HOLA!

Sorry I've got about 7 minutes to write.. so I'll try to type FAST!

This week was a lot better than the last week. Lots of tender mercies from the Lord. Still had lots of hard moments, but I am learning better how to cope with them. The only things that help in those really rough moments are reading my scriptures and singing hymns out loud with my companion. it really has an amazing uplifting effect that I never realized!

One miracle - 2 of our investiagors came to church!!! We walked with one of them from her house to the church ( a sweet 13 year old girl we found a few days ago whose mom was a member). We were sitting in sacrament meeting with her when during the meeting the door opens, and one of our other investiagors ( a woman named Marisol) walks in! We didn't think she would go, because during our lesson earlier that week she didn't want to go. But we taught her and promised her the blessings she would receive from going. So when we walked in to the chapel, me and my comp just looked at each other in amazement, and after the meeting ended, we ran over to her and talked with her. It was a huge miracle and blessing, Her son is a member, and the only one in his family, and is leaving for his mission soon. SO I think that fact has softened her heart, and now she wants us to continue teaching her! Its a miracle! I am so happy. The only times I feel true joy and happiness is when I am teaching poeple. That’s why I am here after all!

Also on Wednesday I had divisiones with my hermana capacitadora hermana souza from brazil. We saw so many miracles. We found 2 new investiagors that day, were able to give a huge act of service to someone that was greatly needed, and a few other awesome things. I know the Lord is watching over us and guiding us each day!!

The people here are tough - they don't want to change or listen. But I know that I have power and authority from God to teach this gospel. And when we teach and testify, I can feel the spirit so strongly and I can see the people change. Some of them refuse to listen or act upon our invitations, but I have learned that its ok. As long as i keep teaching, testifying, and giving it my best, i will be doing all I need to do. Even some days all I can do is plant seeds in the hearts of the poeple, its ok. I have realized that not everyone will jump at the opportunity to hear a lesson or take the missionary discussions. But its all good. I feel so much joy in the work I am doing here. 

Yes, I miss home alot, and the fam, and my friends, and just being able to sleep in or do nothing! But its only a year and a half. This is the Lord's time. A lot of people are astounded when we tell them we left our homes and families to serve missions. they ask But dont you miss home? Well of course we do!! So much! But this is so worth it. It's the work of the Lord, and I have been called to bring His gospel forth to the people of Argentina. What greater blessing,  and what greater way to spend my time! This time will go by real quick, so I'm trying to make the most of it. The greatest advice I have been given is that it is a Joyful journey, not a grind. The Lord wants obedient missionaries who work diligently each day, but he wants happy missionaries who can relax and realize that they are blessed! 

I love you all so very much.

-- 

Mucho amor, 

Hermana Holt 

PS from Debby- we got the cutest video of her talking with her companion, got to see a bit of her apartment and hear her laugh and smile. Made my week!!!  Love you all, thank you for all your kind words, and your encouragement to Amy -and to me!  

Argentina Comodoro Rivadavia Mission

 

 

BUENOSSSS!!

Hope all is well back in the States!

This week was a bit harder than the last... my and my comp were sick for two days in our apartment... but today I am better luckily so we are able to get back to work!

Everyone told me the mission is hard... but man I didn’t realize how hard it would be until I got here! Each day is a struggle... but its a glorious struggle,  because behind each struggle and test is a lesson that is learned, a little more patience gained, and a better listener and companion I become. I realize how far from perfect I am, and that I have to rely on the Lord to help me with everything!

This week we had only 1 GOLDEN lesson... but hey better 1 than none. With Ismael, the same investigator as last week. He is SO prepared and ready to learn. He told us that he has been searching for the truth in many churches his whole life... and only here with us does he feel good and like it could be true! I was able to testify in my broken gringo Spanish that this is the true church restored to the earth. During the lesson, the Spirit brought a scripture to my remembrance to use. I didn’t know where it was, but I opened my Libro de Mormon and THERE IT WAS.. RIGHT THERE on that very page! So then I read it during the lesson, and it helped bring the Spirit and put the lesson on the right track. We set a baptismal date with Ismael.... SO EXCITED !! I love to teach him. It’s nice to teach people who are ready and willing to listen. I know the Lord prepares people for us to help and guide to the church!

