokren needs some time. He is coming along though because he used to say I will think about being baptized now he says when I get baptized. The church is true brothers and sisters. I know that much.

I learned a lot the last two transfers, things I will take with me for the rest of my life and I am so grateful for the lessons I've learned. I went through a lot with those companions and it was really sad and hard to leave them but I know I will only grow from the experiences i have.

This week what happened... I got to see a lot of the people I was teaching before I left the program. They are still investigating the church plus some new ones. It is fun to see them but sad they are not baptized already. They need to get into gear and have a little push to get them motivated to work work work. I know they will be happier and have the things they need it they were to just listen to what we say. So this week is going to be busy and BOLD.

so all of the missions in the world are experiencing changes... they are implementing a new program, well putting a new focus on Preach My Gospel. All of the Zone leaders and District leaders and trainers have to go to meetings Tues, wed, thurs, friday this week to learn the new program. Then they will go out and go on exchanges with the other missionaries for a day or two and teach them the way to do it. Seeing that all the leaders are elders, and elders and sisters don't go on exchanges they have selected 2 sisters to go to the meetings and then go on exchanges with all the sisters in the mission. Ok that's great except they selected me as one of them. Well I can't turn him down because it's a calling from the Lord but I feel that there are so many sisters that would better qualify for the calling. So it's come down to either one of two things. Either I am in need of some intense training so he decided I go directly to the training to make me better, or the Lord has blessed me with a gift and ability to teach the other sisters and President feels confident I can. or maybe a little of both. But I know I am grateful for the calling and a little overwhelmed but I know the Lord is always there for me and will help me every step of the way. It's been an experience for me lots' of thoughts and things going through my head. but Life is a gift and we just have to take what we have and use those gifts that God gave us.

I am having the time of my life out here and I love everything. my new companion is Sister Stoddard. She is an upbeat, always going and smiling sister. She is 95% deaf and she gets by reading lips in the hearing world. She is learning sign language quickly and is a great teacher. It's fun to have her as a companion she is sweet as ever. I will have to send a picture of us next time. It's back up to over 100 degree weather and man oh man it's hot tracting. But That's all I have time for now I will write again next week and have pictures and more stories of miracles so just be waiting for them.

I love you all and hope this week is amazing for you. Remember the Lord loves you and you have a purpose for living this week so go out and find the reason you are here. It's a blessing to realize that you are fulfilling your purpose. Something I realized yesterday is just loving someone is doing missionary work so go and love everyone and it's all in the perspective. So have a positive perspective this week and look for the miracles God gives us everyday they are waiting on you so go make em' happen.

Love Sister Holt

Be happy and keep smiling.

Jolok Bwod (7/13/10)

another week. I have been transferred and have been saying bye to all my people and spent too much tijme with them and have no time to write now but next week i will write you a long letter for sure. last nothing letter i promise. but i was called to go to stockton with my baby sister hansen but then something happened that sister badger needs to stay in stockton so i am going where she was going to go... Carmichael. My old area. i will be there for 1 transfer and then i'm off to stockton. so my new comp is sister stoddard. she is a sweet heart. I will write more later. MIracles happen just so you know.

Love Sister Holt

Be happy and keep smiling.

It's 104 degrees today (6/28/10)

most exciting news...july and august NO NYLONS and when its above 100 so today i am bare legged and loving it. life is great. on to more important matters... The church is true and I am a happy missionary.

We had a great week with lots of success and beautiful people i got to meet. Richard Blessed the Sacrament yesterday and he is so---------o happy. He was grinning from ear to ear and so was I. He really loves the Gospel and loves to serve now. The blessing of being a missionary.

Sorry there is not a lot of time but yesterday I got to go to a baptism in the deaf branch.. it was so fun the members were shocked to see me. I miss my deafies they are wonderful people and they are so loving. All of them begged me to stay but I had to leave it was really hard. But the lady that was baptized, Brenda, in april I knocked on her door with Sis Georges (we were on exchanges) and I told her to come to church she said sure so she came. At church we asked if we could teach her but she said she was too busy but she would keep coming to church so the next week she was there. We kept trying to teach her but nope, then I got transfered and they finally got in to teach her and she felt the spirit and was baptized. Missonary work is a great thing and it's a testimony to me of talking to everyone because most of the time it's the ones you think won't change are the ones that do change. The elders had a baptism on Saturday. A month ago about the elders were out tracting and they saw a bald head over the fence so they started to talk to him. he was smoking a cigarette and said "I'm busy now but you can come back some other time." they thought he was just saying that, but they went back and he was just baptized. You never know who is prepared for the gospel. He quit smoking after 40 years. about 22 cigs a day. THats a lot. He is solid, has a great testimony and is funny funny.

Well a little insight to transfers... President has NO idea what he is going to do. I only have 5 transfers left so i have to be placed wisely because he wants to go to a few places before the end of my mission. So i can stay where i am, or go to stockton or to manteca. that is all i know!!

ok i have to go now but I love you all and hope you have a great week. Thanks for the love and support and letter and email and everything you do!!

Love Sister Holt

Be happy and keep smiling