Stake Conference!

Hey Fam!

Wow this week was awesome!  It warmed up a little and then got freezing again but I don't care anymore because I love it here.  We had a ton happen this week!  The highlight was definitely Stake Conference!  Elder Walker and Elder Dunnigan of the Seventy came and we got to spend some time talking with them before the meeting started which was really cool.  They have an incredible Spirit about them and truly do love people the way Christ does.  I'm grateful for their influence on me and all the missionaries.  President and Sister Mecham came and both spoke in the Saturday session.  President Heap was released and the new Stake President was called.  I was shocked when Elder Walker said it would be Bishop Repscher!  He was my Bishop in 2nd Ward for 6 months so I am very excited for him!  He will do great.  Overall it was an awesome meeting.  We had four of the people we are working with who are investigating the Church there which was great because we had really good discussions on the organization of the Church and how it is exactly the same as the organization Christ set up anciently.  I really enjoyed what was said by Elder Dunnigan.  He spoke about the hastening of the Work of Salvation and really went into detail about people and their needs.  He said that we do all these activities and have all these programs for people because God does not care about anything else.  I agree completely and feel as we focus on the real reason why we do all we do, to love one another, we feel the best and continue on the path to become what Heavenly Father wants us to become.  He also said, "Only by having Sisters input are we going to have the best possible outcome."  I agree.  We get to work with Sisters here a lot and things seem to work much better when we work together.  I think it is the same in all aspects of life.   He also quoted President Spencer W. Kimball who said, "The Lord will naturally put people into our circle of influence."  I feel it is just so important to always remember that those people are put there for us to INFLUENCE.  Meaning we need to actually Do something :)

I feel things are going really well right now and I just hope I don't get transferred next week!  This transfer is almost over again but Mike will be baptized this saturday at 4:30!  I am so excited for him!  He has been investigating the Church for almost a year and has finally made the decision to continue his path of Repentance and be Baptized :)

Life is good and I love serving the Lord.  Thank you all so very much for your love and support! Have a great week!  

Love,

Elder Holland

Getting Warmer!

Hey Fam!

 

This week was awesome!  It has started to warm up and has been like in the 40's!  I still think it is strange to see people walking around in shorts & a t-shirt when there is still snow on the ground but I am loving the Vitamin D I have been absorbing :) 

 

The library was closed on Monday and we had a crazy day yesterday so sorry the letter is late but this is the only day we have had enough time to write letters

 

We had some really cool experiences this week!  Our Zone training went really well and I was so grateful for President Heap because he came and spoke to us about how to be Christ like teachers.  He has such a profound understanding of the scriptures I just love it when he teaches. 

 

I got to speak at the stake humanitarian day which was great.  All the wards had their own projects they were working on and much was accomplished.  I love that no matter where you go you find Disciples of Christ doing the same thing differently to serve and love one another.

 

Before lunch I had an experience that was quite powerful.  As we were talking to different people in the gym a man grabbed myself and my companion and said someone needed help in the parking lot.  We went outside to find an older man who I know well who had fallen and was laying face up part way under his truck.  There was very slick black ice in the parking lot and we weren't sure how long he had been laying there. 911 was called and we put salt all over the ice to help.  He said he had hit his head really hard and that he could not feel the cold anymore.  I began to be worried and felt a strong feeling come over me that we needed to give him a blessing before the ambulance arrived.  As we knelt down to give him a blessing I had the most amazing, calm, peaceful feeling come over me.  As we gave him the blessing I felt inspired to tell him that Angels would arrive with the medical team and that they would guide him through this experience and help take away the pain.  When the fire truck and ambulance arrived something incredible happened.  As I looked into each of their faces they truly did shine and I felt a warm feeling that God had granted the blessing and sent Angels to minister to the needs of all present there.  I know and testify that Angels are real. They minister to us daily and are proof of the love our Heavenly Father has for us.  I am so grateful to know that even though there are billions of people on this Earth God takes the time to send aid to each and every one of us.

 

We also had an awesome teaching experience with these some college students.  We were teaching this guy named Drew and his roommate Will.  Drew's brother was in town and he sat in on the lesson.  All of these guys are very Bible savvy and so we taught the Restoration starting with multiple scriptures from the Bible that talk about the Book of Mormon.  This led to an inspired discussion about the Church that Christ has Restored here today.  At the end of the lesson we invited all three of them to follow the example of their Savior and be baptized by someone holding the Priesthood authority of God and they all said yes!

