Email - September 3, 2012
This week went by so fast! It feels like I was just sitting at this
computer emailing! One thing that really helps the week go quick is going
on missionary exchanges and I had two of them this week. I went to Mtn.
Home with Elder Marriott and we were able to teach some new investigators
of theirs for the first time and that was great! I love teaching the
message of the Restoration. Also, I had the privilege of interviewing one
of their investigators for baptism! Interviewing is always a really
spiritual experience and it is wonderful to see the light that the Gospel
of Jesus Christ brings into the lives of God's children.
On Friday, we were able to go on exchanges with the zone leaders and I got
to go up to Branson with Elder Bott. We had a really great time and were
able to teach a few lessons. Their area is really booming! There are three
sets of Elders in Branson total and right now the Branson West Elders are
staying in the same apartment as the other two because they got kicked out
of their other place. So, all three sets of missionaries are in the same
apartment! haha It is quite the party. It was really enjoyable for me
because I was with two former companions of mine: Elder Bott and Elder
Perkes (who is now serving in Branson West). Also, Elder Rodriguez was in
my district for a while and he is one of the Spanish missionaries there and
the other Spanish-speaking missionary, Elder Kirth, has been there as long
as I have been here in Harrison and so he and I have become really good
friends. Needless to say, I had a really good time!
One more experience that you really need to hear from this week happened
just yesterday. A potential investigator invited us to his evening church
services and so we decided to go with him and teach him a lesson
afterwards. The congregation at the evening services is fairly small (about
7-10 people) and so it was really cozy. The preacher gave a sermon about
repentance and it was actually really good. The cool part was that at the
end he asked Elder Gulbranson and I to bear our testimonies about the
Savior. It was such a cool experience to be able to tell that congregation
that we believe in Jesus Christ and it definitely put a good taste in their
mouths about members of The Church. I'll never pass up an opportunity to
express my love to the Lord!
Thank you all so much for your support!
Elder Holmes
computer emailing! One thing that really helps the week go quick is going
on missionary exchanges and I had two of them this week. I went to Mtn.
Home with Elder Marriott and we were able to teach some new investigators
of theirs for the first time and that was great! I love teaching the
message of the Restoration. Also, I had the privilege of interviewing one
of their investigators for baptism! Interviewing is always a really
spiritual experience and it is wonderful to see the light that the Gospel
of Jesus Christ brings into the lives of God's children.
On Friday, we were able to go on exchanges with the zone leaders and I got
to go up to Branson with Elder Bott. We had a really great time and were
able to teach a few lessons. Their area is really booming! There are three
sets of Elders in Branson total and right now the Branson West Elders are
staying in the same apartment as the other two because they got kicked out
of their other place. So, all three sets of missionaries are in the same
apartment! haha It is quite the party. It was really enjoyable for me
because I was with two former companions of mine: Elder Bott and Elder
Perkes (who is now serving in Branson West). Also, Elder Rodriguez was in
my district for a while and he is one of the Spanish missionaries there and
the other Spanish-speaking missionary, Elder Kirth, has been there as long
as I have been here in Harrison and so he and I have become really good
friends. Needless to say, I had a really good time!
One more experience that you really need to hear from this week happened
just yesterday. A potential investigator invited us to his evening church
services and so we decided to go with him and teach him a lesson
afterwards. The congregation at the evening services is fairly small (about
7-10 people) and so it was really cozy. The preacher gave a sermon about
repentance and it was actually really good. The cool part was that at the
end he asked Elder Gulbranson and I to bear our testimonies about the
Savior. It was such a cool experience to be able to tell that congregation
that we believe in Jesus Christ and it definitely put a good taste in their
mouths about members of The Church. I'll never pass up an opportunity to
express my love to the Lord!
Thank you all so much for your support!
Elder Holmes
Email - September 10, 2012
Really good news this week! We had a really good lesson with Sister Golden this week at the Bishop's house about the Holy Ghost. The Spirit was really strong and she decided that she wants to be baptized this coming Saturday! That was a really great blessing because I've been the missionary who has been here since the beginning of her meeting with the missionaries. Elder Perkes and I found her in my first transfer here and now she's getting baptized right before I most likely get transferred. She was at church on Sunday and all of the members were really happy and supportive too which was way awesome!
