Warming Up! :)

Hey Fam!

 

Haha when I say warming up I really mean it's at a point where my nose doesn't freeze after 2 minutes outside so life is pretty good!  Most of the snow melted this week so it looks like winter will hold off just a little bit longer :)

 

I had a crazy week this week.  The first half of the week we were super busy meeting with tons of new people! Then on Thursday I went up to Havre on exchanges.  It is like 2 hours north of Great Falls.  It really is in the middle of nowhere but I loved it because the people are incredible.  People from small towns are great.  I was there all the way until Sunday night. On Sunday we went to the Chinook Branch for their Branch Conference.  Our Stake President, President Pfile, was there and all the members of the stake leadership showed up.  His topic was counseling with a council.  I really liked this because he talked all about communication and how important it is for us to do things as a team.  He invited different people to come up and share different things throughout the meeting and I got to participate in different parts.  He said the formula for decision making is to always do it with Love and with the Spirit.  I really felt all decisions in life can be made by following this formula.  He talked about the line between practicality and spirituality in meetings.  Basically, we need to come to any meeting prepared to listen and contribute.  Overall it was a really great opportunity to learn how live in a way that I can be guided by the Holy Ghost in all things.

At the end of the meeting I got to participate in the Stake Council meeting.  It was strange because I was the only Missionary there as a guest but I really enjoyed seeing how all the members of that council came to a decision on things.  There was not a single time where I did not feel love during the meeting.  I am having so many interesting experiences I really never thought I would have as a missionary. I love it in Great Falls and am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve here.

I can't believe it is Thanksgiving already!  Haha we have 3 dinners scheduled and one of them has a 34 lb turkey... It's gonna be a loooong day.  I am so grateful for all of you and the great support you are to me.  I am grateful for the time I have been blessed with to serve a mission.  There is nothing else I would rather be doing with my life right now!  I am forever thankful for the Gospel and the knowledge I have of the Plan God has for us and the role of Christ in that plan.  God is soooo good! Every single day is a blessing :) I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

I love you all

Elder Holland

Great Falls is soooo cold!

Hey Fam,

Yes it has been freeeeeeeeezing here... But I have lots of warm things to wear so I will survive ;)  I actually have 2 dinners already scheduled for Thanksgiving and one of them said they are cooking a 34 lb turkey!  Idk how I feel about that but I am sure it will be a blast :)

This week was crazy!  It is almost like culture shock here in Great Falls.  It may be that I just got used to the people of Missoula but it is sooo different here.  We have lots of stuff happening and many people to teach.  I can already tell I am gonna love it here.  But freezing would be a very nice way of describing this place.  It was like -20 with crazy wind last week! Today it warmed up to like 25 degrees but man -20 is rough!  I am so grateful I have some crazy warm clothes and a zillion hand warmers :)

My new companion is Elder McKeachnie.  He and I get along really well and I can tell this transfer is gonna be awesome!  He is from a little town called Mona in Utah and this is his last transfer.  I am happy cuz he is a very focused missionary and is really working hard until the end.

I learned so many things this week! It is crazy how the things I am constantly learning are not necessarily new but they are taught to me in such a unique way that they have a great impact on me.  I feel like the reason I am always so amazed each day as I study the scriptures is because the teaching is done by the Holy Ghost.  I discovered yet another amazing formula in the scriptures yesterday during sacrament meeting.  While the sacrament was being passed I was really thinking about the Savior and all He did for me personally.  I had a strong feeling of hope as I was pondering and decided to look up the word hope in the topical guide.  As I scanned through the scriptures one really jumped out at me so I looked it up.  The verse is Moroni 8:25-26.  These 2 verses have some of the most amazing formulas ever in them!  Verse 25 says, "And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins;"  So here we learn how to receive a remission of our sins.  Then verse 26,"And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God."  It all compounds and grows to bring us to  a state of meekness and lowliness of heart.  We then are visited by the Holy Ghost who fills us with hope and perfect love (or Charity).  Then we learn how to have these things edure in our lives; diligence unto prayer.  As I sat there in sacrament meeting the Holy Ghost bore powerfully to me the need to pray.  I know this is true!  The effect of doing these things, in my opinion, gives us something that I believe every single person on this planet is searching for.  The last sentence of verse 16 of that same chapter tells us the effect of perfect love, "...for perfect love casteth out all fear."  When I read that yesterday I felt a peace that can only come from God completely overcome me.  The Holy Ghost taught me that no matter what happens in this life, no matter how crazy things get, I don't ever need to fear.  I believe this is a gift from God and is Priceless.  I know it comes from a sincere desire to follow the example of the Savior.  I have lived a life where I did not follow Him and I never had peace like this.  I am forever grateful for the opportunity God has given me to know of Christ and to have the opportunity to become something better because of Him.

