You seem to get busier and busier as we go through the years. You would
have thought that you would gain more free time! haha That's going to
cool spending time met mijne tante Jo-Anne! I miss you guys a lot.
Thanks for all the photos! I love getting photos and it's nice to see
pictures from facebook because I can't see what’s going on people’s lives
through facebook anymore! I am opening the white package that says Merry
Christmas. I have not received any other boxes so....I hope I don't open
up my Christmas dinges. haha.
Thanks mom. It's easy to get down on yourself. Especially
when you expect more of yourself than is possible or are expecting instant
results; makes it easy to not see the good things you do or have done.
I got a picture this week of my friends in Belgium who got to go to the
Temple for their first time! Man...they look so dang happy! I've
been noticing a pattern of when I feel the happiest or at least the times
I remember feeling happy. All my happiest memories involve seeing the joy
of others. To see the smile or the laugh of another. The times when
I got to be a part in helping one be happy are the memories that I find I have
treasured up the most in the limited memory bank my brain has. Isn't it
nice to have the memory of the person who needed help and you
went and served them? The time where your friend or neighbour asked
for help and you were repaid through a face of gratitude and a
grateful thank you. What about the time someone you love
was having a hard day and you got to help them laugh and smile? I
can't help but smile as I recall such events. It helps me understand why our
Heavenly Fathers purpose is, ''For behold, this is my work and my glory—to
bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.'' I had a question
I wrote as I was studying a while go. The question was, ''why is this the
purpose of our Heavenly Father? Why does he want this for us? What's
in it for him? haha....I was totally missing a part of
His character. Now I sit here and ask myself...why do I treasure the
memories of seeing people smile? Why did I have the desire to help my
friends attend the temple? For me, as I sit here, it’s because I love
seeing them smile and be happy. I love seeing them experience happiness
and joy. Is that not the same thing our Heavenly Father wishes for
us? I got the chance to read Mosiah 15-16 today. How cool is
that there was someone who loves us so much...that he died and went through a
bunch of rejection and sad feelings for all those that rejected him, have
rejected him and will reject him in this life. I can't help but feel
loved as I think about Christ and what he did for me:
''…The Son....suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to temptation, but
suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his
people.'' ''...filled with compassion towards all men...'' ''...having broken
the bands of death....'' ''...and thus the Lord bringeth about the restoration
of these, and they...have eternal life, being redeemed by the Lord.''
I am sorry that I have to end this Email early. We are
heading out to help a member and are going to finish our PDay tomorrow.
I'll write you guys tomorrow with more! Take care and have fun with
alles! Love you and until tomorrow!
Elder Holt
Sorry about that. We got to the library a little late. I mentioned
it before but thank you for the Facebook photo's! Those were
awesome. So much can change in such a short amount of time. Turns
out the white package was my Christmas present I am pretty sure. I got a
letter from Christina and Grandma and Grandpa Holt...thanks guys! The
white package I got was a big mailing packet that had ''calendar'' written on
the items section for the mailing and above the address it said ''Merry
Christmas''. This made me think it was a Christmas present and I didn't
open it but when you said to open I did....or at least from what I understand
open it.....I read wrong....but don't worry...mom and dad taught me to Always
read the card first and after I read it I figured it was a Christmas
gift....it's still unopened and sitting under our Christmas tree. Can't
say the same for the card though. Whooops.
It's pretty hard not to open it but it’s going to stay closed for a couple more
weeks. Sister missionaries are interesting people haha. Really good
missionaries and just so different from Elders....at least that's what I
thought. I'm pretty sure my companion’s sister served with Emily.
Sister Hulet. We're waiting to see if this is fact or false.
