Chili Cook Off!

Hello family!

So I actually already wrote an email but it apparently didn't send so I'm going to really quickly give a recap sorry it's not going to be the same email that it would have been.

This week has been really good; the weather has been beautiful, it was really warm at the beginning of the week but it’s cooled down today.

We started off Monday night last week with great lessons with Alex and Maria and Bill and Mark.

 At Bill and Mark’s lesson we had Brother and Sister Patrick with us and we watched the Joseph Smith the Prophet - the Restoration video. The Spirit was really strong and we asked them to  pray about whether or not Joseph Smith was a prophet. The next day we went over to follow up and they said that they had felt that he was a prophet and they're ready to move forward with baptism! Yay! They're scheduled to be baptized on the 25th of November.

 Wednesday we had to lessons back to back at the church building. One with Maddie and one with Edward. Maddie's lesson went really well Justin came with us he shared his conversion story with her. It was really great because it helped her to feel comforted knowing that somebody else went through something similar to what she went through. Her faith is increasing so much! She's really wonderful.

Thursday morning we did service with Mark with Viola. We did some yard work and it was really wonderful because he was so appreciative! It's really wonderful to be able to see somebody through Heavenly Father’s eyes and I find that when you do service for somebody you're able to experience that. Charity really is the pure love of Christ!

Later that evening we had a lesson with an investigator that is having a hard time feeling the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. We were able to read some of it with him and bear testimony to him of its truth and divinity. The Spirit was really strong and it was a special opportunity for me to be able to find that my testimony is stronger than I thought it was. I'm so grateful for the Book of Mormon and for how it helps to build my faith and the faith of those around me, I love the Gospel!

Saturday night was our ward’s chili cook off Halloween party activity. We had four investigators come! Tom, Valda, Maria and Alex all came and had a really great time. It was a lot of fun!

The next day at church we had Bill and Mark with us, sacrament meeting was really wonderful. Brother Toliseli also went to church at a different ward because their family was involved in the sacrament meeting.

After church we found a really awesome new investigator name is Carletha. She seems really interested in learning more about the Gospel. We invited her to a Meet the Mormons movie night that we're going to be having at our church this Friday. We hope she comes!

Later that evening we had another FHE with the Toliseli family, it went really well again! 

Well, I sure love you folks! The Church is true! Make good choices, counsel with the Lord always! Pray without ceasing! 

Love, Sister Holt 

Transfers!

Hello all! 

It was the last week of the transfer and last night we got our transfer calls and...............I'm staying for a 5th transfer in Lakewood 4th with sister Polaulu! We are happy, we get along pretty well and we are having a lot of fun and getting a lot of work done! 

The highlights of this week were probably going to the Temple to do baptisms with Alyssa, who got baptized in September, and Sunday:) 

Tuesday afternoon we went to the Newport Beach  Temple to accompany Alyssa as she was baptised for her Grandmother. It was a very special experience! The spirit was crazy strong and when we talked about it with her on Thursday at our lesson, she said she felt it was very special to be able to help her Grandma receive the ordinances of baptism and confirmation.

Other than that, we have just been spending the week doing the usual; finding, teaching and preparing people for baptism! We had some good lessons with Bill, Mark, Tom, Valda, Rueben, and a few others. 

On Sunday, Bill, Mark, and brother Toliseli came to church and later that evening we had our new weekly family home evening with the Toliseli family. This week we taught the Restoration and focused on how our families are blessed through the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sister Toliseli shared her powerful testimony at the end in Tongan so her husband could better understand. I couldn't understand the words of course, but I definitely understood the spirit of it. 

I am so grateful for this Gospel, I don't know what I would do without it. The thought that anyone might go their whole life without getting the chance to hear and accept it hurts me almost as much as the thought of people hearing the message and not accepting it. 

I know without a doubt that God does answer prayers. If we are in the dark or if we "lack wisdom " it is because we are choosing to be there. Our living Heavenly Father has made it very clear that if we seek, we shall find. If we knock, it will be opened. If we ask, we will receive. I know that answers come to the hearts of man by the power of the Holy Spirit. I know this because that is how I have received my witness and it is how I am guided and led in this work, from dawn to dusk (literally). 