I LOVE being a Missionary.

I am thankful to all of you for the great support you are to me!  Thanks for all you do!

Love,

Elder Holland

My new address is: 312 3rd Ave North Great Falls, Montana 59405.

Blizzard!

Hey Fam!

Holy smokes it is freezing here!  Last night we had the beginning of some crazy storm from the north and the town is covered in snow.  There is black ice everywhere so driving is extra fun today :)

Well, I am happy and sad today.  We got transfer calls yesterday and I am being transferred to the Great Falls East stake.  I will be serving in the Overlook ward.  I prayed about it and already received a confirmation that is where I am supposed to be but I am sad to leave.  We have 3 people who will be baptized in our ward on the 22nd!  I am super sad to miss them.  I will send a picture of me and my new companion next week.

I am sorry this letter is super short but we have a crazy amount of stuff to get done in the next few days.  We have appointments with people literally every hour for the next 48 hours! But I love being super busy all the time.

Thanks for the great love and support you all are to me!

Love,
Elder Holland

Getting Cold!

Hey Fam!

This week was so awesome! It is really starting to cool down here! Most of the leaves on the trees have lost over 50% of their leaves and the mountains are starting to be covered in snow. I almost forgot how early it gets dark here. With the time change yesterday it was dark at about 6! 

I am just amazed at the ways God continues to teach me all I need to learn. I feel like the learning never ends! I have really been pondering a serious question over the past few weeks and even months. I love knowing that God answers my prayers but I have learned, for the most part, that He does not give me personal and direct answers. Most of my prayers are answered in pondering and searching for ways to help others find answers to the questions they have.  I have really pondered the reason of why this is. A little bit ago a missionary was counseling with me and asked me the same question and we decided to make it a matter of study to search the scriptures and words of living prophets to get the answer to our question. In my hour of personal study each day I typically read for 20 minutes out of the Book of Mormon, New Testament, and Preach My Gospel. In the New Testament I am in 1 Corinthians and I feel I received the answer to this question while reading chapter 13. I believe the answer is so we can have Charity.  Chapter 13 gives a pretty incredible list of things you can have and not have Charity.  Moroni teaches us that Charity is the pure love of Christ and this kind of love endures forever.  I had an incredible confirmation from the Holy Ghost that we will only have Charity if we serve others and that is why God most often answers our prayers through others.  Charity is not something that we possess but rather something that possesses us.  No wonder our Prophet, President Monson, has said, "Unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives." 

My challenge to all of you this week is to help me in this study!  I would love to hear your thoughts and personal experience with Charity and prayer.  I am so grateful for all of you and for the great support you are to me :)  Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Holland

Busy, busy, busy!

Hey Fam!

Wow, this week was incredible!  I feel like I learned so much and have so much I need to work on.  I definitely felt the refiner's fire this week and am so grateful to know that God cares enough about me to communicate the things I can do to be a better disciple of Christ. 

We keep running into people that are so prepared to receive the Gospel!  We now have 3 people who are preparing to be baptized on November 22nd.  One of them is the girlfriend of a guy I have been looking for ever since I came to Missoula.  I got really close with the Bowden and Gage families in Bozeman and when I got here they told me to find their cousin.  We met for the first time last week!  One of the councilors in the Stake Presidency knows him and he and his girlfriend agreed to meet with us.  We shared with her the unique message that our Church has to offer: The Restoration of Christ's Church.  She accepted the invitation to be baptized and is preparing to be baptized on November 22nd!  I absolutely LOVE being a missionary because I get to witness so many people who are prepared to receive the blessings that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer.

 

Saturday was an incredible day.  We got a ride with a member and drove all the way to Billings to the Temple.  We drove there and back in one day so we spent a total of about 10 hours in a car that day.  It was long but oh so worth it!  Derek was very prepared and received his endowment!  It was a very special experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.  I know that the ordinances that are performed in the Temple are validated in the eyes of God.  That was confirmed to me over and over all throughout the endowment session.  We were able to study the scriptures in the chapel for about 45 minutes prior to the session and it was amazing.  The scriptures were opened up to me in a way I had never understood before and I was taught things by the Holy Ghost that will resonate with me forever.  The Temple is the goal! I received a sure witness of celestial marriage there as well.  I thought it was super strange that my study in the chapel lead to that but the Holy Ghost bore powerful witness of the necessity of that sacred ordinance.

Sorry I am out of time but thank you all so much for all you do for me!  I have a great support team and am so grateful for all that is done on my behalf :)

Love,

Elder Holland