Week 23: The Gospel is and should be Simple

Alrighty! So alot has happened since a week and a half of writing! So I hope I will do justice of how amazing the last few days have been. If I forget something... you will hear from me again on MONDAY! Woot Woot.  

So first off.... I know you are all dying to hear.... I SHOOK ELDER DAVID A. BEDNAR's HAND and HIS WIFE! Ahhhh! And I met Sister Bednar in the bathroom. #littleblessings alright.... fan girl moment is done. 

Our three hour missionary meeting with Elder Bednar and Sister Bednar was mouth dropping. I was spiritually and physically exhausted afterwards! I learned and gained so much from this meeting. I don't know how I am going to even write this but I'll try my best. 

To start I will tell you how he taught us. He didn't give a talk to us. We talked to him. We had a 

Q & A session that we could learn by the spirit. Prior to the meeting on Saturday, he asked us to read three of his talks. 1. Ask in Faith 2. Converted unto the Lord 3. Seek Learning by Faith. We had to read these so that we would be prepared to be taught by the Spirit. (hence why we extend commitments to our investigators) ((it all makes sense)) ANYWAYS - Elder Bednar will always always tell you to NEVER take notes...  because 1. you never read them again 2. you lose them and 3. you never read them again. HaHa! You should only ever write anything down that the Spirit speaks to you!! 

He accidentally created a word... 'Complexify'  and his mess up of creating this word was an answer to my prayers! I have been trying to collect my thoughts on a lot of things that I have been learning lately and it all comes down to "complexify-ing". As members and missionaries in the church we complexify everything way too often. The gospel is simple and because it is so simple, it is beautiful. The Lord rejoices in plainness. When it becomes too complex you know you are doing something wrong. Living the gospel is simple and beautiful. Like magic. 

"We should know the gospel is true & be true to the gospel." -Elder Bednar

That is another amazing thing he taught us. We have been foreordained to become missionaries in this life. (especially elders) THIS IS OUR JOB. When we are released from the full-time service our uniform may change but our job does not! I am glad I am learning this early on in my mission so that as I am making these changes in my life I can make them permanent and not just for the time that I have the title as  a 'missionary'. My mission is bootcamp for the rest of my life!!

Other quick things I learned so I don't write you a book... 

1. My experience doesn't qualify me to do anything out here no matter how long I have been out... I can't do this alone. 

2. You cannot repent without involving Jesus Christ

3. If you read the Book of Mormon everyday, you will NEVER fall away

4. You don't read the Book of Mormon to know if the book is true. You read the Book of Mormon to know if The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the church I need to join. 

5. The Holy Ghost is the only true teacher

6. Inspired questions only work if they are specific to that person, in that time, at that place. 

The best one...

7. God's pattern is ONE BY ONE. Line upon line. Precept upon precept. Here a little and there a little. As missionaries we are to provide that one on one experience with them and the Lord. Bring the Spirit unto their hearts. That is how it all works. Everything in the Gospel is one by one. 

Alright hope you learned something :) I did. I love the gospel!!!

So we have 3 new solid investigators we have been teaching for a couple weeks. You know about Madilyn. She is progressing and loving life and all the friends we are bringing her :) She is 50 pages into the BOM and she loves church! 

Also funny story.... Last Sunday she sat next to me at church and she told me that I can't sing. 

Oh really Madilyn???!! hahahaha I laughed so hard and told her I only sing really loud because I love Jesus!! <3 

Adrienne is an awesome woman we found tracting! She is getting engaged soon, she's a body builder  and a chemistry professor in Irvine somewhere. She LOVES US and loves learning!! Our discussions are soooo fun! She is progressing but it will be a slow progression since we go really in depth about some topics because she is very knowledgeable. But one thing that I have learned from her is that no matter what -- our gospel can never be proved wrong no matter how much it is picked a part! 

Patrick is a newbie we found this week. Our first lesson is usually the Restoration but as we started teaching it just wasn't flowing AT ALL. So I paused for like a minute to try to discern what the Spirit was telling me ," PLAN OF SALVATION DUH!" So I was like.... "Sorry this is the wrong lesson..." blah blah blah.... we started the Plan of salvation lesson and it was perfect!!! He was so involved and his friend (a member) said that she was hoping and praying that we would teach the Plan. GRATEFUL FOR THE SPIRIT! 

