Week 44 - Whack that Mole!

What to talk about here in Friesland.  Well...just as you think things are starting to start rolling on...you get caught up with hiccups.  We have been seeing a lot of success teaching and inviting people to their first covenant but we can either not meet with them due to conflicts in schedules, being sick, going on vacation or we just don't have the time that would work for them.  Everyone seems to love to meet us at night...we need more night time.  The Lord will helps us with this problem.  We are still working hard.  We fixed our key problem so we won't be getting locked out anymore.  We have set up appointments with some families and people who are less-active and we haven’t met.  We had a really sketchy Friday.  Everything just went wrong haha but hey, it happens. And overall....a lot was learned.

This week we did a lot of street contacting.  We have walked a ton of kilometers and have contacted all sorts of people.  We have had various different responses.  Some people are really nice.  Some people are just really rude.  Some people will give you time and others not even a second to say hello.  Some people you feel really sad for and others...it is a work in progress to feel sad for them.  

It is really cool, as you work with the Lord, to strengthen a weak point that you find.  I have been having trouble finding that ''thing or way'' that the Lord has prepared them.  It is hard to explain but maybe I can help by comparing it to whack-a-mole.  When we speak with people, we just put in the 1 euro to start the game.  We have initiated the opportunity to play.  Now that the game is started...it is time to wait until the mole pops out.  As we speak with people...we can feel and listen to the words that the Spirit is prompting us to say.  The responses we get are when the Moles pop out.  Once we find a "mole'' we gotta hit it before it is gone.  This has been a weak point for myself.  I could not find the stinking ''moles''.  If I did find a ''mole'' I didn't know what to do....I would keep searching for ''moles''.  When it got the end of the conversation, I would end up having ''0 points'' because I forgot to ''smack the stinkin moles''.  

I have been working and praying to help me find those ''moles'' and to pound them in with my ''mallet of testification''.  Sweet name, I know.  I have loved the experiences that the Lord has blessed me with.  As I have prayed in my heart, asking for the words that will help the on-coming person.  It is too hard to describe the experience.  As you speak with people...you can feel what they are going to say.  The words are given to you to lead them to their already found truth that they don't know is truth.  The Lord has been helping me to ''whack those moles''.  

The direction of the Spirit is so sweet once we learn and diligently seek for his guidance and seek for help as we try to learn how to recognize him:

 D&C84:85Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds 

continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man.'' 

 This is quite the promise we have been given. Of course, it is a process and we must not get down if we miss the ''moles'' or we hit the moles....but the machine is broken and the mole doesn't do anything.  It happens.  But I am hoping to share more about what we need to do, in order to receive this promise.  We cannot expect to ''play the game'' if we do not have the game.  You can't play whack-a-mole without a whack-a-mole machine.  This can be signified as, ''the words of eternal life.''  Without reading and continually seeking for truth...we are not going to have the ''pieces'' necessary to set up the game so that we can put a euro in and play.  We have been asked to study the words of the prophets every day.  To think about them.  To ponder on them.  To pray about them. Sitting here, I can tell you that as we continue to study the words of our Lord, that He will not only fill our mouths with the things of which we should say, but He will strengthen our testimonies, He will expand our understanding and He will open new doors of comfort and joy.  I have seen the differences of my testimony, or my doings, of my works and my relationship with my Heavenly Father as I have sought to understand the principle of studying the gospel.  Maybe we can all read section 2 in PMG this week and try to think about what we could apply to our studies.  I've started so I got a head start but I know that it will bless you all.  

Love you all.  I guess things that you could send me could be...printed photos of people...I can't really think of anything right now, just printed photos of things and people would be nice!  Love you and until next week.

Elder Holt

soccer buddies

Week 43 - The Power Behind Us

Another week part of the history books.  Man.  Where does all the time go!  What happened this week? I know you are probably getting bored of hearing about it but...we got locked out of apartment again...I'm sorry Grandma and don't worry...we got more keys and have found solutions to avoid having to travel to a city that is a long bus ride away.  3rd times a charm right?

Well.  This week was actually kind of slow and filled with adversity.  Don't worry...''the power that is behind you, is greater than the obstacles before you.''  I have experienced this over and over again and know it to be true, as long as I allow the power that is behind me to help overcome the obstacles.

