How are all of you? Sorry that i didn’t really have time to write all you guys last week! We were traveling all last Monday to Capital, We started traveling Sunday night at 6:30, and didn’t get back to Chascomus until Tuesday at 12!! Needless to say i was super tired! But it was super fun, i got to hang with lots of good old missionaries that i love, and i am officially legal to be in Argentina! It feels good not be stayin’ on the down low from the cops....haha actually Argentina has bigger problems then illegal Yankees in there country!
Well Thanks mom and brock for hitting me up with an email, it was good to here from you guys! I hope you guys have a fun time at trek in a couple of weeks, and brock I’m super pumped that you got to go to EFY. I’m sure that was a killer experience! And im pumped that you’re preparing for the mission! Start preparing now, cuz you will be so grateful when you get out in the field!!
This week was a good one. Probably one that i will never forget, there were so many miracles that really I have no idea where to start....
This past Sunday a member of the stake came to our little branch here in Chascomus. He informed us that next week we were gonna have Branch conference (the very first one in Chascomus) He told us that the whole stake presidency is coming and that it was going to be an incredible meeting, he then walk to the old chalk board and drew a numbers in big lettering on the board. The number was 80. He said, how many people did we have in church today? We responded 14. He looked at the number 80 and back at us, and said "this is the goal for attendance next Sunday in the branch of Chascomus..."
With the only priesthood holders being me my companion and president, we new the goal was gonna be tough to accomplish, and that majority of the work was going to have to come form us if we were to achieve this goal of 80 people in church...We began working quickly i designed over 150 invitations that we had printed in a special shop, and me and president wrote a letter together to all the organizations, clubs, churches, and government to Chascomus. On Wednesday president stopped by in his 1955 car in the pouring rain and we began to work. We stopped by the governor, gave him an invitation. The chief of the hospitals in Chascomus, all the country clubs...but there is one person that we invited that i will probably never forget....It was the last invitation me and president looked at the invitation back at each other and gulped and laughed in unison. The Name on the invitation was Bishop Gummery. Bishop Gummery is more of a celebrity here in Chascomus. He is the bishop of the Catholic Church here, and someone well known in the Catholic Church. He is always giving huge catholic sermons in Buenos Aires...needless to say, i was a little bit nervous, but i knew we were not alone, the lord was with us. As we pulled up to the offices of the bishop i think my heart skipped a couple beets. It was literally a mansion, with statues, columns and beautiful architecture. We walked in the mansion (we had an appointment to meet with him), and the secretary walked us through the beautiful building and sat us down in a room in this mansion. There were four seats placed in the room waiting four us. We waited about 5 minutes and Bishop Gummery entered the room… he had a huge cross hanging from his neck and all the catholic gear on....we began our chat by presenting us, and he told me, I know who you are "Elder". We talked about What we do as missionaries helping people to come unto Christ and he just smiled at us. We gave him the invitation to come to the church this Sunday, he replied that he was very sorry but he was going to capitol and could not attend, but he was such a nice guy.
At the end of the conversation he gave us all a Catholic book, explaining there beliefs and signed it and everything. As we were walking away, both me and president had the idea that we had to go back, but not empty handed...we Grabbed a Book of Mormon, opened up to a blank page and began to write our testimony. We testified that this book would strengthen his faith in the Lord, and help him come unto Christ. We bore testimony that we knew the book to be true, because god had told us, and we signed our names below. As we walked back in we just happened to bump in to the bishop, and we gave him the book. We testified to him of the divinity of that Book, and how He would come to know Christ more through the teachings and story in that book. He paused took the book, and then gave me and President A great big hug. He promised us both that he would read it. I have never had an opportunity like that on my mission, to testify to a well known Catholic Bishop of the divinity of the Book of Mormon.
After that we did not stop working on our goal. I used a connection that i had to get our invitation on the radio, called up one of my old friends Martin, and he told us he would be more then happy to announce it for us.