I will be eternally grateful for the absolute gift I have been given of have the privilege to serve a mission for my God. 

I love you all dearly! The church is true! 

Love, Sister Holt.

This kid in our ward actually kinda freaked me out when we were driving at dusk and I saw him just standing super still in the middle of the road, so we took some pictures with him haha 

The sisters is the Norwalk ward had this sweet cut out from their Halloween party!

Sister Toliseli made us our own lavalavas!

Mattie!

Hello all! It has definitely been an exciting week over here in Lakewood California! 

Of course, Las Tuesday we went to the L.A. temple and it was amazing!!! I am such a lucky sister to be so close to 2 gorgeous temples. 

The rest of this week we did the usual, find, teach, baptize. Haha the highlight of the week was definitely mattie's baptism!! She is so, so special and i can't wait to see all of the wonderful that she will accomplish in her life with the help of the gospel. I have been BLESSED to have been a part of her teaching from beginning (pretty much) to the not quite end... Well til her baptism anyways because the end doesn't exist! The gospel is an eternal pursuit! 

Man, I just love being a missionary so much. I don't think I ever want to leave, I finally found something I'm kinda okay at haha. I have never experienced anything so rewarding or worthwhile as serving the Lord as one of his representatives. I have had the extraordinary privilege of being able to live and breathe the spirit of God and I never want toy let that go! 

Folks, if I can give you one piece of advice it would be that NOTHING in this entire world or the next will ever be worth compromising tour standards and looking the influence of the spirit in your life. I can testify of that from the very depth of my soul. Galatians 5:25 says 25 "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Never be weary of well doing! 

Oh yeah funny story from at the baptism... after everyone had left we had to drain the font but someone.... don't know who but someone accidentally broke the chain to the plug so someone, me I am the someone haha, had to go into the don't and unplug it... it was a real awkward situation haha but at least it was at the end of the night! 

Also I got stung by a wasp for the first time, on my hand... so that was great haha

Sunday morning I sang it church again! Weird how the same investigators that came last time, came this time... but they haven't come any other times.... 

Sunday evening we also got to do Family home evening with a part member family in our ward and it was a really special experience. They are very special and i am so blessed to be here. 

Brothers and sisters, God is so good. Never forget that! 

Love, Sister Holt 

Temple Tuesday!

Hello all!! Sorrynotsorry that I am emailing today because we went to the L.A. temple!!! Yay! It is so huge and beautiful! I am so glad I had the opportunity to feel the sweet spirit that comes as we enter the house of the Lord. 

This week has been crazy! Monday we started off by having an evening of finding! We decided to go stop by a bunch of former investigators and long story short we found 3 new investigators! They seem very promising, I'm not really sure why they stopped meeting with missionaries but I am excited to teach them! But boy did I pay for that night later! We walked for all 3 hours of the evening and apparently I'm getting old because my back and my right hip were killing me the next couple days haha I guess I should probably stop carrying around all my scriptures in my back pack......... which brings me to the next exciting thing that happened this week, we got our phones!! Yay! They are seriously such a blessing in the work! We are able to reach so many more people way easier and often. Our purpose has been and always will be to "teach repentance and baptize converts" and I know this is going to help us out with that. We are also testing out a new area book app so no more area books! Or planners! But it also means that we have to manually enter 2 binders worth of records haha. 

We taught some pretty great lessons this week, I was happy we were able to stay busy and productive. Something I have found with this new way of proselyting is that it leaves more room for spiritual guidance. I feel like I have more room to discern where we need to be instead of feeling like we need to be at a specific place because we planned for it that morning, I like it a lot :)

Also 4 people came to church!! Yay! We held a church tour Saturday night and apparently people here really don't like those because no one showed up again haha but it's okay because Bill, Mark, Lori, and Mattie came to church! And Mattie is officially getting baptized this Saturday at 7! We are also going to be going to the temple with Alyssa to do baptisms next Saturday so it will be a very good day. 

Yesterday was exchanges in Whittier and there was a big fire in Anaheim so the sky was all smoky, it was crazy! 

I love exchanges! I learn so much! I want to work on setting more meaningful  goals more often. We set some at the beginning of the day, in the middle and in the evening and it was really great for keeping us focused and working hard til the very end of the day. 