We were not able to meet with some of our friends who we have been teaching.  It was a hard week finding those who have been prepared.  We got locked out our apartment again....we taught not as many lessons as we would have liked/hoped.  But, we have learned from these experiences.  We can only have learned by going through these experiences. 

I have realized that the time of my mission...will be reaching the half way mark by the end of this transfer.  It is kind of scary because I feel like there is much more to be learned and much more I can be doing to assist in the Lord’s work that he has granted and blessed me to be a part of.  Time is of the essence....whatever the heck that means...might have to google it but it sounded cheesy enough to have meaning in this paragraph.The time that is remaining in my mission I know.  I know that I have about 13.5 months left to serve.  I can see when I will be done my mission.  However, I cannot see when my time of probation here on this earth will be done.  I have the privilege to plan out, according to time, who I want to become, who I feel the Lord knows I can be and who He would like to use.  That is if my time on this Earth is longer than my mission.  It is quite the thought to think about not being here. 

We have a friend who has been learning from missionaries for about 8 months now....something like that.  We were speaking with him and trying to discern what it is that he needs from us.  After 8 months, he has been taught everything more than once.  So what is it that is the turning point for him?  Where is the ignition to his testimony to get him in gear?  We found the answer: Where he came from. The knowledge of where he came from brought him the comfort that he was looking for.   Not a lot of people know that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them; that they lived with Him; that they learned from Him and wanted to be like him; that He proposed a plan to them.  This plan being to come to a place where they would gain a body of flesh, just like His.  Where, with this body, they would experience a mortal life but that He would not leave them alone in the dark; that he would give them everything that they needed to feel His love, comfort and in the end, return to Him.  He believed in us.  He wanted the best for us.  He told us how we could return to Him; that he would help us remember Him; that the plan he made was perfect and that all would be well. I know sometimes everything doesn't seem to be well.  Matter of fact, sometimes we may feel it is opposite.  Our friend was afraid of death.  We taught him what happens after our physical death.  Didn't help him.  We felt prompted to remind him who he was; that he is a son of God and that he lived with his Heavenly Father and the points that were mentioned above.  This is where our friend lit up with a smile.  It was like a flick of a switch.  He had his purpose.  He had his comfort.  He remembered, but at the same time, didn't remember.  haha

We are all special.  Heavenly Father knows us personally.  He loves us.  We have this amazing potential to become someone amazing.  Key word being potential.  I hope that we can all make a goal to remember who we are.  To allow this to help us remember our Heavenly Father and to use all the help He is trying to give us to become the people that He can use.  Whether it be for the strangers, the neighbours, our family, our spouse, our friends, for our Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ....but most importantly....for ourselves.  We will one day return to our Father in Heaven.  Just as Christ has done.  It is inevitable. 

Don't procrastinate. haha.  Easier said than done, I know.  I was the king of procrastinating. haha.  Still am, a little bit but we never know when we will return to our Father.  Let’s make a goal to every day seek to conquer a challenge and work every day to become that person your Heavenly Father told you that you could become before you came here. 

Love you all and until next time,

Love Elder Holt 

Week 42 - Edify to Instruct

A hoedown sounds like a good time! We had a pioneer day a few weeks ago which was fun.  In it people did some line dancing so I guess that is pretty close. 

This past week was yet again, super fast.  I don't really remember much of it...I now know why missionaries keep journals...everything starts becoming one blur.  I guess I should start off with Elder M. Russel Ballard says thank you to all of you for supporting me on my mission.  He asked us all to express his appreciation to everyone at home  who is and who has helped me get to where I am today.  On Thursday we had a mission conference. It was awesome seeing old companions, members of past districts/zones and my MTC group. To top it all off we were privelaged with a visit by Elder M. Russel Ballard, his wife, Elder Halstom and his wife and Brother Dyches and his wife.  

