Spanish Lunch

Hey Fam!

So this week was great! The sun is shining and the weather is just like home :)  We get the occasional 30 mph wind accompanied by some rain but it clears up in like an hour and is back to sunshine.  

We had our Zone Training this week and we really focused on finding new people and obtaining unshaken faith. I got to give a discussion on unshaken faith and we searched for formulas on how to obtain this kind of faith in the Book of Mormon. We looked at 2 Nephi 31:19-20, Jacob 4:5-6, Enos, and Mormon 9:27-28. I have researched this topic quite a bit and have found that if I analyze what these great Prophets did to obtain that kind of faith that we can also gain this faith in any principle of the Gospel. It takes time but it is possible.

We had a fun lunch this week with the family here that are from Barcelona. They grew up in the Catholic religion and were baptized about four years ago. They fed us dinner last Sunday and we got talking about spanish food and so she said she would feed us a Spanish meal for lunch on Friday so we went and had tortilla Espanola and a Spanish salad. It was awesome. Elder Bishop does not like eggs so he had to deal with that and he really does not like vegetables so when Sister Ribera said you are supposed to rub the tomato juice all over the bread he almost flipped. I thought it was pretty funny.

I got sick this week and lost my voice which is kinda important to go and teach people but it's all good it is coming back and I should be all good in a day or two.

We still have a bunch of people we are trying to get in with and have appointments with many of them this week so hopefully all works out!

Thanks so much for all of your love and support!

Love,
Elder Holland

 

 

Another great week!

Hey fam!

This week was excellent as usual!  the work has seemed to slow down a bit in our area because so many of the people we are teaching are out of town because of the nice weather.  We have quite a few people that are ready to either come back to church or to be baptized but they are going to be gone for the next few weeks so we have been focusing on finding even more people this past week.

I found an excellent quote from President Thomas S Monson while listening to a General Conference talk this week. He said, “[The Lord] commands. And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and … they shall learn in their own experience Who He is” (in “The Way of the Master,” Liahona and Ensign, Jan. 2003). I agree with this completely and feel this is a great explanation of why we have to go through such hard things in this life. When talking about the Savior and what he would do for us the Prophet Alma told the people, "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities (Alma 7:11-12).  I have come to learn that if we do all we can to keep the commandments, especially in times of adversity, that we come to know who Jesus Christ really is and what he did for all of us.

My invitation to all of you is to find the Savior in your life TODAY.  To ask God to show you his hand in your life and as you pray at night and give him a recollection of your day I testify that He will show you some of the things He has done for you THIS day.  God is mindful of us all. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to live and experience trials so I can learn who I am and especially learn who Christ is and what I can do to allow Him to help me more.

I love you all and hope and pray for your health and safety. Thank you so much for your great love and support.

Love,
Elder Holland

Elder Carlos A. Godoy

Hey Fam!

This week was super busy! We were all over the place!  The weather was like 65-70 and mostly sunny all week so it was like heaven :) We drove to Helena on Wednesday for the Mission tour and stayed till Thursday for mission leadership council. Then after MLC we had to drive from Helena to Bozeman to pick up a missionary and then drove to Missoula.  It was lots of driving but totally worth it because while in Bozeman we stopped by John (The Fresh Rapper) and Heather's and got to visit with them!  They are getting married! And John has his first solo album out and is a legit Mormon Rapper! He said he is gonna send a box of CD's home so Cutler and Jaromy can pass them out to help him get his name out there. They are doing well and it made me really happy to see them. :)

I learned so many awesome things from Elder Godoy while he was here.  During our leadership meeting he went into all the different trials that Lehi and his family had to go through on their journey out of Jerusalem and into the new world.  He talked about how we typically remember Nephi as the courageous stalwart prophet who endured all these crazy trials and overcame so much but we forget that his brothers, Laman and Lemuel were right there with him the entire way.  Yes, Laman and Lemuel were the cause of much of the suffering Nephi had to go through but they went through all the same hardships; building a boat, sailing across the ocean, wandering in the wilderness, etc. The only real difference between the two was their perspective.  Nephi did his best to look at things as God does rather than just have the dark perspective of only seeing what was happening in that very moment.  It changed everything.  I believe God gives us the knowledge of His plan for us so we might have a hope for the future and so we can be happy even in the darkest of hours when the world seems to cave in on us.