One interesting experience that I had this last week was on exchanges with Elder Bennett in Berryville. He had planned splits (where each missionary goes out with a different member) and so I got to do that. haha I didn't really know the area so it was good that the member had stuff to do. It was just different to be in Elder Bennett's area without Elder Bennett.
This Saturday is transfer calls! I anticipate myself getting transferred because I've been here for quite some time, but you never know. haha You'll find out in my next email!
Wednesday we had mission tour up in Springfield. The General Authority who came and spoke was Elder Choi of the Seventy. It was a really great, spiritually uplifting experience! It was awesome to just get pumped up about missionary work. He spoke quite a bit about music and how it invites the spirit. I hope to be able to use that in my teaching. He also spoke quite a bit on one-ness (with God, with Christ, with my companion, etc.) and that was great too. I feel like Elder Gulbranson and I do pretty well together and sometimes we know what the other is going to say before he says it.
Don't have much else to say. I'm still alive and kickin'! Love you. I love the Lord!
Elder Holmes
One interesting experience that I had this last week was on exchanges with Elder Bennett in Berryville. He had planned splits (where each missionary goes out with a different member) and so I got to do that. haha I didn't really know the area so it was good that the member had stuff to do. It was just different to be in Elder Bennett's area without Elder Bennett.
This Saturday is transfer calls! I anticipate myself getting transferred because I've been here for quite some time, but you never know. haha You'll find out in my next email!
Wednesday we had mission tour up in Springfield. The General Authority who came and spoke was Elder Choi of the Seventy. It was a really great, spiritually uplifting experience! It was awesome to just get pumped up about missionary work. He spoke quite a bit about music and how it invites the spirit. I hope to be able to use that in my teaching. He also spoke quite a bit on one-ness (with God, with Christ, with my companion, etc.) and that was great too. I feel like Elder Gulbranson and I do pretty well together and sometimes we know what the other is going to say before he says it.
Don't have much else to say. I'm still alive and kickin'! Love you. I love the Lord!
Elder Holmes
Email - September 17, 2012
This week was pretty awesome! First and foremost, Sister Golden was baptized this last Saturday and confirmed yesterday. The baptismal service went really smoothly from a planning point of view and, most importantly, it was just a really great spiritual experience all around. One thing that was really cool was that at the end of the service, Sister Golden decided to bear her testimony
and that really invited The Spirit. It has been really great to be the missionary working with her from the very beginning to the very "end". Speaking of "the end", I found out that I'm getting transferred! I will be leaving this Thursday for Carthage, Missouri (not Carthage, Illinois) to serve with Elder Park. My new address is: 124 East Highland Apt. 3W Carthage, MO 64836 At this point I don't know too much about the area or my new companion but at least I haven't really heard anything negative. Actually, I did hear that I am going to have to pay to do laundry apparently so that will be a bit of a bummer. haha I'm really excited! Wish me luck in my new
area! Other than that, this week has been fairly normal. Friday, we had a zone training meeting and Elder Gulbranson was actually asked to instruct! I was expecting myself too but they decided to ask all of the newer missionaries to teach in the meeting. It was really good actually and it definitely helped motivate me and give me more direction in my missionary efforts. Sorry this
email is pretty short! Wish me luck with fitting all my stuff into my suitcases.
Elder Holmes
and that really invited The Spirit. It has been really great to be the missionary working with her from the very beginning to the very "end". Speaking of "the end", I found out that I'm getting transferred! I will be leaving this Thursday for Carthage, Missouri (not Carthage, Illinois) to serve with Elder Park. My new address is: 124 East Highland Apt. 3W Carthage, MO 64836 At this point I don't know too much about the area or my new companion but at least I haven't really heard anything negative. Actually, I did hear that I am going to have to pay to do laundry apparently so that will be a bit of a bummer. haha I'm really excited! Wish me luck in my new
area! Other than that, this week has been fairly normal. Friday, we had a zone training meeting and Elder Gulbranson was actually asked to instruct! I was expecting myself too but they decided to ask all of the newer missionaries to teach in the meeting. It was really good actually and it definitely helped motivate me and give me more direction in my missionary efforts. Sorry this
email is pretty short! Wish me luck with fitting all my stuff into my suitcases.
