May 15, 2018

May 15, 2018- 39 weeks down- 39 left!

hola a todos!

Wow this week literally flew by...I don’t remember what happened... only on SUNDAY. I think i was probably the BEST day of my entire mission.

We had the baptisms of Lucia, and her two little boys Santiago and Sebastian. 

They were investigating the church for the last 8 years... but when i arrived here in Rawson 3 weeks ago, the first day we met with them Lucia told us that she was ready to be baptized, that it was finally her moment. That she had felt the Spirit a lot while reading the Book of Mormon, and had come to know that it was true. She was willing to do anything to be able to make this covenant with her Heavenly Father and be baptized. 

So we had their baptisms Sunday night, as a family. It was an experience that I will never forget.

When Sebastian came up out of the water, his little face just shone with joy. Made me so happy. Makes every moment of this long journey WORTH IT when I get to see another one of God’s children take the first step in returning back to him. I’m so blessed! Sebastian said “ I can’t even remember the bad things I’ve done!”

I’m doing super well. I’m super happy, every day is an adventure full of miracles and struggles, but that’s what makes the mission so wonderful. I absolutely love what I am doing. Even the hardest days are so wonderful, because its the hard days where I feel myself growing and learning and changing!

I KNOW without a doubt that this is the church of Jesus Christ on the earth. And I'm not afraid to say it. I KNOW it. By reading the book of mormon, I know that God has a plan for me. He loves us! He loves us so much, and blesses us each day. Sometimes we forget about him, or don’t do the things we know we have to do... but he is there, with his hands stretched out to us, wanting to help us along the road back home.

I love you guys. Thank you for your love and support always. You mean the world to me. 

Know that I love you and feel your prayers. My investigatores feel your prayers. You sustain me in each moment!

This week i hit my halfway mark, 9 months. I cant believe it. Time passes so fast, we have to use the most of each and every moment. Or life will pass us by in a flash! 

Make the most of each moment this week. Focus on the things that are truly important, that will have a lasting impact. Focus on your family. They are the only thing you can take with you after this life. Nothing else really matters!!!! families are the best!!!!!

I’m super tired, we have two areas now and are constantly traveling to and from, and also the the city Trelew. But i have learned to plan our time effectively and be grateful for the opportunities that I am given. I love where i am serving. The patagonia is amazing!!!!!!!!!  The people here are so distinct but so wonderful. 

It’s beginning to rain a bit,... winter is finally arriving! I miss the sun already haha!

LOVE YOU ALL have a great week

amy

May 7, 2018

May 7, 2018- 38 weeks down- 40 left!

helloooo mom! whats going on!

wow, what a fantastic week you guys had!! haha i love it.

bueno, to answer some of your questions...

yes, i used your breathing techniques this week, especially in the beginning part of the week, and honestly and surprisingly enough, it did help. i felt a bit more relaxed and everything. so thank you! my comp got a kick out of watching me do the breathing exercises, but hey, whatever works! I have to remember to be consistent now and keep doing them... especially in these upcoming weeks... cause lets just say that Presidente is hurling a giant stressball at us due to lack of baptisms in the mission...wowza but yeah haha. so thanks!

i was thinking about Brandon a lot on Sunday, and on his birthday, knowing he would be sustained. Thank YOU for the sweet descriptions of that day that you wrote to me. Makes me feel like I was there a little! I love how sweet and tender that boy is. So big and grown up. I love it! He’s looking a little chubby still... but i cant wait to see in a few years when he gets tall and thin and even more grown up. I can totally imagine it. And yes, i agree, he will have many important callings in the future. What a special experience for you to be able to receive that little bit of revelation for him.

WOW you’re right, your summer is STACKED already. AUGUST 16 ALY IS GOING TO SCHOOL that blows my freaking mind. I cant believe it. I celebrate my year mark the 17th,  but wait, i guess its true that i left on the 16th huh? i always counted my month marks on the 17th cause thats when i arrived at the ccm. but man how cool!!! IM SO EXCITED FOR YOU GUYS to go bring her up to school. what a champ mckayl, going to check out the rooming. I love her so much! Hows she doing?