Okie dokie... have you read enough??? I think so! ;) However, I did get to finally go to the temple out in the field.  We went to the Redlands Temple.  It was great to be able to attend once again.  

I wanna leave you my testimony about how true and blue the Book of Mormon is and how simple and beautiful the Gospel of Jesus Christ is and is meant to be. I know it works because I am living proof!!! I have never been happier and I know it is because of the simplicity of the gospel. 

Thank you for all your support and prayers! 

Happy St. Patties Day!!! 

love xoxox

Sister Holt

Holt Street

My trainer and My Trainee

That's right, I'm a missionary!

Redland Temple

Temple 3 - 17 - 16

Week 22: Happy Anniversary TODAY, 5 months What?

Whats up folks?! Happy 5 month anniversary to me :) I am celebrating by going out to eat yummy tacos after I write this.  

Diamond Bar is poppin'. SIKE. Our area is so dead you have no idea, this area hasn't been tracted in a year, maybe longer! It is like all these people own these giant houses that they don't live in. Or we find people who don't have time at the moment for their salvation so they tell us to come back another day. SO WE DO and they aren't home! Oh man, it is such a fun game we play everyday! But Sister Hernandez and I make it fun. I hope that doesn't sound too negative, I am just trying to explain what we deal with everyday. haha! 

We tract everyday and usually end the day with nothing. Cali is stubborn. So Saturday Sister Hernandez and I went into the day with SO much faith. "SOMETHING WAS GONNA HAPPEN! I KNEW IT!" yet, we tracted street after street and maybe 5 people said, "not right now but maybe another day." (they think they get rid of us by saying that, nope, we will be back... another day) 

So, a couple hours went by and we needed to go to the bathroom so we told ourselves we would finish the street that we were on and then take a breather and go to the bathroom. As we approached the very last house on the street, I got a different feeling. It wasn't a bad feeling but it wasn't like a pumped feeling either. We went and knocked on the door and an older lady answered. We asked her if we could share a beautiful message about Jesus Christ to her. She paused for a second and said, "yeah sure".  She opened the rest of her door and we asked her a few questions and started talking about our relationship with our Heavenly Father, she told us that she needs prayers. So we said a prayer with her on her doorstep. 

We learned that she recently just had a hip replacement and is struggling to recovery quickly. She said that she is finally walking and getting stuff done around the house. We asked her if we could help her! After minutes of offering to help her (*more like begging*) LOL! She let us in. We cleaned out her fridge and freezer, washed her dishes and scrubbed her counters and floors all under an hour. We were power washers!! Afterwards we taught her about the amazing Restoration and introduced the Book of Mormon to her. She told us how she wants to read it to learn more. We left and the next day at church MADILYN (her name is Madilyn by the way) SHOWS UP TO SACRAMENT! HOLLA! She sat with us during fast and testimony meeting and loved it. I felt strongly to go and bare my testimony so I did and afterwards she patted my leg and told me that it was beautiful to hear that from me. 

Long story short..... BELIEVE IN MIRACLES! Miracles are real and are happening everyday. I was so slow to remember that this is the Lords work this week. Saturday was a huge faith building experience for me, that HE is aware of this area and He is aware that it is really hard and that tracting is hard but that one experience made the whole dead week so worth it. Even if nothing comes of it, helping Madilyn get on her feet again and helping her come closer to her Savior Jesus Christ makes it all worth it. 

1. Pray in Faith and ask what HE wants done that day 

2. DO what He wants DONE 

3. Leave all the outcomes up to HIM 

My Bishop gave us this advice yesterday and I loved it. This is not MY work, this is GODS work! My mission president wrote to me this week and told me that he has a lot of confidence in me and the work that I do. That was nice to hear and a real booster.