And today was the temple! We left at 6 and we got stuck in the L.A. traffic and didn't get there til 8:30... which was half an hour too late for our 8am session... so we waited for the 9:15 session which was ok by me because i got to do some innitiatories while we waited! 

I love the temple, you learn something new every time! This time it stuck out to me just how exactly obedient Christ is to the Father. What a wonderful example! I hope I can more fully emulate that quality. "When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, godliness is made manifest.." or maybe it's righteousness... not sure but I love that quote and it is so true! 

Well I love you a lot! Don't forget, the church is so true! 

Sister Holt

General Conference!

Hello!! What am amazing conference weekend! I am so very grateful for the opportunity we all had to really be spiritually fed by those who have been called to lead, guide, and counsel all of God's children across the globe!

This has been a pretty great week, like most of the others. I can not believe it is already October, I swear September JUST started. Time is flying a little too fast for comfort nowadays!

This week we really focused on concentrating our efforts where they are needed most. We have had a lot of people to teach recently but they haven't all been ready or willing to progress. Finding people to teach is not usually a problem for us (knock on wood) but finding people who are REALLY interested in seeking truth and ACTING on the truth they find is usually a little bit harder... So we have recently been trying to focus more on those who are prepared so they can more successfully and completely be converted to the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have also been spending some time this week inviting! Our purpose is to INVITE others to come unto Christ, and we have definitely been fulfilling that as of late! We are going to be having a church tour in our ward this coming Saturday evening! We made flyers and announced it in church and we are hoping that the members will able to invite their neighbors and friends! We are also hoping our investigators who are having a hard time coming to church will be able to come experience how we worship in a non-threatening, comfortable way.

We were able to teach Valda the Plan of Salvation this week, and that was very special! She is 94 years old, from Latvia and she has a very positive and unique outlook on life! She is so vibrant and hopeful! She helps us understand every time we go how perfect God's plan is and how blessed we are to have been given bodies that can do so much!

Wednesday we set up our smartphones for the roll out this week! This sister is going to be on Facebook soon! Our mission was chosen to test a new area book app that will help us more effectively "teach repentance, and baptize converts." We will also be on social media, again for the purpose of fulfilling our missionary purpose.

After our meeting where we set up the phones, we had a lesson with Mattie. It was our last lesson and she decided she is ready to be baptized!!!! YAY!!!! She is going to confirm a specific day and time with her parents for the next couple weeks and her interview is this week! It has been such an immense blessing to be able to see the faith of this young woman grow! Such a miracle!

We also got to teach/supervise a mission prep class with the young men, it was really great! The activity was for the young men to teach 2 non-members. They were split into 2 groups. Mattie was one of the non-members since she is dating one of the young men, and the other was a sweet young man named Clifford. He has been coming to scouts for a while now and agreed to be an "investigator" for the practice lesson. Long story short, Clifford was really moved as he heard these young men share this message with him and he accepted a Book of Mormon and said that missionaries could come and see him! Yay! Another miracle!

On Thursday we got to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Bill, Mark, and Lori, it went really well! They are progressing wonderfully! We also watched a couple Mormon Messages with them!

And then it was..... General Conference!!!!!!! We watched the Saturday morning session with Mattie at her boyfriend's family's house, it was a lot of fun and the spirit was really strong! She seemed to really enjoy it! Then we watched the afternoon session at our ward mission leader's house, Brother Patrick. We were supposed to have Edward there but he didn't show :( Later that day we met a really cool African lady! Her name is Kadiyachu -that's how it sounds- she doesn't read or write or really speak English so it was kinda hard communicating with her but she has a very sweet spirit and we will be seeing her again soon!

Sunday morning we watched with Bill, Mark, and Lori at their house, they had BYUTV! It was really great and they loved it! They watched the afternoon session without us because we were with Vaiola at the Toliseli home!

After conference we contacted a referral we had received, someone who had requested a Bible. We delivered the Bible and brought her a Book of Mormon, she accepted it and we taught her the restoration, yay! Another miracle!

I have to say, it was pretty great week! I can't wait for more!

The Church is true!

Sister Holt