This
week was awesome! I got to go to Billings for our Christmas Zone
Conference and then on tuesday we got to go to Helena for a meeting so we got
to do quite a bit of traveling this week! I am still learning but I def
feel much more confident in my snow diving now :) But for our Christmas
Zone Conference we got to do something fairly unique. It was all done
like a traditional Christmas program with tons of music. It was really
cool cuz some of the people here serving as Missionaries are incredibly
talented. They had all sorts of instruments and sang all day. The Spirit
was very strong and I really enjoyed singing. Haha I know yes that was me
talking... Singing was fun :)
We
have had some difficulty finding people to teach since pretty much all of our
Ward went home for the holidays. I guess that is just the joy of serving
in a University Ward around the holidays but we still have great faith that the
Lord will provide us people to teach. We did get to teach a guy named Ty
for the first time this week and he is preparing to be baptized on the 18th of
January. We have 2 others that are preparing to make the covenant to
serve the Lord in january and we are very excited for them as well :)
Last
week I shared a little of the experience I had being able to give a blessing to
a man on 2nd Ward but I feel the need to expound on it a little more. We
were able to witness a miracle last week. This brother ad come up to me
during the Stake Christmas program on Sunday night and had asked if before the
night was over we could give him a blessing. He had told us, and I
remember this when it happened, that about 2 months ago he was driving in his
work truck when he had a terrible headache come over him and he had lost
consciousness for a short period of time. He told me that night that he
was losing hearing in his right ear and had many other side effects of that
experience. He said the doctors had done tests on him four days earlier
and he had suffered from a minor stroke. As he described this experience
to me I felt very strongly that he would be healed of his infirmities. I
told him I would find him later with my companion and give him a blessing.
I then went to seek confirmation of the impression I had felt. I
went into a classroom all by myself and told Heavenly Father I felt and
believed he could and should be healed this night and I felt a confirmation
that it was true. We then went and gave him a blessing of healing and I
was able to tell him that his body would be completely healed and restored to
its proper working order. I knew that this blessing would happen but that
it would be on the Lord's time table. On tuesday afternoon I received a
call from this man. He told me that he had been to the doctor that day
and that they had no explanation as to what had happened. The doctors can
find no evidence of a stroke or any of the multiple side effects his body was
displaying only a few days before. He has been completely healed. I
am so very grateful for this experience because it has helped me to know without
a doubt that the Priesthood of God, The same authority that Jesus Christ gave
to his Apostles (Mark 3:14-15), has truly been Restored today.
I
have been blessed to see many mighty miracles on my mission so far but
for some reason I feel I should share this one. I add my testimony
that Jesus Christ lives. He is the Savior of the World. He loves us
all perfectly and does everything he can to heal us, spiritually and
temporally. As we open our hearts and keep the commandments we qualify
ourselves to receive more than we could ever imagine.
I am
so grateful for you all and all the love an support you have shown me. I have a
giant stack of packages that has tempted me beyond belief to open in my
apartment and I just want to say thanks :) I hope you all have a
wonderful Christmas and that the Spirit of Christ can be felt at every moment
of this great holiday :) I love and appreciate you all,
Elder
Holland
