Week 77: Right Place & Right Time

What is the best way to explain my week.... hmmm.... AMAZING! MIRACLES! BLESSINGS! LOVE! All the above. 

I love Alta Loma Upland soo much! I just love my mission. I reflect daily at how blessed I am for all the priceless people I have met and the experiences that I have been given! I love my mission! 

So my companion Sister Wood has been out on her mission for 6 weeks at this point of the beginning of the week and she is fantastic! Seriously, so much fun! I don't even feel like I am training because she is soooo scholastic! SO she has only been in this area for 6 weeks and so really we are learning together! It has been an adventure! BUT we have seen nothing but God guiding us and blessing us! We have had miracles every single day! 

We got two new investigators this week - Theresa and  Daniel (separate investigators from each other). We got a bomb referral from St. George for a lady named Marlene and we met her and she wants to meet this week! Mary prayed and received an answer about Joseph Smith so we gave her a Book of Mormon! And Daniel came to church and loved it! Two families from my first area have actually moved into the Alta Loma ward over the past year so it was so fun to see them again. One of them being Wendy who's husband passed away while I was in the Redhill Ward... I never knew her but we tracted into her and I made the connection and she began to cry and wants us to come back. Heavenly Father has placed us in the right places! I am so grateful for so many experiences that I can feel God's love for His children. 

I just feel so blessed and feel that I am in the right place in the right time! I am so grateful for this gospel and for this organized church! I know that it is true. Everything is too perfect when follow God and we trust in Him. 

I will have more stories next week! Just know that I am being taken care of and SO beyond blessed and happy! 

Love Always,

Sister Holt

pictures: 

Sister Wood and I

Trio for the day with Sister Fullmer! 

My cactus from the desert in the valley sunset! 

Sister Wood and I

Trio: Sister Wood, Sister Fullmer and myself

My cactus in the desert in the valley sunset!

Week 76: Transferred & Training

Wild news! I was 6 week shafted out of my area... Said good-bye to the desert and hello to the valley once again! Who woulda thunk... NOT ME! 

I am back down the hill in the valley in the city of UPLAND serving in the Alta Loma ward! I am so excited actually. My plans are never the Lords's plans and I have learned this over and over again. You think I would just understand by now.  But I have felt peace and a confirmation that this is where I am supposed to be for the last 6 weeks. I am grateful for this!! I truly am! 

My new companion is Sister Wood. She has been out in the field for 6 weeks!! #greeeeenie!! WAHOO! I am half training her this transfer and then she will send me home. Till then we have some fun adventures awaiting us! I am so excited!! 

SO my last week in Mojave Narrows and High Desert YSA was absolutely perfect... Heavenly Father placed the most perfect events in my path and we had amazing experiences, enough for me to be at peace with leaving. 

We had my last lesson with Daisy. She is still on date for April. So as my last lesson we did a prep baptismal interview where she read all the questions and answered them out loud. It was marvelous! I felt so blessed. All her answers we filled with the spirit. I could just feel in my heart that she has made sufficient changes in her life to get her closer to baptism. I know she will make it! I am so overjoyed for her and to have experienced part of this journey with her! She also came to stake conference this Sunday and LOVED it! 

I had to say good-bye to Ashlyn as well. But for us like many others here I have met,  it was just a see you later! It was hard to leave knowing I won't see her for a very long time! But I know she is in Heavenly Father's hands and always has been, so what is the difference with me there and without me. I know we will always be friends no matter the distance apart and I am so thankful to know that! 

Saying good-bye to Shannon was heart breaking! Her sister Sharlene who we taught came to say good-bye as well. And as a departing gift they gave me a necklace with three butterflies on it! Because WE ARE BUTTERFLIES and can do anything!! They also made my favorite peach cobbler! 