This week was a busy week in a different way. We had P-Day Monday,
we had service Tuesday during the day and then travelled to Rotterdam
for zone conference at night. Wednesday we had zone conference with Elder
Moreira who is an Area Seventy and super funny guy. By the time we got
back to Overijssel the day was done. Thursday we did more service for our
members and then had appointments at night with members. Friday we did
service again and then the same story. Saturday we had a meeting in
Zwolle but got a few hours to put in some work in an area that is
pretty far away from Hengelo. It felt sooooo good to be knocking
doors and talking to people. We walked through the centrum and there
were a bunch of Zwarte Piets! They were everywhere and it was sooo cool to
experience Sinter Klaus in Nederland. After we came back to Hengelo and
decided to go and visit a less-active who just became a parent with his
girlfriend having a baby. We bought them a pink baby shirt thing....I
don't remember what it's called and we got them a card. They loved it and
asked us if we had time to eat pancakes with them! We had time so we ate
pancakes and then our friend came to church the next
day. Sunday we sang in our ward conference ... brave
ward. Our friend stayed the full 3 hours and had a really good
time. My favourite part was seeing the ward members congratulate him and
ask if they could come by sometime and congratulate his girlfriend. haha
that reminded me. Saturday night as he was teaching us how to make
pancakes he asked what the ward thought when we announced that he and his
girlfriend had a baby. We said that they were happy for him and his
girlfriend and were excited to hear more. This is my favourite
part. He looked at us and said, ''yeah.....but.....i broke the law of
chastity....weren't they mad?'' haha. What a funny dude. We laughed
and told him that the book of Mormon teaches us to leave the judging to Christ
and to love the sinner and not the sin. I love the little short teachings
we can all give throughout the day.
At zone conference we were addressed by one of the funniest
dudes ever. Elder Moreira. He was so funny and so real and so
inspiring at the same time. It's been different these past 5
weeks. Being asked to oversee a certain area and the missionaries there
in has been a learning process. I was focusing so much on how MY area was
doing and how many people we were finding to teach and teaching. Seems
like in 5 weeks for the most part, we have stayed in the same spot in our
missionary work. The same with the district. Elder Moreira touched
on an experience where he learned that his happiness came from the success of
others. He spoke about a lot more things and eventually, all his messages
hit me. I was focusing too much on working my area to become better and
not on helping the district members change their areas. It's kind like
fishing for someone but not teaching them how to fish. You can only help
them so much until they will one day do it on their own. I was becoming
unhappy with my work and getting down about not being the example for lessons
and finding new people and I started to forget to think about how to help the
missionaries in the district. After our conference I feel like the Spirit
helped me to increase my awareness and desire to seek the best for those that I
am serving...the missionaries. I went to the conference with the question
what ''would you have me do to help the area you have asked me to serve in
flourish?'' I thought my answer was going to be....speak to more people, work
through a member....talk to be in this sort of way...something like that.
I had no idea that my answer was going to be ''Focus on those that you are
serving''.
This past Sunday evening as we were calling our missionary friends to
hear about their week....it made me so happy to hear about the positive
experiences they had. The pressure of the past weeks was starting to be
lifted. I very strongly feel that as we repent and work to change our
attitude to be about those we serve, we will feel a lot of the burdens be
lifted form our shoulders and our joy will become more full. It must be
kind of being like a parent. I can only think of Mom and Dad and remember
them being happy after my team won a soccer tournament or a game and the sorrow
they had if I lost. However....they were Always there to pull me up when
I was down. We read this same thing in the Scriptures. Christ is
Always trying to pull us up but we gotta let him. I've found him pulling
me up as I study his words through the prophets as I read the scriptures.
There is a certain personal power of love and joy as you read the
scriptures. Your questions are answered. You can find more answers
than you can think of if you seek for them through the scriptures. I
think we're really Lucky to live in a time where we have so many resources and
great people are serving to bring us up. We have the restored gospel with
a perfect organized church. Remember we are all imperfect and the flaws you see
are not of Christ's organized church but the people who are not perfect and not
supposed to be perfect. Christ's church is not for those who are perfect
but to help imperfect people become perfected through the atonement of
Christ. We have a Prophet, Apostles and other leaders who serve us pull
us up.
This coming Sunday we have the chance to fast and give fast offerings in
order to help those who are in need. There is a special promise if we
live the law of fast to the fullest. In Isaiah 53 Verses 5-11 we can
study the blessings that come from living the law of the fast to it's
fullest. I'm going to study it more and prepare to help my
Heavenly Father help me by paying my fast offering and Fasting with a
purpose and to be cheerful about it. I didn't really realize that
paying our fast offerings was a part of the law of the fast. I feel
really bad because I have been Fasting every month but I have allowed the
different difficulties get in my way to give my fast offerings back to the Lord
so that I could help those who are in need of being pulled back
up. We get so much from our Heavenly Father. I love him more
than any way I can write and I thank him daily for teaching me how to
serve those around me and to pull them up. I thank him teh lesson that
comes from tryin to help others fish.
I love you all and will talk to you next week! PS....WE"RE
SKYPING SOON!
About coming here.....I think it would be really cool for you guys to
come and see the mission. I would love showing you around and having you
meet some of the people I am serving!
Love,
Elder Holt
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Elder Holt
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