HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hey guys, hows it going?!? Great I hope! All is going well here :)

How was your New Years?!? Mine was great! Serving in Des Moines rocks. You get all the perks, President and Sister Jergensen invited all of the missionaries in des Moines over for a fun and games night along with a bunch of food. It was a blast! So much fun.. I ate lots of good food and played the game Monopoly Deal... Single greatest card game ever created by man... no joke... It is so much fun.. Elder Poulsen and I play almost daily.. You really need to get that game.. its only like 5 bucks or so, and completely worth it! :)

So New years was fun.. we recieved permission to stay up till 12, but that was rather pointless because we had to be in our apartment by 9:30 and stay there and we had to wake up at 6:30 the next morning.. So Elder poulsen and I figured that sleeping would be a better idea ;)

So this week was pretty good... Something really exciting we were able to do was go to Hampton. We had to take a sister from Des Moines up there so that she could do exchanges with the sisters that are up there. It was a fun trip. Apparently Elder Poulsen and I are legends up there... people still talk about us. It was so fun to see all the members! They were ecstatic! We had a lot of good food, and it was the president of the branch’s sons b-day, so we went to a little party! good stuff! We also went to a little lesson with Todd and Sandy! We had a great lesson all planned out but it didn't exactly go as planned. Todd loves to talk about the gospel and he gets very distracted very easily. We started on the right note but then he wanted to talk about a bunch of other things and so we kinda just had to teach by the spirit and teach to his needs. the lesson went well though, He has read the whole Book of Mormon, doctrine and covenants, and the pearl of great price. He loved it, but he read it more as a history lesson... so we've now committed him to reading in through from a spiritual perspective. He agreed readily. We talk to Sandy about though, and she says she knows that its true, so I guess she's just waiting for tom! We'll see what happens. They are so much fun, great people and They will love the church once they join, I can feel it!

We also had interviews with president this past week. It was a lot of fun. Meeting with president is always such an amazing experience.. I wish I could do it more often.. He is an amazing man. You guys will just love him if you ever meet him. Most out going- personable- loving- charitable man I think I've ever met. When you're around him you just can't help but feel loved. He really inspires me to be a more Christ like person, because when you are, it really lightens up those around you! its amazing. We talked a lot about my personal goals and he gave me a lot of good advice. Great Guy!

Okay.. kind of random, but I love Des Moines.. The church is very well established here.. you bump into members everywhere.. My favorite place to bump into them is in restaurants... Because they ALWAYS cover your bill.. So nice! We were in old Chicago the other day visiting an investigator who works there, and all of a sudden a member comes up and says, hey elders don't worry about your meal, its on me, have a nice day... that’s the 3rd or 4th time that that has happened while here.. Such nice people, I hope I can do that for missionaries someday, it made me so grateful for the kind of people we have in the church. We found out his name and ward and sent him a thank you card..

Alright, what else can I talk about... Hmm, well other exciting news is that I'm going to Nauvoo with Elder Poulsen tmrw! It’s his going home missionary temple trip, and I get to go with Luckily :) I LOVE Nauvoo.. such an amazing place. You all need to see it at least some point in your life because the air is just thick with the spirit.. so much history! I can't wait for Tmrw!!!

Well I think that’s mostly it. The area is going well, we're still making slow progress with investigators, but they are coming along! Y came to church yesterday, YAY! oh and that reminds me, we had a really good meeting with the stake President yesterday about missionary work. It went well. I love meeting with him cuz he looks a lot like dad... and so every time I see him.. I can't help but think of my awesome dad :)

Alright, Well, I love you all tons! I have a big day a head of me... lots of cleaning, lots of shopping, lots of preparation for the next week.. and maybe a little basketball ;)

I love you all! Hope all is well! see ya in 6 months! YIKES!

Con carino,
Su Misionero,
~Elder Holman