I want to express my love to my Heavenly Father and I want you all to know that I have a testimony of his love for each of us individually. It is so hard to wrap our minds around the fact that He knows trillions on trillions of us - Better than we know ourselves! HE IS ALL KNOWING and all powerful! I believe that with all my heart. And His Son, Jesus Christ, is our brother, who loves us just as much as our Father. He willingly gave up his life for us. That is amazing. We will never be able to comprehend the pain that he felt for all of us... but how great is the joy we can feel because of HIM. I am so grateful. I am so blessed to be a missionary. 

Have another beautiful week - hope it is warming up for you all. It was storming here this morning... My 1st thunder storm in California! It was awesome! But I still got my tan lines... that I am soooo proud of! 

xoxo

Sister Holt

Out attempt to get pretty view in background but you just get the cactus.

Another beautiful view of the city lights! In the clear day you can see the ocean from up here! 

 Dancing in the grocery store on P-day (if you can't avoid it, enjoy it) #music

Week 21: New Companion, New Area, New Adventures

FIRST WEEK IN DIAMOND BAR COMPLETE - I am surprised I made it through... haha. Kidding but not kidding. It was the longest week of my life! Training on top of a new area on top of being my crazy self.... made for a long week but it was sooo amazing at the same time!  

My baby greenie is........ drum roll.........Sister Hernandez! Another H name :) President thinks he is funny putting me with all H's! Anyways, she is from St. Joseph, Missouri and is 6 months older than me but really in the mission I am her mom and she has to do what I say ;) Jk jk. She is AWESOME! I don't know if it is her "greenie fire" or she is just super positive and hyped all the time but I love it! She is a little mini me! We are so fun and happy together. If you can't tell, I just love her a lot!! 

Okay, so we live in Chino Hills but we are serving the Diamond Bar Ward so we have to drive like 5 miles to actually get into our area but the drive is gorgeous. It reminds me of Idaho, but greener! haha! The hills are green grass with horses and cows. The sunsets are hot pink and oh my goodness. It is beautiful. We go hike up the hills in the mornings for work outs. The Diamond Bar Ward is awesome too! They are very missionary minded and love to have Sisters! So we are well taken care of here! Also, I finally get to serve around Elder Hurren! He got transferred to Chino as well so we are in the same zone now. I saw him at the transfer meeting for the first time and he totally called me by my first name... haha! It is kind of awkward knowing someone from high school here in the mission! He is doing so great though... He doesn't even seem like the same Kaden Hurren anymore, but neither am I.  Anyways, moving on.

Sister Hernandez and I white washed into Diamond Bar so neither of us know what the heck to do or who anyone is, so it is super fun to learn it all together. We get lost a lot (a member gave us a GPS thank goodness) and we work hard together. We decided to just start fresh in the area so we are tracting a lot to find new investigators. We have some solid potentials to return to this week so keep us in your prayers! 

I have learned so much about FAITH and dealing with change this week. A lot of change happened to me in a short amount of time and if I didn't have a positive attitude or any faith in the Lord and HIS work we wouldn't be getting anywhere. But the fact that we even found some potential investigators last week after only a couple days of working shows me that the Lord is truly aware of Sister Hernandez and I and he will bless us if we show true faithful diligence. This area is going to explode soon! 

Also fun fact...... Snoop Dog lives next door to my RS President and sooo stay tuned for his Baptism ;) haha Just kidding... but in all seriousness, if I meet him, I will teach him! 

I love you all and I am so grateful to be a missionary each and every day! This gospel is so true and our Heavenly Father loves us sooo much and is SO aware of each of us every day!! Never forget that! 

Stay safe and healthy my friends --

xoxo

Sister Holt

 

 

 Sister Hernandez and I in our first hour of our companionship! 

Chino Hills -- gorgeous right?

 Sister Hernandez and I out tracting.  She wanted to take pic in front of the white fence.  Why? Who knows! But a momma likes to make her kids happy. :-)

Week 20: I'm Having a Baby --- I mean I am a Trainer!

