New Years in Argentina

Hey Holman family, como están??

It was another exciting fun week here in Argentina!! This past week we ran it so hard that it just flew by, Me and my companion set 6 goals for new people to be baptized this week, and were doing everything we can to be sure that they all make it!! We are also planning another super baptism for this month so it should be pretty exciting!!

As for this past week, while you guys have been receiving more snow, its been getting hotter and hotter! i almost can’t even sleep during the night because it gets so hot, luckily we work it so hard during the day that my body had no other option but to sleep :)

Also this past week it was new years!!! Whooo! It’s fun to think about what i was doing last year and where i was at in my mission...i remember thinking about how last year i had just gotten to my second area, had just gotton a Brazilian comp, and could hardly understand him, all we did is clean the pench that nobody had lived in for more then a year, and then go to sleep. I remember all i said to my companion was, happy New Year, and then i couldn’t understand his response cuz his Brazilian accent was so thick!! haha but this year was a little different. Our president gave the mission permission to be up until 12 (we still had to wake up at 6:30) but he at least gave us the option. Luckily it was a little bit different than last year. We went to the pench of the Elders of an area called El Jaúguel, and we had ourselves a little fiesta. We were 8 elders in total. When it hit 12 the night was instantly lit up with lots and lots of fireworks, and i couldn´t help but think about all the crazy things i had been through this last year, all the adventures i´d had, all the hard moments, the sad moments, and the incredible moments. I pondered a little bit while watching all those fireworks go off about how lucky i am to be able to be a missionary.

For the past year from 6:30 in the morning until 10:30 at night, all i had to do is one thing; focus my thoughts and intentions on how can I (through the lord Jesus Christ) Save a human soul. From sun up to sun down 24/7. And words can’t even explain how much my heart has been touched and changed because of that. I have grown so much closer to my savior by doing this one thing. I have learned more of who he is, and of his love for me and for everyone else. My mission has completely changed my life forever. I don’t think one day will ever go by that i don’t think about my mission, and thank my Heavenly Father that i could have the experience of a lifetime. I remember leaving close to 2 years ago feeling pretty manly and ready to hit the field, and i was very quickly humbled, and realized how little of a boy i truly was. When i got to this country i truly learned to pray for real, i had always said my prayers before, but when i got to Argentina, i realized how little of a boy i was in the world, and how i needed the help of my father, to guide me, walk beside me, and help me find the way. And i learned that when one prays like that, putting everything on the line, the powers of heaven cant be held back, and the lord literally walks with you, he talks to you, and he shows you the way.

One year ago, i can say that i only had a belief that the church was true, but now i know, and this makes all the difference in my life. I have had too many spiritual experiences to deny what i have felt, and what i have felt is the spirit literally testify to me, that this is The Church of Jesus Christ. That He lives, and that he raised up a profit in the year 1820 to restore his church. I know that God has also risen up a Prophet today, and his name is Thomas S. Monson. I have learned through the spirit that that man, is called of God, and that the ruler of the universe speaks through our prophet. He is literally Christ’s mouth peace here on the earth. I also know that 14 other men are also called of God, and i sustain them with all my heart, as prophets, sears, and revelators, Just as in times of old. I am so Grateful for my savior Jesus Christ for giving us a prophet, to lead on to the path of salvation. Praise to that little boy that communed with God and Jesus Christ. The faith that he had will forever impact the world.

In this past year, i learned for myself, that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet, and i learned that only through reading the Book of Mormon, and asking God in the name of Jesus Christ if it is true, and i received my answer.

As i was looking back on this year, i thought to myself, that This was the year, that i learned the most important things in my life. I truly learned for myself that, Jesus is the Christ, and i would not change that knowledge that i have for all the money in the world. Many people in the street tell me that I’m wasting my time, that there’s so many other and more important things that i could be doing, but i know that the lord would not want me anywhere else right now, and i wouldn’t want be anywhere else in the world either. I will never be able to thank my lord enough for the opportunity I had to serve a mission! Hahaha and luckily its not over yet! Its still Game time, its just the fourth quarter, and I’m planning to leave every last peace of energy out on the field. Sky told me something that has stuck with me over the past two years. He told me that the only way a diamond can be formed is through lots of pressure, through hard and tough moments, in fact there is so much pressure that all the flaws are pushed out, and your only left with a rock that glows and shines. That’s exactly what a mission can be if you allow the lord Jesus Christ to win, and be the master of your life. You´ll glow, just like the diamond, and people will feel the spirit testify to them through your words. I hope that all my brothers are preparing now to serve a mission, because your life will be changed forever!!!

Haha after thinking about all those good moments in the year, i slept pretty well that night, knowing that God was proud of me and the work I’ve done. Later in the week i read in alma 5:46-50, that talks about how alma learned for himself that the church is true, and how he only had a desire to share the gospel after he had learned that, and that’s exactly how i feel as well!!

Well i love you guys, i hope you all had a wonderful week! You’re all in my prayers! We’ll be talking in a week!! Until then, stay classy ;)

Elder Holman