Christmas Miracles!

Hi everyone. We had a wonderful phone call with Scott yesterday. He says he has put on 20 pounds -- but he looked great. He's the same old funny, happy Scott! He has not lost his sense of humor - or his sweet spirit. Gotta love the kid! Sounds like he had a great Christmas. The baptism he talks about in his e-mail is the couple he had helped get married a month or so ago. The children had been baptized this past month w/other family members (cousins/aunt). He sure appreciates all the love and support he gets from each of you. Thanks to all. Sure love you. Happy Holidays. ......Carolann


Well I just talked to you all on the phone, which was an amazing experience for me, and i want to tell you all how much i love you! I hope it was as much fun for you as it was for me, and i want you all to know how much i missed you. I do have to say, though, that my christmas here was a pretty sweet one as well!

Well i will just give a brief little summary of what we did here, for all of the people i didnt get to talk to! On Christmas Eve we went to the Castillos house to eat dinner and to open presents and what not. They got me a sick Cruz Azul soccer jersey that i just love! After dinner, i made cookies to take to our various investigators and recent converts that didnt have too much money. We customized little stockings for all of the kids and bought them all little gifts that were all cutely wrapped. I gotta admit i got pretty creative with them! haha. We also took a whole dinner over to a recent convert's house who doesnt really have any money, and they really appreciated it as well. The spirit i felt was really amazing and it was a Christmas i will never forget!

Well then on Christmas Sunday the miracles continued. We baptized Jazmin and Antonio and the were so happy. It was so awesome to see how far their relationship has come along. They truly are happy and so grateful for all of the blessings that have come from being baptized. They were then confirmed in church and it was amazing. I guess you could say it was a "white" christmas after all! And then i got to talk to the family back home! It was really a great Christmas, and i wish every one of you a merry christmas and happy new year. I hope that everything is perfect for you all. Mexico is dope and i am loving it. We had changes a few days ago and I willl be staying here in Queretaro for at least another change, which is probably a good thing because i have tons of investigators that i need to prepare to enter the temple in a year! Well, I hope that Santa brought everything that you all wanted! He sure brought me the happiness i was waiting for!!!! I love you all so much!

Elder Holmes

P.S. Here are some photos, most of them are pretty self explanatory, so i will only explain a few:

The Santa photo, and the group photo, are when we went Christmas caroling to Jazmin, Antonio and their family, with the Castillos.

The one with me and justin bieber is in the houses of some of our investigators. They love justin so much and i always joke around with everyone how i am a bieber boy and have the bieber fever! SO one of the families actually gave me Bieber's christmas cd, which i obviously cant listen to, so i regifted it to them and they almost peed their pants they were so happy! haha.

And the final pic is of the baptism which was great! Hope you like them!

Feliz Navidad a mis Queridos!

Well hi everyone. Man I am so sorry to hear about what happened to Nicky Chilton! I hope that everthing is ok and please send my love his way!

This week was pretty great! Yeah, israel did get baptized and it was another great experience. After the baptism, he was telling me how he was thinking of going on a mission after he has been a member for a year. That kind of stuff makes me feel so amazing. There is NOTHING like seeing the church absolutely change peoples lives!! So that was good. Another highlight of our week was a family that came to church with us yesterday. The Dad is always drinking and smoking when we teach him and is quite the character, but his family is really legit. All of the fam came to church, but then only the mom and the 17 year old son stayed for the rest of the meetings. Each Sunday we always have to report all our numbers and what not, so after about 30 minutes of that, I went to the gospel principles class where the mom was. I found out that they didn't have a teacher for the class. The only people that were in there were Jazmin, Ruth, and Yolanda. They said "don't worry elder holmes. We have been having a good talk about how the church has changed our lives. We have shared our testimonies with her, and she really wants to get baptized!" Amazing! I was like WOW there is always a reason for the way things happen, and this was an answer to our prayers. Sara, the mom, felt so good in the church, and my three most recent converts were our best fellowshippers! haha. So after i heard this, we pulled sara and her son into another room and set a baptismal date for the first of january! It will be a little tough to bring up the palabra de sabiduria with them, but they love having us in the house and they loved going to church, so we will see how they progress.

Jazmin and Antonio are still planning on getting baptized this sunday, so that will be another amazing experience. Well cambios are coming up and i am in that time period where i could definitely be leaving, but i get the feeling that i will stay one more change. The people here in the ward are really awesome and they are always giving us different things and are just so nice to us. On friday, we had the ward christmas party and it was also a pretty good success. Except for the fact that it was a little bit different from the ones we have back home.

Well that is about it. Anything else that needs to be said, i will just tell you next week over the phone, which is just awesome! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! I will for sure miss you all and the great traditions and fun things we do during the holidays, but I think we will have an amazing Christmas. Love you all!

Elder Holmes

Everything is Just Dandy!

What is up family!!

Well so everything is going just dandy for me down here in Mexico! To start off, feliz cumpleanos a Marisa hoy!! Espero que su dia sea perfecto!! Te quiero Marisa. I thought i would put that in spanish as i know she always loved trying to speak spanish to me even when i didn't understand! haha. Also happy birthday to Auntie Susan. Sure do miss the dinners up at your house! Miguel as well on wednesday! and big Anthony Winters on friday! I sure do love you all and miss you all a bunch!!