I am doing alright. It’s hard, but I love it. I do miss speaking English and being Amy sometimes. I feel like a different person here, for good and bad. I love having little spiritual experiences, little happy moments that show me the Lord is there. I am glad so many people can relate to what I’m feeling. Thank you for everyone who writes me and such... your advice and words bring me comfort!

Funny thing - I woke up Thursday to SNOW! ITS SNOWING:: IN THE SUMMER?!

So crazy!

Shoutout to Cotto for getting her call to SPAIN!!! SO PUMPED FOR HER!

I love my family! The Church is true! God lives! 

Sorry not much more to tell... unless you wanna hear all about me getting sick and trying not to throw up for 2 days! Lol I'll spare y’all the details. 

Also we are still without hot water... i await the day with great umm.. patience... to be able to take a hot shower! 

Also when people ask me and my comp where we are from.. they only ask my comp. When i say Im from the States.. they go Oh yeah we could tell, that’s why we didn’t ask. Its obvious.    HAHA this made me slightly mad but I laughed all the same. lol its pretty funny

Love you all lots. 

hermana holt 

Argentina Comodoro Rivadavia Mission 

PS from Debby;  Amy said to me “apparently I'm impatient and can be hard to live with.. LOl who knew” I died laughing. Bless her heart, she is finally hearing that from someone other than me and her sisters hahahaha.  Poor thing.  :) Thank you all for your letters and support. They mean so much to her, as so many of you can remember and identify with her feelings in a way that helps her.  Thank you!!

HOLAAAAA TODOS!

Well, this week was tough. First full week in my first area, in a whitewash, in a tough area. But Its allllll good. The Lord has been blessing me in little ways! 

Biggest highlight of the week - my first lesson! With a man named Ismael. He is SO prepared for the Gospel, its amazing. He met the missionaries because a missionary opened a door for him. Just a small act of service, so simple, but it made him interested in the missionaries and what they were teaching. SO now here we are, teaching him. We taught a fabulous lesson, guided by the Spirit, who brought so many scriptures and things to our rememberance in the moments that we needed. I also was able to recite the First Vision and James 1:5 from memory during the lesson, and add bits of testimony and such! And the gift of tongues is so real, because during the lesson I could understand a lot of what was happening!

Also we went in to a kiosco to buy a bottle of water and ended up having a fantastic lesson with the lady who worked there. We found out she was struggling with her kids, and I was able to give her a Plan of Salvation pamphlet, we talked to her, bore testimony, and she cried out of happiness and gratitude. It was so amazing ot be able to share the gospel in such a small simple way and touch someones life! We are going to pass by her store again this week, ad maybe she will become an investigator. It's amazing how some people are so ready the here the gospel and have been so prepared, and how others are not ready at all. But we are always trying to plant seeds.

The langauge is hard to get used to speaking all the time and understanding. I can't communicate myself super well yet, but I am trying. I am studying alot and askig ALOT of questions! I'm sure my poor companion is sick of all the questions... but she is so patient with me.

This Sunday was my first sunday in my rama (branch)! The branch president (without warning) had me and my comp get up and introduce ourselves and bear our testimonies during sacrament! It was so fun and everyone said my castellano was great for only have a few weeks in the mission. How I love to bear my testimony of the things i know to be true, especially in Spanish! The language is so beautoiful and its so fun to learn new things, new words and phrases to say. 

There are about 100 ppl in my rama, a nice chapel, and the people are freindly. I'm still so not used to having to kiss everyone! It's super funny. 

But apparently there are lots of problems and the rama is pretty weak, so our goal as a district (the 6 missionaries in the area) is to help strengthen and build up the church and the members here a lot. We are meeting with the branch president this Saturday and arranging a training for all of the members that we will be teaching on how to share the gospel, how to give references to the missionaries, how to hold a family home evening, and things like that. It should be awesome! But there is unfortunately alot of pride and discrimination within the ward.. and for that reason there are acutally 100s of inactive members in our area! 100s! So we are going to do our best to strengthen the ward and show our love for the Lord! It will be a process, but I know it can be done.