Elder Bishop and I match ties like every day and our recent convert, Matt, wanted to match with us so we got 3 matching ties :)

Elder Godoy is a convert to the Church. He explained his entire conversion story in his home town, Porto Alegre, Brazil.  He is seriously hilarious! We had a great time listening to and learning from him.  He really does hold the mantle of his sacred calling as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. 

I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Each day is a blessing because I get to share that unique message with fellow brothers and sisters. I am reminded of something that was taught by Elder Boyd K. Packer, the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Only when they (those struggling with the Church and their faith) have some knowledge of the plan of redemption will they understand the supposed inequities of life. Only then will they understand the commandments God has given us.  If we do not teach the plan of redemption, whatever else we do by way of programs and activities and instructions will not be enough." -All- Church Coordinating Council Meeting, 18 May 1993.

I invite all of you this week to ponder and focus your studies on the Plan of Salvation.  Focus on where we came from, why we are here, where we are going.  I promise you that as you keep the Plan God has made for us even before the foundation of the world that whatever battle you are fighting at this moment will be lifted and you will be able to bear the problems you face.  It will also help you see and understand the need for the Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to take upon himself the sins of the world.

I love you all and am so grateful for the Gospel and your love and support as I share it with our brothers and sisters here in Missoula.

Elder Holland

Mission Tour!

Hey Fam!

 

This last week was awesome!  We really got to take some time and help the members here understand the role they play as member missionaries.  We had a fireside on how to be a member missionary last night.  It was like 2 hours long and was really interactive with the members.  We did role-playing and had lots of different break out groups and discussions from Preach My Gospel.  We had been planning it for weeks and I feel like it went just like it was supposed to.  We had a couple recent converts bear their testimonies and it was so powerful.  The guy that I was talking about a few weeks ago from Clinton was baptized on saturday!  He got up and bore a powerful testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel.  It was really cool because we focused on online proselyting and how we can be most effective online and so they showed some screen shots from his baptism.  His wife is currently living in Hawaii and he will join her in 6 weeks but she was able to watch the entire baptism on Skype.  I am so grateful for technology and how it helps the work of the Lord progress.

 

We are having our mission tour this week and we get to spend some time with Elder Carlos A. Godoy of the first Quorum of the Seventy!  He is from Brazil so we are all learning Called to Serve in portugese to sing to him.  It is actually really hard for me to speak portugese because it messes with what I have learned with spanish but i'll figure it out :)  I am excited because he will be doing a discussion for the leadership of the mission and we will probably get to have some one on one time with this great disciple of Christ. 

 

Overall everything is fantastic here.  I love the weather.  Elder Bishop and I decided to get back into shape for the month of june and set some really good goals!  We will see if we can hit them ;)

 

I love you all and am so grateful for all your love and support!

Elder Holland

I get to stay another 6 weeks!

Hey fam!

Things are going so well here in Missoula!  The weather is fantastic and the people are out and about. It seems like now the sun is shining more everyone's spirits have been lifted.  We get to go hiking for exercise like every day and the views here truly are spectacular! I love that everything is all green :) also, why don't we have huckleberries in California? They are delicious! A member made us a huckleberry pie the other day and wow it was good :)

We are spending lots of time with all those that have been baptized recently to teach them the new member lessons. I love hearing each persons conversion story and how most people have had a real relationship with Christ but since they embraced the Gospel in His Church their relationship has increased exponentially.

We had dinner yesterday with a family in our ward and their neighbors. The husband is a member of the Church but has not come in years and she and her son are not members.  She has a strong testimony of the Bible and has found he teachings to be relevant to her in her life. We shared a lesson on the Book of Mormon and how it can strengthen our relationship. Truly the entire purpose of the Book of Mormon is to do just that.  She was fascinated and accepted a copy and said she will read and pray about it to know if it is true.  I love the effect the Gospel has on families! I am excited to meet with them again and watch how the doctrine of the Restoration of Christ's true Church blesses their lives.