First off, I think you all should know that I am expecting............... I'M GOING TO BE A MOM. 

translation ---> I have been called to be a trainer! I am not sure what the Lord is thinking with this one but I am going to roll with it and trust him. haha! President Hobbs told me this... "Things work out the best for those who like the way they work out." and that is what I am living by now! I feel very blessed to have this oppurtunity to train a new sister. 

I am leaving the Redhill ward which I am sooooo sad about. It is probably one of the hardest things to do is to leave the area where you were born into as a missionary. But there are GOOD things ahead. My new sister and I will be white washing a new area. That means two new missionaries are put into a new area. I am being transferred to the Diamond Bar ward. I am very excited to be in a new area with a new missionary so that WE can learn TOGETHER. We can create the new relationships together and make mistakes together! I am so grateful for this new assignment. Crazy but sooo good. 

This whole last week I have been feeling that I am finished in the area and that it was my time to leave. Every missionary tends to get that way I think before they get transferred; But I really tried to fight that feeling and keep working but this was probably one of the most emotionally exhausting weeks for me. I pushed through and found so much comfort through prayer. I have been really relying on my Savior to help me. I am very grateful for the oppurtunity I have to serve him and what a wonderful thing that he walks beside me every step of the way. I really felt that this week. 

I am sorry I don't really remember a whole lot. We taught a lot of lessons and saw a lot of people but it isn't my area anymore and all I can think about is that I get my new baby missionary tomorrow and I am pumped!! This next adventure is going to be so much fun and REALLY hard.

As transfers were approaching I was praying to let Heavenly Father know that I am willing to learn and work wherever he would have me go. I told him that I would like to be placed somewhere where I can be pushed and work my tail off and where I will make the most growth. And he answered my prayers sure enough. White - wash training will sure do that for me.  I don't know what this next transfer entails but I know that it is going to be very hard but very fruitful. I know that I will be tested and be put to my limits. I can't expect perfection because I will never attain perfection. I know that my Heavenly Father knows me perfectly and will place me where I can learn the most. Every situation and every person that comes in my life is placed there my HIM. I trust him and he trusts me.

I am very grateful for all you lovlies that continually pray for the missionaries. PRAYER is the most powerful tool that we have to help our faith grow. Your prayers reach all over and we are soooo grateful for them and need them. No prayer goes unnoticed.

I love you all so much. 

xoxo

Have a beautiful week!

Sister Holt
 

Rancho Zone!  My People!

Hand Prints of all the sister missionaries that served in RedHills Ward
My Legacy! (plain green one)

The Vea family in the Redhill ward... this is like 1/3 of them. They don't like pictures
My Friends!

Week 19: Spaz at Sports but Good at Meeting People

This has been my Week 6 of Transfer 3! Can't even believe it.  It's possible I may be transferred next week but who knows.  But to start out... Happy Valentines/Love dove day to everyone! 

Last Monday after emailing we had a zone activity and were playing chair soccer and for all of you who don't know what that is, don't worry about it. It is a stupid game that Elders like to play! Haha! I would consider myself a pretty coordinated person but being set apart as a missionary must also set us apart from all coordination as well. Within 5 minutes I got the wind knocked out of me and then to top it off I sprained my ankle... ROCK ON SISTER HOLT! 

My ankle didn't stop me from working hard this week! Sister Helms and I planned to do a lot of tracting and walking and  talking. Wednesday, we left our apartment around 10 am on foot and didn't come home till 6 pm for dinner. We talked to so many people and found some solid potentials to try and teach this coming week. All this tracting is very different for me now because I came into this area when it was on a roll and so we were soooo busy we really didn't do too much finding. But now I realize that we should always be finding new people no matter how busy we are. We should set aside the time every week to go find. It is so important. 

I was on exchanges on Thursday with Sister Slater (who is a sister I met at the temple back in June when she was in the MTC and I was reading scriptures on the Provo temple grounds) CooL HUH!? Anyways, she came to my area and we walked all day long too. We got a new investigator named Denise. She has had the lessons before from some older Sisters but was dropped because of her health. She isn't doing too well but she agreed to some visits every week and hopefully if she feels strong enough to come to church, she will. She believes in everything and listens to the Book of Mormon everyday on her phone. She is a doll. 