Also our hot water in our apartment doesn't work.. so we have been showering out of a bucket this week which has been super duper fun. Also, its snowed a bit! and its rains often, on and off. Crazy! 

I say so many prayers each day for help and guidance. I can feel all of your prayers working for me as well, because I have witnessed lots of tender mercies during my days. Like running into an investigator that we had not been able to get ahold of for a few days while we were at the bank and being able to set an apppointment with him for this week... and lots of little things. I know the Lord loves me and is watching out for me. I also know he loves me because of all the trials and tests he is throwing my way. I hate these tests, but I am so grateful for them at the same time because they remind me to rely on the Lord ad not my own understanding, because my own understanding is so weak and insufficient in comparison to His. I am so grateful for the gospel. Guys, the Church is true. The Lord lives. And God loves his children. 

Every time I get sad or discouraged I look outside at the gorgeous mountains covered in snow, towering up in the air.  Nature has always remided me of God and His love for us. Take a minute to step outside and look around you at the beautiful nature that surrounds you.

You guys, we are so blessed in the States. People here live in a decently nice area... not too poor but not too rich. But the houses are about the size of ONE of the rooms in my house back in Cali, and made of wood and chapa. Its insane. And they fit families of 4 or 5 in there, and don't even think they are poor! We are truly so blessed to have things like hot water constantly, a washer and dryer (which i miss having alot), tons of food options in stores, everything LITERALLY at our finger tips. Don't take that for granted!!!! We are so blessed.

I am doing well. Learning lots of lessons and patience, and having joy in teaching the people. I hope I can be the missionary you all think that I am! 

I love you all -stay safe and happy

Hermana Holt

Hello my dear family and friends!

(Mom you are going to have to correct my gramar before sending this out haha) I did!! haha

Wow I feel like its been an eternity! In the last 10 days since I wrote last I have been in several cities, 3 planes, 2 hotels, countless taxis and buses..... I feel like I have traveled the world!

I'll try to give the quickest rundown in the world of what this last week has been like - I left the CCM in Buenos Aires Tuesday, flew to Comodoro Rivadavia (my misión in the south) and was greeted by the misison president and a bunch of amazing missionaries. We stayed in a hotel (me and the 4 other newbies) and did training for the next 3 days and getting to know the misison and such. We had problems with our tramites (paperwork stuff) so none of us could leave for our áreas until like Friday, but its all good.

My trainer - shes such a capa (boss in spanish!) Hermana Borba from Uruguay... speaks NO English at all.. but we have been able to communicate shockingly well! The gift of tongues is so real.... We are getting along so well and she has so much patience with me!

We got the special priviledge to fly from Comodoro Rivadavia to my first área Ushuaia! (My misión is the 2nd largest in the world, so this is rare to fly for transfers). But there are no flights to Ushuaia so we had to fly to Buenos aires, stay the night, then Saturday morning fly to Ushuaia. It was craziness and I honestly don't even rememebr what happened because it was so crazy.

But we arrived in Ushuaia, the city at the end of the world, Saturday evening just in time to run to a capilla (chapel) and watch the evening conference sesión. 

After, we went to our apartamiento! Its this Little run down apartment on the corner of some run down street... but I LOVE IT! Its tiny, but its nice to finally have my own space, food, and stuff! It's just me and my comp there. It was so nice to be able to cook for ourselves this weekend!

Sunday was so great - we watched conference (in English yay!) and we even had an investigator come to watch the evening sesión with us which was a miracle (especially beacuse we are in a whitewash and only arrived on saturday). Today was P Day so we did this 4 hour long hike along the coast in this forest. Look at a map of Argentina, look at the bottom part… I'm on a island thats actually technically not even part of the American continent!!! The hike was gorgeous but man am i pooped... we went with our whole zone of 18 missionaries and a super awesome member. 

It's weird being a minority... I realize how little i know about Spanish, the culture here... everything! It has been humbling. But everyone has so much paciencia with me and has been so kind to me. The hardest part for me is not knowing what is going on all the time because I can't understand the language all the way! I learned Spanish... Castellano is a different story! haha! But I love it. i love the people, the área, my comp, and my misión. It is so wonderful.