And finally to end my week on Sunday night when Sister Ysasaga and I got home it was 9:30 and Sister McCombs and Sister Clarke (our housemates) stopped me before I walked inside and had me cover my eyes and sit on the couch and told me to stay there until they tell me to come. SO I was obedient and did so... even though I absolutely hate surprises! So they ran upstairs and left me downstairs in the dark with my eyes shut sitting on the couch. Then they said... "OK you can come up now!" 

I opened my eyes to see white sheets covering our stair case and music was playing. They had built a tunnel up our stairs. I lifted up the sheet at the bottom of the stairs to see LIGHTS all along each side of the stairs with pictures and index cards with written memories on each one going up to the top of the stairs. I CRIED AT THIS POINT! Seriously.... I have never felt sooooo blessed in my entire life to have such loving, amazing, and real friends around me!!!! Sister Ysasaga, Clarke, and McCombs came into my life at such a hard point in my mission and they have turned out to be one of the biggest miracles on my mission to just live with them. I absolutely love them and words can express my gratitude!! Here is a picture, so you can have a visual. 

All in all! I have had AMAZING experiences every where I go. From Rancho Cucamonga Redhill ward, to Diamond Bar, to Apple Valley... there have been people in EACH place that I KNOW without a doubt I was supposed to meet them and have them in my life. I have been able to experience so much and I am so grateful! My mission so far has been perfect!! more then I can express so I KNOW that these 6 weeks in Alta Loma Upland are going to be the same!! My heart is FULL! I love my Heavenly Father and I love my Savior, Jesus Christ... only through Him have I been able to do this!! 

Thank you for all your prayers and support. I FEEL THEM everyday! 

Love always,

Sister Holt

Pictures: 

1. Said goodbye to Daisy

2. Ashlyn

3. The view from the bottom of the stairs where I started crying! 

Daisy --- good bye

Ashlyn

Slept on the balcony my last night

Sweet Sister Summer -- dear friend

Apple Valley Zone

Week 75: Short and Sweet

I will never get good at starting these emails home. I just never know what to say other then another week went by... and here I am again! 

We had three exchanges this week with Wrightwood, Maple, and Bear Valley ward sisters! It was super fun but exhausting! Exchanges take a lot of energy out of me and we have 11 total. It is crazinesssss! It was not without challenges this week, but we hung in there. 

I got to be on an exchange with Sister Hernandez this week! I aboslutely adore her! We just click right back where we left off! She is my other half in the mission for sure!!! It was so much to be with her again for the day!

We were able to meet D and A both this week. I talk about them together because they are both in the YSA ward. D is doing great and still on date to be baptized this April 15th! She came to church yesterday and really enjoyed it. I don't even know how to explain the difference in her happiness! She is just beaming lately! I believe it is because she is living the gospel more fully. 

A is doing really good! I love her so much! She got an assignment to speak in church! 

We have transfers coming up this weekend.... #mylasttransfer so I hope I stay for my last one especially to hear her speak in church! 

I had a President interviews this week and it was such a great interview! My final question to President was 'How can I make these last 7 weeks most effective to end strong?' He thought about it for a minute and he told me that I have a few stepping stones a head of me that I need to focus on but Heavenly Father doesn't want me to lose view of the big picture but I also need to be careful that I don't spend too much time thinking of the big picture that I trip up on the steps I need to take in front of me. In the end the few steps that I take in the near future will result in what the big picture has in store for me! I am so grateful for the inspiration and advice from President Taylor! I really needed to hear this and it was most definitely meant for me to hear! At least it made sense to me.

Grateful for all that I have and the time I have on my mission! This time here has been the most rewarding. I have gained so much that I wouldn't have gained anywhere else! 

Love Always,

Sister Holt

 

Sister Hernandez and I

D's pet squirrel that she has raised since it was a baby

Week 74: Bread Bowls and Margarita Stands

Okay okay okay alright alright alright!! Another week!! Wahoo!!  

Knock, knock.

Who's There? 

