Great Baptisms!

Hey Family,

I am sorry that i am writting sooo late but today has been a pretty crazy day for me, and i feel completely wiped out (in addition to being a little sick!)  I would like to give a birthday shout out today to MATT Winters! I hope that you have a fantastic day buddy!

So Now for the WAY good part about the week. MARIA AND RAUL GOT BAPTIZED!!!! What a spiritual experience it was to see them enter the waters of baptism. They had tons of trials and satan really worked hard on them but they won that battle. Like I told you, she couldn't even get out of her bed last week, and this week she had a great recovery and they got baptized on Saturday and they were confirmed on Sunday. I want to comment a little something of what happened in the baptismal service. After the Hermana Maria was baptized and all changed into her normal clothes, she came back into the room and asked if she could share with everyone what she saw. She told everyone about how when she was under the water she saw a light come down directly over her and explained it as if both her and I were wrapped up in the arms of angels. She said that she had never felt what she just felt when she was under the water. It was a really great experience and another great testimony of the power of baptism. They were so prepared and I will definitely miss them.

I guess that leads me into changes this week.  We always receive them on Saturday, but this Saturday was very different from the rest, because they didn't get here on time. I wasn't worried about it at all though, because I knew that I wasn´t going to be changed from my area. I only had 3 and a half months there and I had only been with Hyde for about three weeks. So saturday night I slept like a baby, not worried about the changes at all, and they told me that they would give them to me in the morning. The next morning as we went for some of our investigators, I received a call from President, which was super weird because it was at 7:40 in the morning. He told me that he needed me in the office (in Mexico City!)  that afternoon to start taking all the reports of the mission and working there. That afternoon!!  I Literally had no time at all to say goodbye to anyone or even pack my bags well. I went to church, said bye to everyone there, went home and threw my bags together, ate a little something, and went to grab my bus down to Mexico. It was so fast that I couldn't see everyone, but the people I did see, well you know me, it was extremely hard to say bye to them. I also started to cry again (yes I am a total baby) and it was extremely hard to leave my comp (and now one of my best friends) Elder Hyde, along with the awesome ward that we had there. I don't know if I ever told you about the Hermana Elizabeth and her daughter Ximena. They are the ones who gave us the reference of Koskanny, my convert. It was super hard to say bye to them. They took me to the center to catch my bus. Amazing people there in Queretaro! Oh yeah and the Amaya family got me crying and when I told them, they ran to the store real fast to by me some going away gifts. A little picture frame and a teddy bear. They are so amazing. I also felt so grateful to be able to take part in Raul and Maria's baptisms before I left.  They are such a great reminder to me of how the Lord is in charge of His work, and how He prepares His children to hear his gospel when the time is right in their lives!

SO now that I am here, we had to go pick up the new missionaries in the mtc this morning. 8 latinos got here, but all of the Americans have been waiting for their visas for the last couple of months. We have a bunch that should be getting here soon. It was really fun to see all of the new missionaries arrive. It was weird to think that I was in their shoes over a year and a half ago. It seems like yesterday. 

I know that I will grow a lot in my new assignacion, I am grateful to the lord for the trust He has in me. I have lots of work that I still need to get done while I am here. I realize the I have many weaknesses, but I know that when I put my faith and confidence in my Heavenly Father, He can help me become strong. I love you all. You're going to have to wait 'til Friday to receive my pictures!

Love,

Elder Holmes

Short & Sweet from Elder Holmes

Hi everyone.  Short and sweet from Elder Holmes this week.  He is obviously having such a good time doing what he's doing that he forgets it's time to write home!!!  Gotta love him!

Hope you're all doing well.....Carolann 

WOW MY BIG BRO IS GETTING MARRIED! THAT IS SO BOSS! I am now going to have a cuñada! That is going to be soooooo sweet. I am so excited for the both of you and I want to let you both know that now everyone here in Mexico will know that my big brosef is getting married! haha!

As for the week, it was a great one, and it is a riot to be with Elder Hyde again. We get along so great and the whole entire day is spent just laughing and having such a good time. As for the work, Raul and Maria (the ones who contacted us a couple of weeks ago) are getting baptized this Sunday! They are soooo excited, and they have already started inviting everyone to their baptism. I hope everything just turns out great for them! We also have some other investigators who are progressing and we will see when they end up getting baptized. I love this ward.  We are receiving some great references from the members and my converts are soooooo solid in the church because the members care so much about them!  Anyway, I have so many thoughts in my head, but I dont really have too much time today. I have to head down to the Estado of Mexico for the zone leader conference, so we really don't have much time. Of course, we went to play soccer today, and we probably spent way too long doing that, but it was so much fun!  And I still want to write a couple of letters to my brothers and what not!

One fun thing that I will share is that Hoopes and his family came up here this last week to visit all of his converts. He was still a missionary the whole time, which he said was a little hard, but they had a great time getting to know Mexico. It was really fun to see them, and It made me so excited for when you guys are going to come down to visit!  The bros have to start learning spanish. Tell Lev-cox to put in the pilas and to start teaching them, SO they can at least say more than the diferent colors! haha. Just kidding Levster! 

Well love you all so much! AND DONT YOU THINK I FORGOT YOU MOM!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I CANT BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE GOING TO NOW BE 65! HAHA. I love you so much mom, you are the best, and I don't know where I would be without you! You deserve to have a day where everyone just spoils you! I hope you have a great day, and just know that I am always thinking about you!

I love you all!

Elder Holmes