When I first read the Book of Mormon I pondered often how a book that was written 2,000 years ago could be so relevant to me in my life.  For me, the answer didn't come until I was reading in Mormon chapter 8:35 which says, "Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing." I love how one of the authors of the book, Moroni, speaks directly to the reader and tell us that Christ showed us to him in a vision.  It makes perfect sense! He had thousands of plates and he and his father, Mormon, had to abridge what they say is only one one hundredth into what is now called, "The Book of Mormon."  The message of the record is perfectly congruent with this vision. Everything in the book teaches us to believe in Christ and His Atonement. I was not surprised a couple months ago when I learned Christ is mentioned every 1.7 verses in the Book of Mormon. I am so grateful to have this book and know with all my heart that it is true. I consider it an honor and privilege to be able to read it every single day.

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day and were able to take time to be grateful for the sacrifice of so many who made it possible for us to live in such a wonderful country today.

I love you all and am so grateful for your great love and support!

Elder Holland

Incredible week! :)

Hey Fam!

You know when things are going so well you can't help but just sit there and smile all the time?  I would def say that is how I feel about life as a Missionary right now :)

The Dempsey family was baptized into fourth ward this weekend!  Elder Bishop and I share fourth ward with 2 Sister Missionaries that primarily cover the YSA ward but they were the ones that taught this amazing family.  Brother Dempsey is originally from San Diego so naturally he and I get along ;)  They have 5 kids but only 2 are of baptismal age.  So, Brother and Sister Dempsey, along with their 2 oldest boys, were baptized on Saturday!  The oldest boy, Sam, is mostly deaf and so my companion and I with some of the members learned how to sign, "I am a child of God"  and we got to sign the song at the baptism.  It was a really cool experience.  There were between 50-60 members who came to support them in their decision to be baptized.  Then they all were confirmed in sacrament meeting yesterday.  It was amazing to be a part of their confirmations.  I have such a testimony of the Holy Ghost.  I have been able to be a part of many confirmations and I know that each of them truly did receive the Holy Ghost. 

I was on exchanges on Friday in Clinton and had the opportunity to teach a guy named new investigator.  The Clinton Elders had previously taught him about the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation and he had accepted the invitation to be baptized but had not set a date to perform the ordinance.  We were able to teach Moroni's Promise to him.  The Holy Ghost was present and had a giant impact on him during the lesson.  He really is a truth seeker.  He has read almost a third of the Book of Mormon and had been praying for confirmation if it is true.  As I explained the formula Moroni gives us to qualify ourselves to receive an answer from our Heavenly Father something changed in his countenance.  Moroni says we need to have 3 things: A sincere heart, Faith in Christ, and real intent.  We established that he truly had a sincere heart and Faith in Christ and then I asked him how he can show God he has real intent.  He said he could show real intent by reading, praying, going to Church, and preparing to be baptized.  I then invited him to be baptized on the 31st of this month.  He thought about it for a moment, became quite emotional, and then was able to utter the word, "Yes."  Now he is a very big guy who seems quite tough.  He is taller than I am and has definitely spent some time exercising in his life.  As he accepted the invitation to be baptized the Holy Ghost manifested himself and confirmed to him the truthfulness of the of baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We asked him how he felt and all he could say was that a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders.  I have such a testimony of the cleansing Power of the Holy Ghost.

 

In Doctrine and Covenants section 84 verse 20 we read,"Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of Godliness is manifest."  I know that even when we commit to make covenants and perform sacred ordinances such as baptism that the Holy Ghost can manifest Himself and confirm the Power of God in that ordinance.  I am so grateful to know that God is a loving Heavenly Father and to be a witness of Him and His Son.  I know the Gospel is true and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God's Kingdom on earth today.  I love being a Missionary.  I feel I could do this for the rest of my life because as I witness the conversion and cleansing of so many of my Brothers and Sisters here in Montana I am cleansed and converted as well. 

I am grateful for all of you and the great love and support I have from you.  I hope you all have an exceptional week!

 

Love,
Elder Holland

Snow and then Sun...

This week was amazing!  We had crazy nice weather and then it snowed the next day... Mother

 

nature sure does keep you on your toes around here ;)

Our investigator was baptized on Saturday!  Her husband was able to baptize her and lots of her family was able to attend.  Many members of her family are not members of the Church yet so it will be cool to watch the ripple effect from the righteous example she has set for her family.

I love being a missionary and am so grateful for all of you and all you do for me.  Sorry this letter is super short but I'll write more next week!

Love, 
Elder Holland