 

I am so grateful for the knowledge and peace I have in my life that can only come from living the Gospel.  I heard President Heap testify to someone this week that we as disciples of Christ do not believe His doctrine to be merely theological or just a thing of the past but we believe it to be practical and we do our best to live it daily.  I know that there is no other way to peace and everlasting happiness.  Jesus Christ lives and loves each one of us.

 

Thank you all for all your love and support! I am grateful for and love each of you.  Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Holland

Almost out of the cold!

Hey Fam!

So I really thought it was gonna start getting warmer here but this last week proved me wrong... it was freezing!  The lowest I saw was -29. Not cool.  It warmed up to like 31 today and I was almost sweating.  I only have my white shirt and suit jacket on and was fine.  I think I'm gonna melt my first summer home from my mission.

Life is fantastic here in Bozeman.  We have a bunch of new people to teach and the ones we have been teaching are progressing very well in the Gospel.  As a missionary all we can do is invite someone to do something.  Our invitation in all things is to experiment on what we are saying and seek for Divine confirmation.  I just love seeing how personal the Gospel is for each person here on Earth.  We taught this new investigator this week.  He is extremely Bible savvy.  We discussed the origin of the Bible and how it came to be by reading the section, "Bible" in the Bible Dictionary.  It led him to see that we as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints truly are Christians.  He learned that our intention is in no way to take him away from what he already believes but show him that he is right!  That he is correct in believing in our Savior, Jesus Christ.  That because God loves us he has given us Prophets since the beginning to lead and guide us. And that His church has been Restored through a Prophet today and as evidence of this the Lord gave us the Book of Mormon. I am so excited for him because we were able to show him references of the Book of Mormon in the Bible and he was really excited about what he had learned.  Most of all the Holy Ghost testified of truth and he felt that it was true.

I am really excited about this week!  On Friday we get to have our Zone Training and after praying quite a bit about what we should do for it we decided we were going to focus on the Atonement.  Our Stake President, President Heap, will be speaking for an hour as well.  He is one of the greatest inspirational speakers I have ever met. He dedication to serve the Lord has given him a great knowledge of the Gospel and as a result he has become a master scriptorian. 

I also get to speak at the Stake Relief Society Humanitarian Day on Saturday.  I am a little nervous about this one but I am sure the Lord will fill my mouth with what I need to say.

Thanks for all you all do and the great love and support I feel here as a missionary!  

Love,

Elder Holland

It's freezing here...

Hey Fam!

So I have been able to adjust to some pretty crazy weather in this part of the world but WOW this is nuts!  I now know without a doubt what a blizzard is!  I think these next few days are gonna be insane too.  We were out walking around in it on Saturday and my face legitimately froze.  First time for everything.  But I love it.  When the wind calms down it truly is beautiful :)

Elder McCandless and I had a fantastic week!  We are now teaching a guy from India.  I love how no matter what walk of life we come from if we have eyes to see we know without a doubt that there is a God.  Thankfully God gave us Prophets and Scriptures to help us understand His true nature.  I am excited to keep working with him and to witness him receive the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We had a fantastic lesson with another investigator yesterday!  He has been meeting with missionaries for months and has gained a testimony of the Restored Gospel but had not accepted a date to be baptized.  I prayed for him many times over the passed few weeks and really felt the day was March 1st.  He said he wanted to pick the day himself and that he would pray about it and let us know.  Yesterday we taught him at President and Sister Heap's home and at the end of the lesson he told us that he prayed and felt that March 1st was the day.  Yes!  I love how revelation works and am so grateful for it because every time I feel something and then someone else feels the same thing and we find out we both felt the same thing by acting my testimony grows. 

I do not have much time now but I am very excited for this week! I get to speak to some seminary kids on Thursday morning and am so thankful for the opportunity.  I wish I had decided to pay attention in seminary because of the amazing things they learn from the scriptures!  I get legitimately giddy in the mornings before scripture study because I know that I am going to learn something incredible and that I will be able to apply it to my life immediately.  I hope you all have great experiences with the scriptures and you cherish the time you get to read them.

Thanks so very much for all your love and support!

Love,

Elder Holland