Me AGAIN because another week just flew past me!! 😏

I believe the biggest news to tell you about is D! She is progressing so much and making so much change in her life. It has been absolutely amazing to experience the changes in her life just by simply reading the For Strength of Youth pamphlet. It has taught her so much  about basic life skills in the church! It shows me more and more how grateful I am for the youth program in the church. I don't think we appreciate those basic skills that are taught.  So many other people don't get to experience that in their youth! D's sentence structure and her vocabulary have even grown so much recently! The things she says to us during our lessons  amazes me! She is incredible you guys! Just incredible! The gospel is even more INCREDIBLE - It transforms lives! 

The past couple weeks I have been able to work a little bit with Sister McCombs in her area for their set appointments and have had the blessed opportunity to teach this woman named J a few times. She is incredible and has so much faith! She holds a special place in my heart because I know that God put her in my life for just a few days to be able to share my testimony and help her! It was truly divine timing! 

Ashlyn is still doing so good! She is having so many amazing experiences that is helping her testimony grow more and more everyday! She even had this awesome experience at Disneyland of all places. God's hand was totally in it! I will probably butcher the story but it was so amazing I want to try to describe it. 

So, before her baptism back in January we read 1 Nephi 8 about the Tree of Life and had her create her own story to relate to. So she choose for the fruit to be related to Disneyland's Bread Bowls and for the Great and Spacious building to be Elsa's floating castle. NOW fast forward to this week. 

She was at Disneyland and she was eating and enjoying her bread bowl... but off in the distance she sees this Beautiful Glamorous Margarita Stand that made pretty, pretty drinks!  And she thought to herself, "Awe, I've always wanted to have a pretty drink at Disneyland!" Her friends told her... "Well you have your own agency to choose!"  She ended up NOT getting one by her own choosing. GOO ASHLYN! :) 

So she was telling us this experience on Friday and it clicked in my head that God made her creation from the scriptures literally come to life! 

Here we go: 

 25 And after they had partaken of the breadbowls of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed.

 26 And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious margarita stand; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.

 27 And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and their drinks were desirable and glamorous  and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the breadbowls .

 28 And after they had tasted of the breadbowls they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.

After we read that with Ashlyn she was so happy that she had made the right choice! It was such a learning experience for all of us and filled with the spirit.

Last night, we had a tender moment at S's house. She wasn't home but everyone else was so we came inside and chatted for a little bit and her brother's girlfriend asked if we could read scriptures with them. So we gathered everyone in the living room even all the kids and we all read from the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 3 about Christ's atonement! It was amazing!! Do I say that a lot?  Well it was a special moment  for me to testify of my Savior and His Atonement. 

I am so thankful to be His representative here on earth! It brings me so much joy to be able to testify of Him daily and the power He has and will have in my life! I know keeping Him close is the most important thing I can do and can help others do! 

I love Him with all my heart!! 

Love Always,

Sister Holt

Julia aka J

 Housemates! Sister McCombs (top left) Sister Clarke (top right) and Sister Ysasaga and I 

Sister  Ysasaga and I last week but I love this picture!

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Week 73: We All Have Place with God

Happy Valentines Day this week!! This week was crazy to say the least! I don't know if I told y'all about the new way we do exchanges. So it used to be one of us would go into their area and the other would stay in our area, Now both the Sisters come to our area and work for the day and their area gets shut down for the day. So with that... There are 6 sisters  in our house  and area for the day! It is wild. But the sisters that live with us have been sick this week and they had appointments to get to as well. But since Sister Ysasaga and I were already on exchanges with some other sisters we had to call in another companionship to go on splits with these sisters. So in total we had 8 sisters in and out of our house on Thursday! It was a mad house and now our refrigerator is empty for the rest of the week. haha! 

We had zone conference on Wednesday! It was awesome! The Apple Valley Stake President, President Ebmeyer, came to speak to us and literally he said everything I needed to hear! Answer to my prayers, in unexpected ways. I don't have my journal with me to tell you exactly what he said but he posed two questions for us to think about and so I will pose them for you and you can think about them. 1. What kingdom would you go to if you were to die today? and 2. You can tell what kind of missionary (person) you are by the companions (friends) you keep. 