This man is truly an Apsotle for our Savior.  He spoke with power, authority, humour and love all at once.  It went by to fast but I am excited about General Conference in a couple weeks.  He spoke about a lot of things.  The thing that I had taken the most is that our time here (serving a mission)is a magnifying chance for us to get to know the Savior and our Eternal Father but that it is also time for God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ, to get to know who we are.  Every decision we make...every action we do..defines who we are as people.  It determins we are going to be when we stand face to face with our Savior and Father in Heaven.  This was a sobering thought.  I had never thought about the impact that my decisions have the outcome of who I will be when that day comes.  He spoke to us on how we can instruct people.  He said to do more than what the Lord has asked of you and not to wait for someone to tell you to do or ask of soemthing.  He spoke about the topic, ''Edify to instruct.''  We were taught that when we are instructing that we should keep in mind that edifying means also to uplift.  We can not truly help those around us if we are not uplifting them as we seek to instruct them.  Whether it be with a friend, a family member, a co-worker, sibling, someone learning about the church....heck it can be a stranger from teh street..it doesn't matter.  If we do not instruct with the power of edification....are we truly helping them?  

Elder Ballard said many things that just made you pause and reflect on how you did things and helped you see how you could do a little better.  Good thing we had a 2.5 hour travel on teh train back to Friesland....had time to soak a little more in.

We started teaching another new friend.  Our friend is a really cool guy and has the potential to be play a huge role for the branch here.  We had an amazing lesson with him and have built a really cool relationship with him.  All of the things I like to do and same goes vise versa.  He is like a older, cooler version of Elder Holt.  One of the members that we have been working with came to church for the first time in a while yesterday!  She has an amazing hometeacher who has played the biggest role in them coming to church.  He is diligent, constanty visiting this member.  He mows the lawn for our member.  He just swings by to say hello.  He has taken his some teaching to a frienship.  I think the way it shuold be.  He visits this member more than 1 time a month...more than two times a month...if he doesn't visit her once a week he will at least call her to see how she is haha.  Really cool to see the fruit of love and dedication.

This week was transfer week.  Elder Thom and I will be serving another transfer with one another!  We're excited and ready to keep improving the area for the branch and the missionaries after us.  We will be getting 2 different sister missionaries in the district and 1 more set of Elders!  Crazy.  

Things are going good in Friesland. I was about to end my letter but I remembered I wanted to tell you all a story.  

So...there is a member here who is cousins with Brother Brent Purnell....i am pretty sure it is brent....but it might be brett....jammer.  Anyways.  This member who lives here is cousins with Brother Purnell.  I will call the member here Broeder Purnell for now on.  Broeder Purnell and his wife spoke to the congregation yesterday,  A councelor of the Branch President does the translating for the english talks that are given to the congregation.  After we sang a hymn, Broeder Purnell spoke with the Branch President and his Councelor for a brief moment and then apporached the pulpit.  He stated that his dutch was not good enough to speak to them in dutch but that he knew of someone that could help him.  He then told everyone that he wanted to ask Elder Holt if he would come and translate for him....oh crap.  How could I say no or act afraid infront the members that I am serving?  I couldn't.  So, I walked up there ready to do my best as I served Broeder Purnell and my branch family.  Broder Purnell stated that his talk was going to about about trials and adversity.  He shared that we can not always control when trials and adversities come or how they are going to come but that we can control how we re-act to them and how there are lessons behind every trail of adversity.  

He related to the councel that was given to Joseph Smith as he sat in Liberty Jail.  ''My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

 8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.'' I lke the part, ''And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee...'' Facing adversity defines who we are.  The desicions we make through these experiences have the potential to bring us closer to God, If we endure them well.  They also have the potential to pull us away, if we do not endure them well.  I got to be a sort of object lesson for Broeder Purnells talk haha.  It was hard.  Nerve racking.  But worth it.  I hope that we can all remember our God and his plan for us as we face trials of adversity.  I have seen in my life, and more particurily on my mission, the blessings that come from not only enduring our trials but endureing them well.  

First time translating...and of course it is for a congregation haha.  Don't worry...the closing prayer of the sacrament stated that even though it was not the easiest to understand the talk, that the message behind the words was powerful and taught by the Spirit. haha it didnt help that Broeder Purnel is a lawyer.  He used some impressive terminology.

Love you all and until next week, 

Elder Holt

MTC district re-united at Mission Conference

Got to see his Nederland Vader

Week 41 - Come What May and Love It

Weren't the teachers on strike for the whole summer?  What the heck haha.  That sucks that their thoughts are not ovn the ones they have been entrusted to teach. I understand what they feel but you would think that they would be concerned about the welfare of the future generation they are teaching.  Anyways...I am not a fan of politics and will move on.  Last week at district meeting one of the senior couple sisters was talking to me about politics...I tried really hard to fit into the conversation....said something really dumb haha she looked at me with a smile that read, ''what the heck are you talking about..'' and then said something to close the conversation and walked to the kitchen.  haha I loved it.  