On Saturday the stake president and his counselors surprisingly showed up and told us that they wanted to go visit inactive families with us. I made a list of families to rescue here in Chascomus and we set off. We had divisions and i got to go out with the first counselor to the stake president. We passed by so many families, and we taught with power and authority. One family that we passed by was our inactive ward mission leader. He had some friends over in his house. As we began to share our message, i felt like a very small junior companion to a spiritual giant. He read from the 37th chapter in Alma,
35 O, remember, my son, and alearn bwisdom in thy cyouth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.
36 Yea, and acry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thybdoings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy cthoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.
37 aCounsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for bgood; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the cmorning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
They all felt the spirit so strongly, everyone in the room new that there was something special about us. We invited them all to come to the conference to feel that same feeling once again, they accepted. One by one we visited families...it was pretty funny to see president on a bike...he was sweating like a dog, and told me that he felt like he was back on his mission in Chili with me! It was great. As we finished off the day on Saturday night I kneeled down to my maker and creator and told him that we had done our part in trying to reach our goal of 80 people in church, and that the rest was in his hands.
Yesterday we placed 80 chairs up in the sacrament room (they almost didn’t fit all in there) and as i was preparing the sacrament the stake president asked me how many sacrament cups i had, i counted and replied 72, he told me we need 80....
About 15 minutes before the meeting, people started to pile in. I stood in complete awe as i watched inactive members...old branch presidents.... inactive priesthood holders come in one by one. As i blessed the sacrament and watched it being passed, i broke into tears seeing that every seat in that sacrament room was filled, and the people were still piling in. There was not enough seats to hold them all. People were hording in, standing up by the walls to hear the messages prepared by the stake. We literally had people standing in the hall in other classrooms. IT was incredible. It was a miracle. The lord had heard our prayers. He had seen our works, and our faith was sufficient to have this miracle. Two weeks ago we had 14 people in church, yesterday we had more than 90...
Its moments like this where i am so happy to be a missionary. I Know that the lord has not ceased to do miracles on the earth today. I know that the lord works through his children here on the earth, and that if aIf ye will have bfaith in (Jesus Christ) ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is cexpedient in (him.)
This is only one of the miracles that i had this week. Another one i don’t really have time to go into to much detail, but one of our investigators, was touched to his very soul this week when we passed by his house and taught him about the plan of salvation. His sister had passed away, and he had no idea if he was ever going to see her again...he knows now. At the end of the lesson he said to me...how did you know what to say to me to help me...he paused and said "i actually do know why, its because you are called and sent from God." He told me that earlier that day he had decided to give up, give up with hope, give up on faith, and give up on life. He said that after we had spoken he was full of hope faith, and energy to keep going. He paused and told me that he has been thinking for some time why he was here in Chascomus. He doesn’t have family here, work, friends or anything... yet he was here. He explained to us that he knew why in that moment why he was here in Chascomus, and it was because of us. God knew that he needed to hear our message, and that is why he is still here.
Well that’s just a little bit of what’s going on in my life. In other news i am now wissing brown piss, cuz mom called the mission doctor and he put me on wacky medication! haha I called him freaking out when i saw it, and he told me its a normal side effect from the medication that I’m using!
Thanks for worrying enough about me mom to call the mission doctor :) I I want you to know that I’d do the same for you! haha love you! :)...also another side effect is a numb tongue!!
Well if your still there reading after this long letter (I’d figure I’d give you a long letter after not writing last week) I want you all to know that i love you, and that i love being a missionary. There is no greater work, and no other place that i would rather be then working in the lord’s vineyard, here in Buenos Aires. I love my mission, and i have come to love my savior. More then words can explain. I will always be in debt to the Son of God, for coming to the earth and dying for me. I know that we have no greater friend than him. He is always there for us. Trust in him, have faith in him, and then watch the miracles happen.
Vamos a hablar la próxima semana, pero Hasta lunes, sepan que te amo todos!
Elder Holman
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