Okay, Sunday was literally the best day!! I love Sundays!! First of all, in the YSA Institute Thursday meeting, the lesson was all about the sacrament and making our hours at church and during the sacrament a spiritual experience because really that is the whole reason why we go to church. So I have been working on that and it is amazing! Also, DAISY came to church this Sunday! I love Daisy so much you guys, she is one of a kind! She had had a deep cleaning  on her teeth that morning so her face was numb but she still came to church! She stayed all three hours for the first time. During the sacrament she leaned over to Sister Ysasaga and said, "I don't even feel nervous anymore... I actually feel like I belong here!"  That is God working in her life! It is true!! We all have a place where WE BELONG! We Belong with our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ! 

I love these people!! I love them so much!! We went to Shannon's Sunday night and right as we were walking up to her apartment Sharlene was walking out. We haven't seen Sharlene since the beginning of January!! It was a miracle!! We screamed when we saw each other!! It was a beautiful reunion and we were able to have a great discussion about the Book of Mormon and being led in the right direction! 

I am sorry this is a short email but some other missionary needs the computer! I want you all to know that I have a testimony that is sure and it is strong of my Heavenly Father, I know he is there and here!! He is everywhere! Everything denotes that there is a God! And He loves you!! 

Have a beautiful week!! 

Love always and always,

Sister Holt

Reunited with Sharlene and Baby RJ

Desert beach party with the Zone last week on  P-day

Sister McCombs and I at Zone Conference

Week 72: Reunited & It Felt So Good

Reunited with Tesan for the Day!

This week was one for the books once again! As always! :-)

 

The highlight of my week though was being able to go down the hill back to CHINO (the promised land) for a baptism of one of Sister Ysasaga's investigators on Saturday! And I got to see my sweet friend Tesan! It was like seeing my family again. The reunion was sweet :) 

We started talking to each other as if we had seen each other just yesterday! It was wonderful to be at a baptism with her... seems like yesterday we were at HER baptism! 

Teaching is going good for us here in Apple Valley!!

We were able to see C twice this week! She has been struggling for a while and has started to meet with us a couple times a month. Honestly, the problems she feels that she is having are common among all of us! We tend to forget the little things and the little things is what makes the difference in our spirits. If we feed our spirits as much as we feed our bodies... we would feel the difference! 

We saw G and M this week! They are approaching their year mark of membership this year! We see them usually every Tuesday and every Friday! They are awesome. M has autism but he is so knowledgeable... everything in the gospel clicks for him. We are going through the Book of Mormon stories with them.  It is hard  to find time in their set schedule to read on their own, so we are helping them. They are awesome!! We all made our own Title of Liberties this week after Moroni's! 

When we were at Shannon's this week - her friend P was there and he was just recently released from jail.... recently as in a few months ago... don't worry! :) He is so nice! Anyways, he found a Book of Mormon while he was in jail and started to read it! He has read the Book of Mormon and loved it!! He has been trying to find time to come to church with us to check it out but he lives really far away so the situation isn't ideal and he doesn't have a car. But we were able to teach him the Restoration this week. It wasn't the best way I've taught it because we only had a few minutes. But we feel what we did explain to him he understood... he got it and he said the closing prayer! It was awesome!! 

We had a couple lessons with D this week. We are still teaching out of the For Strength of Youth Pamphlet! This has been amazing... her comprehension and reading skills have increased so much from going through this pamphlet! I am so happy! It is amazing to see the change in people. The big and small changes! 

We had MLC on Thursday! I came down with a cold on Wednesday night at the end of our exchanges with the Ranchero sisters. I got a blessing Thursday morning because I felt like complete trash. It was a struggle to keep doing missionary work on Thursday and Friday but Saturday morning I was healed!! Literally no traces of my sickness! #MIRACLE! 

Okay that is all I Have time for!! I love you all and I still absolutely love being a missionary!!! <3 

Love Always,

Sister Holt

Week 71: Hard Week & Lots of Fast Food

Hello Beautiful People!  