We teach a lot of lessons through the week. It is hard to keep them all isolated in my mind.  Sometimes I leave and I am not even sure of what we said.  We follow the spirit. But we are busy and that is a good thing.

Saturday was a ward party/fundraiser for the Youth to go to camp this summer and it was amazing!

This week we plan contacting a lot of our potentials and we have a couple lessons with some former investigators! This last week was an amazing preparatory week for THIS WEEK OF NEW INVESTIGATORS! Pray for us! 

I love the Lords work and I love this doctrine. Nothing has brought me so much clarity and happiness then this gospel. I am so thankful and so blessed. 

Everything in the gospel MAKES SENSE.... The Book of Mormon and the Holy Bible go hand and hand to support each other. I know that when we put all our faith in the Lord and take the time for HIS time, it makes the difference. 

I love being a missionary! I am more than grateful to be here getting tan lines in February! #farmerstan Love it!

I would love to hear from all y'all friends and family! Pictures and All - so i don't forget what you look like! 

xoxo

Sister Holt

Sister Helms and Sister Morgs

 Left to Right: Sister Slater, Sister Thornley, Sister Helms, and ME

 The red carpet at the Ward Party!

Week 18: Trying New Things

Trying new things and making changes brings success! 

 

We ended our week with KOA's Baptism on Saturday! It was amazing. He is such a stud and is so happy! His grandma, Sister Vea gave him his own set of scriptures and he carries them everywhere and shows them to all his friends. It's adorable. I don't know if you remember but Koa is 9 and his parents are less active but he comes to church every Sunday with his grandma. He really wanted to take the lessons and get baptized. I am so grateful for the strong example he is to his family! THEY WERE ALL THERE AT HIS BAPTISM! ❤

 

Sad news, David R. moved to Ontario out of the blue and so we aren't teaching him anymore. Sad day...BUT

We got a new investigator her name is Monique. She is 16 years old and has so many family members. Our ward mates... Elders... found her tracting and gave her to us. (those are always nice) She is very interested. We have had two lessons with her so far. 

On Friday night we taught her about the restoration... her little sisters and her nieces (all above age 8) came out to listen. So the lesson was like a little pow wow in their front yard. It was so fun, we introduced the Book of Mormon to them and they all wanted their own copy. It was like handing out candy!! They were SO excited. They all had so many questions about this life so Sister Helms and I were able to answer a lot of their questions. They are the cutest girls with such sweet spirits. 

 

The best was teaching them that they were each Daughters of God and that He knows them each perfectly.

 

Saturday night, Monique wanted us to come back and teach her more so we went and refreshed her memory on the Plan of Salvation because she had told us that the Elders already gave her that lesson, but we ended up going more in depth for her so it made better sense. Monique lost her oldest sister about 4 years ago and she said that it is so peaceful to know that she can see her again and that she is safe right now. We talked so much about temples and that Monique could eventually be baptized for her sister. We asked Monique how she felt about everything that she has learned so far? She answered saying, that she feels the most peace she has ever felt before. Her mind and heart feel very warm and comforted. 

 

The Holy Ghost is the teacher and the testifier of all truth. He is the ultimate comforter. So whenever you feel peace, warmth, goodness, joy, or comfort KNOW that it is from your Heavenly Father. The one feeling that Satan cannot mimic is peace. 

 

I am so grateful for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and the peace it brings to God's Children. He truly loves each of us and wants each of us back to live with him. What is better than having peace and stability in t

his world of changing values?? I can't think of anything..

 

Those lessons were the highlight of my week, no doubt about it. I love being able to share this message with everyone I talk to. I know that God is preparing all of his children little by little and I am either part of their preparation or their final touch! Either one is an amazing feeling. 

 

I would invite you all to find the February Ensign and read it. It has some amazing articles in there. It is by far my favorite Ensign. --- until next month. haha! 

 

I love you all :)

Thank you for all your prayers and all your support. It is much needed.

Peace & Blessings dear friends.