It's probably hard to believe but I have another story to add to the mishaps that the Mission President has heard about Elder Holt.  Splendid. The Tuesday of last week...we left the apartment earlier than usual in order to go to a district meeting. We left early to see what types of the food the ducks and seagulls like.  We had chips, beans and bread....we knew that they love bread but we wanted to see if they like junk food or healthy food.  As we attempted to lock our door...we couldn’t find the keys.  Now the doors here are smarter than us people.  They lock themselves after you close the door.  Yeah.  This means that after we closed the door....we had lost to the door.  He beat us and locked us out.  We looked through our window and there were the keys....no more than one foot away from us....being blocked by a very clean and unseen window.  Needless to say...we were devastated. Haha. We had no phone so we couldn’t call anyone and now we were locked out of our apartment.  We went ahead with our experiment concerning which food the ducks liked.  They don't find beans lekker.  Well, the seagulls did but they had no idea how to eat them.  None of the birds went for the chips....that was surprising.  Everything likes chips. After we fed the birds we went to catch our bus to our District Meeting.  We got on our bus...sat in it for 5 mins....and then the worst.  We had to use the bathroom.  The bus was leaving in 2 more minutes...we had to run around to find a bathroom...found it....but the bus left us behind.  Now we were late for district meeting...we had no phone and we were locked out of our apartment.  It was really easy to get upset but why would you want to do that? We made it to district meeting only 30 mins late....not too bad. After district meeting Elder Thom and I went and finished our planned after noon and taught our friends...did some contacting and could not eat dinner haha.  We felt like it would be best for us to head to our Branch President’s house, whose son is our ward mission leader, to seek for help.  We couldn’t call our last appointment, which was with a member, to let them know what had happened and that we would not be able to make it to their house. We finally got the Branch President’s house, told him and his son what had happened...and they laughed at us. haha it was awesome.  We used their phone to call our mission president...this was the 3rd day in a row that he had heard from us or about us.  We ended up finding a solution and made our way to another city where missionaries were and stayed with them as our zone leaders would bring our key the next day....the story is a little more complicated but that is about it.  The woensdag of last week...we got our keys....and our phone came in the mail!  Everything was in order and luckily still is.  

We have continued to get in contact with more people.  We have continued to make appointments and the number of teaching appointments are rising, as well as the number of friends that we are helping towards baptism.  ALL WITH THE LORD’S HELP.  By the end of this week we can potentially be teaching 8-10 friends who will be making progress in their own conversion.  That is ways up considering we were at 1 a few weeks ago.  We had a few ''unfortunate events'' happen to us this week.  haha Sometimes it would have been easier to become upset, angry, frustrated or anything that sucks.  Either with one another, people on the street, the unlucky things that just happened.    So many opportunities that the opposition would have liked to use to bring us down as we work so very hard to work our way up.  I don't fully understand why we have opposition.  I know that:

 ''For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so.....righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.'' 

 Without having ''crappy'' and ''not crappy''...what is crappy and not crappy?  I feel like there is more to the picture than this that I do not understand.  I don’t know if I will ever understand it all, but I have learned and have tried to apply something that helps.  

It is inevitable that we are going to be faced with ''crappy'' situations. Some of us have had to face such situations more than others or in greater magnitude. But we have all had to face adversity. If we never faced any...what would a ''crappy'' situation even be?  That is what we have just read and learned from 2 Nephi 2:11.  Now the question is, what to do in these situations?  We all have many answers.  We all think, see, react and feel differently. Now that first thought that comes to mind is most likely different than the other who has also read this.  Such answers may have been; talk with loved ones or friends, pray-talk with your Heavenly Father, read scriptures, go for a walk, play a sport, go for a drive. There are so many things and for the most part it depends on what sort of ''crappy'' situation we sit in.  However...I feel like there is one answer that we could all apply to help us endure through such experiences of sadness, discomfort, loneliness and/or grief. Let me quote my good friend, Elder Jospeh B. Wirthlin, who quoted his mother,  ''Come what may and love it.''  