I learned a lot this week and grew a lot. It was a hard week, but I don't really know why it was a hard week.  Sometimes they are just hard.  I am grateful to know the eternal purpose behind my hard days. And sometimes these are the weeks that I have the hardest time compiling into an email for you. I still saw many miracles and I am still happy. Nothing can chase away my happiness but I have to have hard days in order to learn and grow - grateful for the opposition. 

Well one full week of the new missionary schedule and I love it! It is almost as if all stress about TIME is gone. It is so liberating. I actually have time at night to write in my journal! 

I have felt very blessed to be a missionary this week... Well I always feel blessed but I guess you could just say EXTRA blessed this week. It seemed that almost every where we went we were recognized and were able to experience so many good things from it! And it was always at a food place.....  so I am about to be very vulnerable and give you an idea of how much we eat out.... 

HA! don't judge - we are missionaries -- it happens. So on Monday, we went to Little Caesars to get a crazy bread to share with all the sisters and the cashier was a less active YSA girl. We were able to exchange numbers and she told us how she wants to bring her non member boyfriend to church and to meet with us because they want to get married!! 

On Tuesday- we have to go down the hill to pick up the new sister missionaries to bring them up to the desert and since we don't have a Chik-fil-a in the desert we took the opportunity to go... obviously!! And a return missionary that was working there yelled out, "SISTERS! I am buying your meal! Get whatever you want!!" We started talking to the girl that was taking my order and ended up getting into a conversation about the gospel! 

Then on Wednesday, there is this hole in the wall taco place in Hesperia that Sister Ysasaga and I wanted to try and so we went for dinner after our lesson. We walked in and we were the only ones in there so we were looking at the menu and then another Hispanic guy walks in behind us and I told him that he could go in front of us because we were still deciding. Anyways, they start speaking Spanish to each other... and yeah yeah yeah.... so then it was our turn to order and we ordered a couple of tacos to try and then the taco maker guy told us that it was already paid for and to not worry about it. WHAT?! So we sit down in AWE.... and the Hispanic man... who we later found out his name is Max paid for us! It was so kind. We ended up having dinner with him and talked to him forever about the church and good standards and such. It was amazing you guys! I can't even tell you. Also, don't worry I haven't gained any weight from all this food. It pretty much is the only meal I eat during the day ANYWAYS! so no worries no worries! 

But it was a great week of meeting and talking to new people about the church.

We got Ashlyn all set up on family history this week and printed some names to take to the temple and the best part is -- Sister Ysasaga and I got permission from President to go with her to the temple for her first baptisms!! Bishop and Sister Casady are taking us down NEXT Tuesday. It is going to be amazing. I am so excited and so is Ashlyn!! I am probably going to cry... cause that is just what I do. 

D is still progressing towards her baptismal date on April 9th. We weren't able to meet with B this week. She cancelled on us twice!! But don't worry we will get her this week! She just got sick! :(

 

We met up with one of our  members this week and went down to his neighbor's house so he could pick up her cut down tree, while we talked to her about the gospel. It was way bold! but it was so amazing. He went up to her so boldly and said, "Listen Mary, I want to tell you something... Because we have a living prophet on the earth today who holds God's authority we can be sealed to our spouse for all time and all eternity. You can see your husband again. Now I am going to go over here and clean up your tree and I will leave you with these sweet sisters so they can explain to you what I just said." and he left. It was so powerful! We briefly taught about the restoration and she said we could come back!! #miracle

I love love love being here!! Grateful for my calling and this experience. Grateful to know God is my loving Heavenly Father and that we are His children!! And I am grateful to share this with everyone! 

Have a beautiful and safe and happy week!! 

Love Always,

 Sister Holt 

Doing family history with Ashlyn at Bishops!

LUNCH to say goodbye with Sister Hadfield and Westfall 

Exchanges w/ Sister Hathcock and Lewis!