I'm sure I will have more stories about our investigators for you all next week... we are starting from scratch right now because we are in a white wash. (I asked Amy what that meant. She said "White wash means they took out the missionaries in my área and put me and my comp in. So neither one of us knows the people, investigators, or the área. Usually they keep one person there and give them a new comp, because then at least one of them knows the area)

But - I am happy, healthy (well...i may have put on a few pounds from how much they make us eat here,, but healthy still lol), safe, and doing well. I love what I am doing. It's super hard and I am frustrated often and lack paciencia, but I am learning to rely on the Lord and trust in Him. I really have to learn to chill and let others be in charge and lead me around sometimes which is hard, but a lesson I know I need to learn!

It's freezing here, and its spring... weird! The mountains are aboslutely breaktaking, with all the snow on them. 

Well... Ill talk to you all next week! I love you all and hope everyone is well. I pray for my sweet town of Thousand Oaks often!

Pray for me and my Spanish and that I can find people to teach! ALl I want to do is teach! Thats why I am here after all.. to bring the light of the góspel to The Uttermost Parts of the Earth (as the scriptures say), and thats what I am going to do!

LOTS OF LOVE

Hermana Holt

Here are some great pictures of Amy  at the Mission Home in Comodoro- she met her companion/trainer and got her assignment- Ushuaia- the southernmost area!! I believe she will have a 24-30 hour bus ride to this area, including a ferry.  It is known as Tierra del Fuego- near Antarctica!

She made it to Comodoro!! 

Can't wait to hear from her in a few days when she has her first P-day there!

Week 5! and 5 days until I board the plane for Comodoro Rivadavia! I can't waittttttttt!! The CCM is fantastic, but its not the real work. I can't wait to get out in the real world and actually start teaching people!

This last Friday my district did an English fast for the day. If we said a word in English, we had to do 5 flexiones (pushups). We did so well, and although our Spanish is not anywhere near perfect, it really helped to speak only in Spanish all day long. 

Saturday we had our second/final Proselyting opportunity! Me and Hermana Vernon's area was near the Mar de Plata, and we taught so many people some quality lessons! I was so happy and felt so much more confident in myself and my skills in comparison with our first proselyting experience 2 weeks ago.  We were able to give out 3 Book of Mormons to people and commit them to read and pray about them, and got 3 people to commit to go to church the next day! One of my fav people we taught - a little 13 year old girl (who seemed to be much  older than her years). After getting to know her, teaching and testifying, we gave her one of our Book of Mormons. she was so happy to be gifted the book, that she started kissing us on the cheeks and hugging us and saying that she would read it all! It made me so happy. 

Sunday was such a beautiful day. We got permission to sit outside for a bit in the sunshine. The sky was perfectly blue, the parrots were flying everywhere, and with the temple as our background, it was truly a sight to behold! I am so grateful for this beautiful world! And I love the Sabbath Day so much. I love the opportunity we get to rest from our labors and focus on Christ, and feel the Spirit so often and so strongly.

Monday was a bit of an interesting day..... long story short the gringo elders in the 6week program (my elders and a few others) had a little issue with obedience, so after several meeting with Presidente and a few loving but harsh words that we are on the Lords time, our district got split up and mixed around. So now we have different elders, but it is alright, because I think all of the Elders learned their lessons. Now they ask before they do anything and they are exactly obedient! Lesson to all - be exactly obediente, even when no one is watching, and even if it seems like a small thing. Satan's favorite words are ´¨it doesnt matter, its no big deal, and no one will know.¨´ If you hear any of those phrases before doing something... RUN! :) 

Wednesday I had quite a suprise! Ben Parra (from home) was in Buenos Aires so he came by and gave me a sweet little package from my family! It made my day. I loved all the cute cards and letters, and was especially grateful for the printed out emails of my friends that I had not been able to read. Time for emailing is so so limited in the mission (so that we can keep our focus on our work), so I apologize if I don't respond to emails or only respond with a few lines! I LOVE hearing from you all so much, and I love knowing how your lives are going! So please keep me updated.

Funny facts of the week

EVERYTHING here is dulce de leche. They use it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Its pretty good, and I especially like the Arroz con leche con dulce de leche, and the ice cream that is dulce de leche flavored. LOL!