I came across a DVD box that contained the General Conference talks of 2008.  I have particularly paid attention to this talk by Elder Joseph B Wirthlin.  He states, ''...those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser and happier...'' 

As I sit here and write to you, I recall the time when I just got to Europe.  I had not learned or spoken Dutch in 3 months and was sent to a land where their Dutch was a little different than the Dutch we had learned in the MTC.  I would focus and try to pick up every sound and word that came out of the mouths of these people.  A member saw this.  When we were driving to an appointment he gave me this advice. ''Relax, and don’t worry about it....be like a baby...''  He went on to say how babies hear sounds and see reactions and what not.  After time these words have meanings.  With more time, these new words with meanings are copied by the baby and he or she learns to speak.  If I was not totally relaxed...I was not at my happiest.  It was difficult to train myself to just relax and not worry about it but the more I tried and applied, the easier it became and the happier I became.  This made the learning of this new foreign language easier to learn.  The counsel that Elder Wirthlin gives is what I would like to share with you all this email.  Remember that question that I asked earlier, what do we do in ''crappy'' situations? I hope that can give heed to Elder Wirthlin’s advice.  Love it....learn to laugh.  We cannot control everything but, we can control how we re-act.  This time on this earth is short.  We will all return to our Heavenly Father.  This knowledge has helped to me ''love it'' and ''learn to laugh''.  Life is a process of learning.  Let us relax like a baby, rely on our Heavenly Father, love it, learn to laugh, look at the eternal picture, and continue our life story with a smile.  

Easier said than done...I know.  But it well never get done, if we never get started.  There have been some ''crappy'' situations but I can let you all know that following the counsel of one the Apostles of our Savior works.  Come what may and love it.  Learn to laugh.  

Love you all and until next week.

Love, 

Elder Holt

Week 40 - According to the Faith of the Children of Men

Maybe I will begin this letter with a little bit of a history lesson about Elder Holt here in Belgie/Nederland.  So...my second transfer in Europe...we traveled from Genk, Belgium to Rotterdam, Nederland in order to have a Zone Conference.  In the zone conference one of the Senior Couples ran through what we are to do if we lose our companion.  Of course....this very day, after the zone conference, my companion and I lost each other in a train station and I didnt have the numbers to call anyone.  So...President learned that I get lost sometimes but know how to hold my own.  The second time he had about me was when we were learning how to excercise doing back flips.  A companions nose got broken and when the question was asked...."what hit Elder So and So's nose?"  You cant lie to your mission president so we had to tell him Elder Holts elbow.  Well....now for another story to add to the collection.  Our phone screwed up on us and no one call us and we cant call them.  Our plan was to go today when the store was open and to fix our problem.  We were cleaning our apartment when our doorbell rang....we were confused....answered the buzzer...and a women spoke to us in english asking for the elders to come down.  We were really confused.  We went down and there was one of our memebers.  She is now our designated branch mother.  She had been called by the mission leaders to go to our apartment and see if we were alive.....oh boy. After we waited to go to the store to get our phone fixed...we were told that he couldnt do anything and that we had to call our mission president to call some people....great....now we couldnt call our mission leaders to let them know what was up....we went to the members house and used the phone...called our mission leaders and yeah.....that is Elder Holt of the Belgie/Nederland mission : )  Its a fun time being a missionary.  

We have been working really hard to picking up the pace of the missionary work here in Friesland.  We have prayed, fasted and worked hard to show the Lord that we really want to help this branch grow and become a solid piece of the Lords Kingdom.  We fasted last week asking for a blessing upon Friesland that we would find those who the Lord had prepared.  To find those that would help the branch that we are serving in.  Its amazing how the more faith and trust we put in the Lord, he will answer us amazing ways.  We have gone from teaching one of our friends the gospel and helping him towards his first covenant of baptism to 3.  We also have a potential of 5 by the end of this week.  We have been teaching more, contacting more, and depending on the Lord more and he is helping us.  It has been a good week.   Its funy becuase dad sent a scripture from Moroni 10 and thats what I finished reading this past week.  I've been internalizing...or trying to internalize verse 7 there of.  Love you guys and let the Lord take care of what we can not.  He will help us if we let him and we show that we need it.  Love you and until next week!

Love, 

Elder Holt

oops - forgot to burn a tie at 6 months...better late than never