Elder Holmes
Email - September 24, 2012
Hello! This week has been pretty eventful with saying goodbye to everyone in Harrison, transfers, and getting all settled here in Carthage, Missouri! I was able to get most of my packing done on Monday but I was adding stuff pretty much
up until the morning that I left. It's pretty incredible how much you can accumulate throughout your mission! If I get much more, it's not going to all fit. haha Don't worry though, I still managed to fit my lava lamp :) A lot of people in Harrison were sad to see me go, and to some extent I was too. When you're in an area for 7 months it is inevitable that you are going to build relationships with the people there that are hard to give break off. However, I knew that I had been there long enough and, although I wasn't sick of
Harrison per se, I needed to move on. Thursday was transfers and it was 1 hour and 45 minute drive up to the transfer point in Mt. Vernon, MO. We had to be there at 9:20 am to pick up Elder Beddes (my replacement) but my ride wasn't supposed to get there until about 1:30 pm so I chilled there for a while. The transfer loop took us to the next stop which was in Joplin and I got off there to meet my companion and go to Carthage. My new companion is Elder Park and I like him a lot. He and I probably wouldn't hang out at home or anything, but so far he is pretty cool to serve with. One thing that will be good is that he is addicted to exercising and so I
told him to whip me into shape this transfer. It'll be good to have someone to push me and hopefully I can lose some weight! So, one really awesome thing that happened this week was the dedication of the Joplin Stake Center yesterday. For those of you who don't know, it was destroyed by the tornado that hit Joplin last year and so this new building is a really big deal to the people here. The services were really cool and they had some great speakers and musical numbers. The highlight was definitely the fact
that Tad R. Callister of the Presidency of the Seventy was there to dedicate the building and he spoke as well. Of course, Elder Callister has become one of my favorite authorities and he is a great speaker, so it was amazing to hear from him. He spoke about overcoming adversity a lot, which was fitting in light of the circumstances. Afterward, I got to shake his hand as well but that was kind
of embarrassing because Elder Park and I had totally forgotten our suit coats and didn't have time to run home and get them because we got a ride there from our dinner appointment. Oh well, not much we could have done at that point. haha Well, this is a longer email than the last couple weeks I think. haha I'll make sure to give more updates as to the conditions of the area as I get settled
in and more familiar with it. Love you!
up until the morning that I left. It's pretty incredible how much you can accumulate throughout your mission! If I get much more, it's not going to all fit. haha Don't worry though, I still managed to fit my lava lamp :) A lot of people in Harrison were sad to see me go, and to some extent I was too. When you're in an area for 7 months it is inevitable that you are going to build relationships with the people there that are hard to give break off. However, I knew that I had been there long enough and, although I wasn't sick of
Harrison per se, I needed to move on. Thursday was transfers and it was 1 hour and 45 minute drive up to the transfer point in Mt. Vernon, MO. We had to be there at 9:20 am to pick up Elder Beddes (my replacement) but my ride wasn't supposed to get there until about 1:30 pm so I chilled there for a while. The transfer loop took us to the next stop which was in Joplin and I got off there to meet my companion and go to Carthage. My new companion is Elder Park and I like him a lot. He and I probably wouldn't hang out at home or anything, but so far he is pretty cool to serve with. One thing that will be good is that he is addicted to exercising and so I
told him to whip me into shape this transfer. It'll be good to have someone to push me and hopefully I can lose some weight! So, one really awesome thing that happened this week was the dedication of the Joplin Stake Center yesterday. For those of you who don't know, it was destroyed by the tornado that hit Joplin last year and so this new building is a really big deal to the people here. The services were really cool and they had some great speakers and musical numbers. The highlight was definitely the fact
that Tad R. Callister of the Presidency of the Seventy was there to dedicate the building and he spoke as well. Of course, Elder Callister has become one of my favorite authorities and he is a great speaker, so it was amazing to hear from him. He spoke about overcoming adversity a lot, which was fitting in light of the circumstances. Afterward, I got to shake his hand as well but that was kind
of embarrassing because Elder Park and I had totally forgotten our suit coats and didn't have time to run home and get them because we got a ride there from our dinner appointment. Oh well, not much we could have done at that point. haha Well, this is a longer email than the last couple weeks I think. haha I'll make sure to give more updates as to the conditions of the area as I get settled
in and more familiar with it. Love you!