When we were out proselyting and people realized we were from the states, they kept telling us about all these earthquakes and hurricanes hitting the states and apparently Miami and Florida have been wiped off the face of the earth.... I really hope thats not true, but since we don't hear any news from the states here, I have no idea!

I have had the opportunity to read my scriptures so much these last few weeks, and I have gained so much from them. Its truly amazing how intricate and complex the Book of Mormon is, but yet how beautiful simple it is. As Nephi says, ¨my soul delighteth in the scriptures and the words of Christ.¨ Oh, how I agree with that statement! I could read my scriptures all day long. We listened to a devotional by Elder Bedar yesterday (given in june at the Provo mtc) about the Word of Christ and the prophet Joseph Smith. I have an unshakeable testimony that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon only through the power of God. Not only does EVERY fact line up and prove it, but the book itself proves it. Read it, I challenge each one of you. Even those who aren't members of our Church. Read it for yourself to see if it is true. I can testify without a shadow of a doubt in my mind that it is the word of God, and that by reading the Bible and the Book of Mormon you can learn of Christ and his love for us.

This will be the last email for about 10-11 days because I am leaving for my mission in Comodoro this Tuesday morning. And so my next P day wont be until that next Monday I believe. So don't fear if you don't hear from me for a bit, all is well. 

I love my family! I love the gospel! And I love you all so much. Stay happy and stay safe. Todo esta bien! 

Con TODO mi amor

Hermana Holt 

HELLLOOOO EVERYONE

So this week was suppper great. Nothing out of the ordinary...grinding everyday...

Last Thursday we had a district meeting in the evening that I led. It was super super amazing and we made some great goals for our district. We have kept most of them, including speaking only in Spanish at each breakfast, and being 3 minutes early to everything...

On Friday during my IP (Progressing Investigator experience) I had a really cool experience. These little 15 minute lessons to fake investigators are all in Spanish, and its usually pretty hard to try to get our point across. But on Friday during one of the lessons, about halfway through I realized I had been speaking all in Spanish for like a full 3 minutes with no pauses or stumbling! I got the distinct impression that this was due to the Spirit blessing me with the ability to speak. I felt so so happy and super grateful that I was able to say all that I wanted to say in Spanish! 

Sundays are always super great here. They are still super busy, as is every day, but I love how we are allowed to watch devotionals given by Apostles, and we get to attend super spiritual and uplifting Firesides. 

Monday was just a super happy day. I felt the Spirit throughout the day, and I realized as I just focus my attitude on the work, learning the language, loving the missionaries and people around me, that the Lord blesses us with charity and a
joyful attitude. I hope to be able to live worthy of the Spirit always, so that I can always feel this joy and love for the work in my heart!

Tuesday I tried Mate for the first time... its a pretty typical Argentine drink that basically tastes like someone threw some cut up grass in hot water. It was pretty nasty. But our teacher promised us that by the time we leave Argentina in 17 months we will all be in love with mate. I dont believe her..... haha!

Wednesday during PE me and my comp decided to play soccer with our district and some latinos... suprisingly enough we held our own and I even scored two goals! haha. Being in South America, I guess I need to sharpen up my fútbol skills so I can play with the natives! 

We listened to this super amazing talk by Elder Oaks on Wednesday. One quote that he said that really stuck with me was ´Temples stand as a witness of our faith in the reality of the resurrection.´ I had never thought of temples in that way before. I am so grateful for the Gospel, for the knowledge that because of Christ's Atonement, we will all one day be resurrected. I am so grateful for this knowledge and for my Savior. Knowing that we all will be resurrected one day and can live with our families for all of eternity gives me the motivation to keep pressing on, and to do what I am doing!

The weather has been better, in fact I think i have seen the sun for like 4 days in a row this week! yay!

Also I found my fav food here - milanesa with jamon y queso and marinara sauce on top. YUMM. 

Each night in our district we do a nightly Insight, which is basically 10 minutes of a testimony meeting, or story time of something spiritual. So last night was my turn, and I shared my mom's conversion story to the Gospel. The story touched everyone in the room, especially me. I am so grateful for the missionaries that shared the Gospel with my mom and my dad's parents, and for their strength that they give me!