Sister Holt

 

Pictures: 

1. Sister Helms and I taking pictures while tracting... we needed a break :)

2. This is my girl Cheyenne, she is coming up on her year mark in March! 

3. KOA & JOSEPH GOT BAPTIZED! (the two boys in the middle) 

4. Koa and joseph before they got baptized! :)

5. Look how beautiful Rancho is! The mountains remind me of Utah!

6. Sister Helms and I sat down to write some pass out cards and decided we should capture the moment. I can't be serious....

Week 17: Study the Book of Mormon

Another week went by. Where the heck does time go? Like really.... 

Welllllllll...... This week was fast but I can't even pin point what made it so fast. It was just a normal week out in the mission and I really have nothing exciting to tell you. 

David is still on his way to get baptized. He is so amazing... He is just soaking in everything we teach him and he loves the Book of Mormon so much.

Actually yeah.... this is what I have to tell you this week.... 

I have done a lot of reading in the Book of Mormon lately now that I started it over - I started from the title page -( it makes a difference.) Now before my mission I had only ever read the book once all the way through by myself, crazy huh? I was born into the church, got baptized when I was 8 years old but I had only read the Book of Mormon once and I think it took me a couple years to finish it. (it was for personal progress, a Young Womans program) So my mission President, President Hobbs and Sister Hobbs, his wife came out with a goal for all of us to start reading the Book of Mormon December 20th and finish by June 20th. 

As I have been reading through it this time, I have been reading with the REAL  intent of coming closer to my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am marking the different characteristics he examplifies and how I can better apply them in my life. I am also watching for how HE deals with the people and when he speaks to them. As I have been reading, I can feel my relationship with him becoming stronger and more firm. He is helping me everyday deal with all sorts of people. 

Reading the Book of Mormon with REAL intent helps me to understand what they are talking about. Often we come across people here in California and I am sure you find them all over the world but they are so concerned that the Book of Mormon takes away from the use of the Bible or why do you need more scripture? 

The Book of Mormon is ANOTHER testament of Jesus Christ. It is just another witness that he lives and that he continues to bless God's Children. He loves each of us so much. As a missionary, I get to experience only an ounce of the love God has for the people I come in contact with. And what I feel is overwhelming and so I can't imagine how he feels for each one of us. I am so grateful to KNOW that my Heavenly Father loves me perfectly and knows me perfectly!

 Ask yourself... Is Gods work finished here on earth?? 

If you answered yes... then you are wrong. (sorry)

If you answered no...  (READ 2 Nephi 29) find out what it says.

God's work will not be finished until his Son, Jesus Christ comes again. He will continue to reveal teachings and principles unto his Children to keep them safe from the harm of the wicked world. The Book of Mormon is just more of GODS' WORD! It supports the Bible and all that the Bible teaches. (just clearer in my opinion) The Book of Mormon and the Bible go hand in hand in proving that there is a living God and that God loves all of his children equally. 

As I have been reading in the Book of Mormon I can't help but to rejoice. My companion is probably so annoyed with me because after every chapter I finish I shout for joy and yell, "THIS BOOK IS SO TRUE!"  

Man, I promise you allllll if you read the Book of Mormon with a prayer in your heart and with real intent, there is no way you can deny the power and the tender spirit you will feel. This book changes lives! I can say that because it is changing mine! 

I invite you all to read it and if you are already reading it, start over! #titlepage! 2016 is a year of change! 

The Book of Mormon has a spirit. It has power. 

God is the SAME yesterday, today, and forever! I know that he has called a prophet, Thomas S. Monson to lead and guide his children in the world today. How great is it that we can feel safe, stable, and comforted by this knowledge.

I hope this email made sense. Know that I am happy and I am safe and getting healthy. (haha I caught a cold on Friday) But we have AMAZING ward members that take amazing care of us. I am so grateful.

Feel free to email me back with your testimony of The Book of Mormon or anything else. I would love to hear from all of y'all.

 Until Next Week...

The Church is true, the Book is blue, and Moroni is still on the Ball. :)

I love you! xoxo

Sister Holt

1.  Washing our car on P-day! First time using one of these car washes!
 2.  Jayanna and I (she got baptized in January) She hates pictures but I got one! hehe