Man oh man things are changing fast mommy!

hahaha yes yes i got the box i think Tuesday or Wednesday if i remember right. THANK YOU SO MUCH. you guys are so sweet, so loving, too generous, it blows my mind. The shoes are AMAZING: i compared them with the old ones, and i honestly didn’t even realize that they were the same brand. thats how trashed the old ones are haha. the bottom LITERALLY fell off of my old one, hanging on by a thread no mas. So thank you! and WOW you put so many socks in there, they are so nice and comfty! AND THE SHIRT!!!!!!! I love it so much. The candies, fotos, talks, (I’ve read a lot of them already haha i love them so much), and especially the notes. I love those handwritten notes so much, i read them over and over! THANK YOU MOM! You guys are the best. The whole zone was jealous when they saw that giant box that read HERMANA HOLT hahaha they couldn’t stop talking about it. 

I love you so much mom! Yeah, next week is the halfway mark. Where did the time go? Still have a ways left, but everyone says its faster on the last half! I believe it. This week FLEW. we were so busy, by Saturday i was so tired that i had a hard time working and low energy and animo. but a few calls from my sweet leaders, and Sunday i was back up and ready to go. and today we took a nap, cooked noquis in the chapel, shopped, and now writing you! Super chill. 

This week

1. my comp, yes, dear comp, broke the toilet. i was on the phone with my zone leader when i hear a shriek from the bathroom. Comp? are you ok? i asked... nothing. bueno. i kept talking. and a few seconds later my comp opens the bathroom door (as I’m still on the phone) and WATER GUSHES OUT OF THE BATHROOM as she says I broke the toilet help! hahahahah i shriek into the phone and hang up on my poor confused zone leader. i called the elderes who live close by, the district leader, and he answers all calmly Hola hermana.... ELDER, i yell, YOU HAVE TO COME HERE RIGHT NOW OUR PENSION IS LITERALLY FLOODING i yell in super mumbled Spanish OK WERE COMING he yells. so i go in the bathroom, wading through the water, to see that the back of our ceramic toilet has a giant hole where it holds the water! My comp accidentally knocked a hole in the toilet! So we try to plug the water, cause its still coming. I'm soaked. the elders arrive in like 7 minutes, and help us turn it all off and plug it up. WHAT A NIGHT. hahahhahahaa. i went to bed a little ticked off that night haha., 

but 2 days later luckily someone from the mission who lives close by came and replaced it for us. comp has to pay like 75 bucks but oh well. now we have a toilet again so thats that.

2. we are so busy with two areas. we have lots of people, lots of problems with the people, like always, and doing all that we can to help them progress to baptism.

3. i was feeling sort of down Saturday like i said, and right when i was feeling bad, elder comisario (my zone leader calls). I had a dream about you and your comp he tells us. How are you guys doing? I wanted to tell you all that right now,  you are holding this zone of Trelew in your hands. You have HALF of the baptismal dates of the zone. if you guys are doing well, the zone is doing well. if you are bad, the zone is bad. So i need you guys happy and energetic and working as hard as ever! keep it up. Thank you so much for all the work you are doing. The leaders are all super pleased with you two. you are the two hardest working missionaries in this zone right now, not joking.

made me feel super good to hear all that, and my animo spiked right back up!

This weekend was stake conference, which was an interesting experience. learned a lot, and we had two assistencias. one, Lucia, who has a baptismal date for SUPER soon with her two kids. and a miracle assistencia. Alejandra, who we have been teaching for a long time, girlfriend of a less active. and SHE CAME! For the first time in months. with her less active boyfriend! We were so happy i couldnt believe it. it has been hard for her to come to church, cause her boyfriend doesn’t want to go and doesn’t want her to go. So it was a true miracle. we have a appointment with her tonight!!

I'm doing well. Im happy, working hard. I love to work, cause the time passes fast and i feel like I'm doing a lot. Theres always more that i can do, I’m imperfect, but i never am disobedient or stay in the pension or not work. i always do what i can and work hard. sometimes i fall short, but the lord always makes it up for us. For example, we aren’t perfect, and have a lot of areas, but the Lord has blessed us to have 4 active baptismal dates! 4!!!!!!!!!! we are so stoked and so ready. and these four people are super prepared to b e baptized. pray for them! maxi, lucia, sebastian, and santiago. 

I miss you guys. I always miss you guys! I think about you at night, when my busy brain has a second to think about other things. i smell things or see things that bring me back to a memory with you guys. I love it! I cant wait to see you this Sunday, and in 9 months! Thats not too long. Its going fast. I love you guys so much more than you will ever know.

