Hey Holman family!
Thanks for all your emails, I’m glad to hear that you´re all doing well. I’m doing pretty well myself, i had quite the adventures this week, but before we hear about that, first things first. I gotta make a special shout out to the Chance-man aka (the snake killer). I hope you had a good b-day man! I’m glad you got to hit up cheesecake factory, see some old friends, and beat some snake faces in! That’s what we all want to do on our birthday!! Haha! Fwaaa, and that’s so awesome that Dallin H Oaks just showed up to your guys ward, that is so sick! I would love for that to happen here in my branch...to just have an apostle show up to our ward!! You guys are pretty lucky to live right there in salt lake, where apostles show up to church meetings!! haha! Mom, star and sky, thanks for your guys emails, I’m glad to here that your all doing well!
Well as for me, I’m doing well, i kinda had a crazy week here in the mission, but the crazy weeks are the ones you remember, so it was a good one! :) This past Monday we had transfers, so i got to say chosito to Elder Luna, my comp from Peru, he´s a good kid, but i was pumped to be switching it up! Transfers were pretty sad, cuz lots of my good buddies were finishing the mission, but after i said bye, i got assigned to kick it with one of the zone leaders for the day... because my new comp hadn´t left the mtc yet... so I kicked it with Elder Juarez from Mexico...man i love the Mexicans! They’re always the hardest workers and they just get things done...not to mention i love their accent too, they speak so much more clearly then argentines...anyways, we hung out for quite a bit of the day in the mission home, and then we worked it hard in his area, and i slept in his pench. After that i got to wake up and work on getting my visa renewed for another year...i’m kinda illegal right now...but Argentina has bigger problems to worry about then lookin’ for immigrants, so I’m not to worried...Around 2:00 on Wednesday i went to a meeting for the Elders that are going to be training this transfer. I was pretty pumped to bump into Elder Davidson my comp from the mtc there. He´s training too. We sat in a meeting together from 2:00 until 7:30. It was basically the assistance getting us super pumped to train, when it hit around 7:30 president stapely came into the room, and dropped an inspired talk from heaven on us, almost like it was nothing for him, and then told us that we were to report to the mission home to receive our new companions. I remember before we were about to enter the mission home, i was so pumped...i felt like i was about to enter a football stadium where victory meant everything, and i wasn’t alone, all the trainers were jumping up and down we were so pumped! We entered the mission home singing at the top of our lungs in Spanish. Called to serve!! As i entered the mission home, the unforgettable memory hit me of my first day, in the mission field. President made the announcement and i got my second American comp in the mission, my son Elder Whatkins! haha the second we took off from the mission home, we hopped in the long train ride to an area called la plata. My son or elder Whatkins got a great welcome to Argentina as we were on the train...we had been on the train for about an hour and a half when we stopped at the station of Hudson (right next to my old area in gutierrez) as the train stopped, i heard screaming outside of the train, followed by gunshots. haha i told my comp get on the ground, under your seat and don’t get out until i tell you!! haha he was so freaked out, as i crawled over to the window i saw about 8 gangsters chasing three policemen, throwing glass bottles and everything at them, i then saw in the distance 2 guys laying on the ground bleeding...obviously they had just been shot at by the police. Haha my comp was freaking out, and for some reason i was perfectly calm...the train started to go, and as and we were passing by all the gangsters more policemen had shown up with guns and broke out into open fire with them. Haha it was pretty crazy. When i got back to my seat i told my comp he could get up from the ground. He was freaking out! And then he said wow, elder Holman i cant believe that we lived through that, would it be alright if we said a prayer right here thanking heavenly father that we’re alright...when he said that to me, it really hit me how much god does protect us. I’m so use to seeing stuff like that going down that it doesn’t even surprise me anymore. We said a prayer right there in the train in front of everyone thanking god for protecting us.
As we got to our pench the next day, i couldn’t help but think about my first couple of weeks in the mission. As i taught with my comp this week, i remembered the frustration that came along with not being able to understand anything...and how hard really the beginning of the mission is. I’m helping my comp out a bunch and he is loving the work so far. He is from Nevada, about 25 minutes from Las Vegas, and doesn’t speak a lick of Spanish. Its so funny, cuz i really don’t speak a lick of English anymore. We have been talking in English all week, and i have honestly forgotten so many words in English. haha my comp has been helping me out with my English all week and I’ve been helping him out with his Spanish.
An experience that we had this week that was super neat was we found a man named Diego. He was hesitant to let us in his house, but after convincing on our part he let us in. After talking to him for just a little bit, i felt impressed to share with him the plan of salvation, instead of the message of the restoration. I remember as we taught, he really had no idea if god even excised because there is so much wickedness in the world, as we explained to him the plan of God or the plan of salvation, we explained to him how by following Christ, we can overcome all the wickedness that we find in the world, and that even though we live in the world, we do not have to be part of it. As me and my companion, extended the invitation for him to be baptized, he began to cry, almost uncontrollably. He said to us that this might be what he was looking for his whole life...we testified to him that god does live, and that he is aware of us, and that through baptism he can find more peace then he has ever experienced.
Later in the week we had a couple investigators that the same thing happened. We began to testify to them of god and Christ, and the spirit touched their hearts. They could feel that it was true. It was so incredible for me as well because in each one of those lessons, i could feel the spirit so strongly, i could feel the spirit working through me, and actually see as it touched there hearts.
The mission is incredible. I’m so grateful for this time that i have to be an instrument in the lord’s hand, to teach my companion about how God really does do miracles, and how Christ lives.
The experiences that i have had in the mission have changed my life more then anything else. I know with out doubt that God lives, and that Christ is my savior. I know that Joseph smith was called as a prophet, and that through him God restored his church on the earth today. The message we share testifies that God loves us, that he lives, and that through profits on the earth today, He Speaks. God is the same Yesterday, today, and forever. He is doing a marvelous work and a wonder, and I’m so grateful that I’m a part of this great and life changing work, of finding others and bringing them to Christ. I will forever be in debt to my savior for what he has done for me...so i will continue to invite all, exactly as Moroni did......
32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.
I love you all!!! You’re in my prayers until next week.
Elder Holman
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