I would not be out here in Argentina working for a year and a half if I did not know without a shadow of a doubt that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I am so eternally thankful for my Savior, my Lord. I hope that each day I make Him proud, and that I can continually improve myself and my character to reflect some of His attributes. He is the ultimate example to look towards in everything.

Take care. Les quiero!!!!!!!!!

12 more days here in the CCM then I'm shipped out to Comodoro Rivadavia where the real work starts!

Mucho amor, 

          Hermana Holt

Hello everyone!

Wow 3 weeks in the CCM! i cant believe it. I feel like I  have been here for years, but in a good way.

Ok so last Thursday we got to go to the temple, because it was PDay. Super awesome!!!!

Saturday was a big big day - my district got to go proselyting in Buenos Aires! We hopped on a bus at like 11am, and they dropped us off at some random streets in the city, and we walked around for 6 hours teaching lessons, talking, and giving out Book of Mormons! It was super super hard, because everyone speaks quickly, but it was so fun to be out in the real world, out of the CCM. THe people are so kind and everyone kisses on the cheek when you meet and when you say goodbye (which is still super weird for me to get used to haha). I got so many blisters on my feet and I was absolutely wiped after a day of proselyting, but it was so awesome and worth it. I love the CCM with all my heart, but I also can't wait to get out into the field!

Sunday was Fast Sunday, and our fast and testimony meeting during church went so well. I always love hearing everyone´s testimonies! It was especially neat, because during the meeting there was this HUGE lightning and thunder storm going on outside, so when people would pause during their testimonies you could just hear the rain pouring and the thunder rumbling in the background. It made me feel the spirit even more, because for me, nature has always reminded me of God. It was a neat experience.

Monday I decided during physical activity I would try running - man was it hard! I did about a mile before I pooped out. But its all good… I'm going to keep running each day so I can stay in shape and stay focused during the day! 

So Monday evening I had quite an experience - after dinner that night I started to not feel so well. After about an hour, I had to run out of class with my companion because a wave of sickness hit me so hard. I barely made it back to my room, and I was so so sick. (mom dont worry it gets better...). After a while I just sat on the ground in my room because I was in too much pain to move or get up. My sweet companion ran and got medicine, and then she got the Elders from my district. 4 of the elders whom I love so so much came up, helped me into a chair, and gave me a blessing. It was one of the most powerful priesthood blessings I have ever heard. Elder Mooneyham was the one who gave it to me. I truly felt like my Heavenly Father was speaking to me through him, as he laid his hands on my head and promised me that I would get better, and many other things. At the end of the blessing, they left, and within 5 minutes I felt my strength start to return. I could walk and stand up again, which I hadnt been able to do for about 2 hours. I know the power of the priesthood is so real, and that God watches out for us. I am so grateful for those Elders and their worthiness to give me the blessing. It was a very trying and tough, but wonderful experience.

Tuesday everyone but my district and one other gringo district left the CCM for their mission! It was super sad and everyone was crying. I am so grateful for all those missionaries that I got to know so well, they helped me so much and are so wonderful. So for all of Tuesday evening and Wednesday, it was just 20 of us gringo missionaries in the ENTIRE CCM! It was super weird and quiet... BUt kind of nice because we didnt have to wait in line for anything! haha!

Wednesday was my companions 20th birthday! Presidente Benton (president of the CCM) went and bought cartons of ice cream, and we all came down to the comedor in our PJs and had ice cream. It was super fun! After, Presidente gave us a little spiritual devotional. 

This morning we got to go to the Temple again. Even though it was all Spanish, I could understand sooo much this time around!! It was great. 

Also we have been teaching our latina roomates some English phrases - I taught them the phrase 'you are obnoxious' and now they say it all the time. haha its quite hilarious. 

Well, I love you all. I hope everyone is happy and healthy!!! I miss you all and pray for you every single day.

MUCHO MUCHO MUCHO AMOR

Hermana Holt

PS I asked her "What does hablo queso mean? I speak cheese??” 

She answered:  "haha yeah i forgot to explain-

it was something Elder Nash in my district said when he was trying to take a picture of the latinos for them.. he tried to say 'say cheese'. we all died laughing