The mission is so hard.  But it is so worth it. I learn so much. Sometimes i feel like I’m not learning or not changing, but when I think back to the CCM or before that, I feel like that Amy was a little baby, and now I’m a different person. So in the end, yeah, i think I’ve changed a lot. grown a lot. I feel like my testimony has grown so much its not even funny

i love you all. thank you for your never ending love and support. you will NEVER know how much it has saved me, and how much it saves me each and every day

my love,

ames

April 30, 2018

April 30, 2018- 37 weeks down 
Hi mommy! 

WOW THE PICTURES. Thank you for all the pictures. It made me feel like I was there, in each of those precious events! 

WHY IS EVERYONE GROWING UP SO FAST. Turning 16. Going to prom. Getting married. OH MY GOSH. I really feel like I’m so



darn far away now, in another universe. 

So glad everyone is doing well. Sorry I’m writing so late, time got away from us shopping and cleaning and nap... haha. But here i am! 

I sent a few pictures by email, and I’m going to put a video in my google drive for Brandons birthday.

Ugh mom why are you guys so far away? Why is everyone changing? I feel left behind. sadness haha. 

So glad you had a good week. So glad everyone is happy and healthy and doing well. 

This week went decently for me. Week 1 of this new transfer. we moved to our apartment in Rawson (because now we work out of Rawson but still work in Playa Union also). It was a busy week, trying to get to know the new area and visit all the investigators. A lot of investigators progressing, but a lot of challenges with each one. But the good news is this week we put 3 baptismal dates, and they are all pretty firm! Pato and Maxi, bueno, just maxi now, will be getting baptized this SUNDAY! WOOHOO! He’s 8, and so precious. His older brother Pato was going to get baptized too, but now he doesn’t want to because of some reasons, so we might have to wait a bit more with him. 

Also Maria, one of our new investigatores, loves the church a lot and is reading the Book of Mormon, and accepted a goal of a baptismal date for the 19th of May. And Lucia, an investigator of like 8 years, finally accepted a date for the 20th of May, and has 2 little boys that now love going to church. We had a family home evening with them, and they loved the activity I planned that taught about the holy ghost. i sent pics of it. and they are progressing a lot now! 

So thats the real good news from this week.. lots of investigatores, and they are progressing. we are going to start seeing baptisms starting this Sunday! I’m pumped.

The week was hard too, my compa is still a bit of a butthead each day. I think she has spoken like 5 sentences to me since Saturday. oh well. She’s really stubborn but its all good, pushing through it. I love the elders in my district, they are awesome. Elder Arguello from Paraguay, and Elder Fellows from Idaho, brand new in the mission and doesn’t speak a lick of Spanish poor guy. 

I feel great. not sick, doing great and happy. Happy knowing that i will hit 9 months this month. Its crazy right? Time goes fast and slow. I feel like I always say that but its true.

Wow your pics made me seriously feel like I’m there with you. It’s so hard to believe I’m so far away, i think thats really hitting me now seeing all the big events you guys had go on this week. 

But all is well. I’m happy. studying hard, working hard, and trying to enjoy each minute.

love you mommy dear 

ames

and:

Glad you are doing good! Yeah it sure is a double edged sword... makes me so so happy but sad at the same time.  i love being part of it, but hate seeing all that I’m missing... yikes! haha!

YOU make me so happy! I love writing you too and seeing whats going on. I miss you guys lots mom! but doing well. feel really comfortable here. Struggling in moments for challenges that i have, with the compa, the investigatores, the stress i put on myself, tiredness, but its all part of it and the sacrifice is worth it. i gave a talk in sacrament meeting this week about sacrifice and the missionary work. everyone said that they liked it, and it touched one of the investigatores of the elders a lot, and helped her decide to push her baptismal date up... and she was baptized this Saturday!!!!

Also this Sunday i gave the gospel principles class..w e arrived and the teacher wasn’t there.. so i said id give it, didn’t even have time to read the lesson... but i idid it! it was a good experience

i love you guys. i miss you. but its all good in the hood

i love you so much. thank you for missing me. that makes me feel not forgotten. sometimes i feel a little lonely, but i try to imagine you guys there, in the normal life, and i remember that you all exist and its ok!

LOVE YOU

ames