Ottumwa Iowa - the ghetto

Hey family!

How’s It going? You're probably wondering how I am doing too huh? And where the heck I am! haha

I got transferred! Said goodbye to all of Hampton and I've been transferred coolest place! It’s called Ottumwa Iowa! OH YEAH. This place is so freaking awesome! It's big, I will probably never talk to the same person more than once while tracting, There are a lot of accepting people here, The ward is freaking fantastic, we have tons of investigators AND two baptisms this Saturday, and best of all of those things, I have THE best companion in the mission! Elder Palomeque. He is so awesome you don't even know. He and his family are from a little town just south of Mexico City, but when he turned 15 he moved to New York! To Brooklyn! oh yeah. So he speaks perfect Spanish and he has a Brooklyn New York accent in English haha. it’s awesome. Deep down inside I was really worried about leaving Hampton, but elder Palomeque has made the change a million times easier than I thought it would be. He is probably the funniest person I have ever met. I think I may have a six pack by the end of this transfer because I get such a good workout laughing at the things he says. He is so funny.

So things are just great all around :) I'm still trying to get to know the area and all the people here but, I should pretty soon. The ward here is fantastic. It is an English WARD, not a branch, so definitely bigger than the last area. But we have Spanish translating equipment for the few Spanish people that come. The majority of the members here are converts, so they all have extremely strong testimonies! I've met the bishop and his family and they are way awesome. The bishop I have now reminds me of bishop Rigby, but he doesn't have as much of a sense of humor. Great guy though. And hey! I have a ward mission leader now! This will be new, because in the last area the branch president was EVERYTHING. haha So many great old guys too, they all remind me of brother Gibbs, they all make me feel close to home. It’s amazing.

Okay, so elder Palomeque is a jokester if you can't already tell. He LOVES doing pranks, especially on his companions. So I have been pranked out of my mind this week. The first day I got here, he told me we were gonna go tracting, and so I was like, okay sweet. So drive to this place and get out of the car, when we get out he points at a house across the street and says, hey that’s the Domis family, we're gonna go have dinner with them tonight, and I was like sweet, But we were gonna tract until we went there. So anyway, we did only a couple of houses, and then elder Palomeque stops me and says, elder, look back there, we missed a house. And I was like, well they keep running in and out and leaving and returning, It will probably be hard to talk to them, which that was exactly what they were doing. But he was like, no, I feel we should go talk to them, so at this moment I am thinking, Wow, this guy is way spiritual and so guided by the holy ghost, he just received a sweet prompting and we are gonna go contact some awesome people. So we walk over and knock on the door. A girl about brocks age opens the door and she's was like.... hey.... And elder Palomeque did the whole thing of introducing ourselves and asked if we could come in and share a message about Jesus Christ. She was like sure come in. So I was immediately like, okay this is weird, we never get in a house that easy... there is something weird about this. haha. So when we get in, there are these two little boys sitting on the coach laughing hysterically and trying to keep it in. I was just like... what is wrong with those kids... Then all out of nowhere, This Mexican lady comes around the corner with a broom and starts screaming at the top of her lungs in really really fast Spanish and she's swinging her broom around like she’s gonna hit me! IT FREAKED ME OUT! but that’s not the worst part, then the dad came in with a hand gun and started yelling at his kids and pointed it at me said , I TOLD YOU HATE THESE GUYS, YOU NEVER LET THEM INTO THE HOUSE!!!! EVER AGIAN! I was so freaked out! I thought I was gonna get straight up killed... and then everyone in the room started laughing... I was SO LOST! So what happened is this was really the family we were having dinner with that night, but I was thinking it was at another house so I was completely lost! Oh my gosh It was so funny and so scary at the same time! haha But this is the Domis family, they were previously really inactive but elder Palomeque got them back to church and really active and now we are baptizing their kids this week! Way exciting! They are a great family! But the whole gun thing was so believable because, Ottumwa is the ghetto of Iowa.. There are gangs and drugs and all the bad stuff going on here.. Missionaries have been shot at here, they've found bullet holes in their cars.. etc. But don't worry, I've got God on my side ;)

Okay So there was a whole nother prank too. Yesterday I got pranked out of my mind. We received a call to go to a "Part member" family’s house in the ward. Elder Palomeque was getting me so pumped because he was telling me he thought we were gonna set a baptismal date with the father of this home who "wasn't a member" but the rest of his family is. He said, we have been meeting with this guy forever but he has never asked us to come over, so this is weird. He was like, Elder Holman, if you feel prompted to set a Baptismal date, do it. So I was getting all pumped for this lesson. I couldn't wait, I was totally gonna set a date. So I get to this house and we are teaching a lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ to this guy, and his whole family is present too. So I'm thinking this guy ken (The father) was a non member, and so I am teaching him a lesson just like I'd teach an investigator. And he just had me going and going and going... We talked forever, and this lesson felt like it was going great I was receiving promptings from the Holy Ghost to share so many great things. It was one of the best lessons I have ever taught in my mission... But it was getting to the point where I had to ask him if he would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized, and I didn't want to do it, I didn't feel like I should ha ha, but when I looked at Palomeque he kept giving me the nod, Like telling me to do it, so nervously I asked him and he looked and me and said. Elder, I have talked to tons of missionaries in my life, and still, I see absolutely no reason to be baptized..... Because I already have been! Then he stood up and put out his hand and said: KEN DUKER from the high council, Nice to meet you and welcome to Ottumwa haha! I was freaking out! They gave me every reason to believe he wasn't a member and I was just going with it, I had the best lesson ever and then they twist it on me like that! I WAS SO CONFUSED! It was hilarious though... Oh my gosh I laugh every time I think about it haha... They got me good!

So ya! The members here are sweet! They are way excited to help with missionary work! Elder P. says it’s his favorite area in his mission so far. Still lots of Mexicans so lots of opportunities to hablar en espanol and all that, I love my comp. And everything is just fantastic! I love it here! :)


Love you all tons!

~ELDER HOLMAN