Also dad i have to say that i still haven't sent the package! the castillo family had some problems sending it and we tried to go today but they didn't know where it was, so i will try my hardest to get it out this week and send it express even though it might be a little pricy! haha. Also mom, well as you know i am cleansing the stomach but you only sent me enough supplies for half of the cleansing process, so i dont know when you could send me the other half! Everything still itches like crazy and i am pretty sure that i still have little worms all up in my stomach!!

Well this week turned out much better than it seemed like it was going to. As you know, we had the confirmations on Sunday of the four who got baptized. Well satan worked really hard on our recent converts. On Thursday night we went over to Sandra and Kendra's house to find out that someone had hit Sandra with their car as she was walking!! Not surprising at all though as they are the worst drivers ever!! haha. And then Ruth got in a huge fight with everyone and left with her kids to go live with her mom! Then Geovana is pregnant and has been getting sick a lot! But some how we got all 4 of them confirmed on Sunday! We haven't been finding too many new people except for this one 18 year old kid named israel, who was my little miracle of the week. We met with him on tuesday and his first question was, what do i need to do to be a member of the church! I was like well i can fill up the font real fast if you want! haha. But seriously, things with him have really been progressing perfectly and he should get baptized this Sunday. His mom isn't a member and isn't too good with the idea, but I know that he will surely be rewarded for his faith!

So today we went downtown as a zone because elder Gleave is going home this week! I am sure going to miss him! He was an awesome guy and a great friend! He hooked me up with a bunch of sick ties! haha. Oh yeah and today is the Dia de Guadalupe. Everyone goes nuts carrying all of their virgin statues down the street and lighting off these really annoying fireworks like every ten seconds! you have got to love that!

And mom, as for your question, we are going to Walmart today and we are going to buy 2 or 3 big dinners for 3 families in the ward. The dinner has like everything and one of the ladies in the ward Hermana Meza gave us this idea. One is for a recent convert who is named Silvia, who has a bunch of little kids and don't have much, but they are always so nice to us. Then there are two young people named Eduardo and Guadalupe who are about to lose there house because they have no money, and the castillo family. They never show it but i guess that they are really struggling. They are always so nice to us and i love them so much. We are in the process of buying little presents for all of them as well! it should be an amazing christmas. As for the phone call, we are going to be in the Mezas house to call and they have skype so it will be awesome. They said it is free to call a home so i will just hit you guys up on christmas. i dont know what time but get excited! haha. Our mission numbers aren't looking great but our area is looking awesome! I love the work and am receiving so many blessings it isn't even funny. We had entrevistas with presidente this week as well, which was really good, and he gave us all some good advice!

Well not much else! love you all!

Elder Holmes

Another Great Week for Baptisms!

(This is Scott's letter from December 5th.) Well I have a lot to write and a little time as usual. The week was another great one for baptisms, but it was really tough during the week in finding new investigators and what not. We baptized Yovana, Sandra, Kenia, and Ruth. Jazmine and Antonio have a baptismal date for Christmas so I hope that they will progress towards that. I will send pictures of the baptisms. I had the opportunity to baptize Ruth and Sandra and my comp baptized Kenia and then a member baptized Yovana so that was also way fun. We had a bunch of people there for the baptism, which was awesome.

Anyways, I had an amazing experience this week with the scriptures. On monday i had some really frustrating feelings and thoughts going through my mind. It was a really rough time and I really didn’t know what to do. So Tuesday morning for my personal study, I sat down and said a little prayer. In the prayer I put all my faith in my Heavenly Father and told him that I was going to set my Book of Mormon on the table and let it fall open to one of the pages. I then said in my prayer that I was only going to read the left page and then apply whatever it told me into my life. Well it was amazing. I found something that talked really direct and I received my answer from God. What I was able to take out of it was that I needed to talk to someone to ask for advice. I ended up talking to President just over the phone and he gave me so much comfort and helped me resolve all my negative thoughts and feelings. I knew this was a direct answer from my Heavenly Father. I have never felt more free in my thoughts, or felt so good about what i am doing. I know that the scriptures have this amazing power and the only thing that we need to do is read them and then apply what they say. If we only read and forget to apply, we won’t receive the blessings from the Lord, like many of my investigators I have seen!

So like I said it, was a little bit tough this week in finding people! We worked our tails off trying to find people but we found nothing. We had two that were supposed to come to church, but they bailed on us Sunday morning, so that was a little tough, as well. My comp and I are having a lot of fun though mom opening the little presents that you sent to us. And about the call on Christmas. I talked to one of the sisters in our ward and she said that we could go to her house and use the phone there. So that’s what we will be doing. Also thanks a lot for the stomach stuff. I have officially started my cleansing process! haha. And Raul loved the candies and already ate all of them! I am having so much fun with the people here and they are all extremely nice to me. RIght now i am pretty pumped up. What could be better in my life? This is the only true church on the face of this earth and i have the opportunity to share a message that has completely changed my life with all of the people here in Mexico. I Love my Father in Heaven and I know that he will give us the help we need as long as we are doing the right things and praying!! I hope the week went well for everyone!!
Love,
Elder Holmes

I'm So Happy to be Here in the Mission!

Well to start off, I want to tell the Padua family that i have been thinking a lot about them and the burial service this last week. I love you all so much! My mom told me all about it and it sounds like it was really great. Also happy birthday to Blake this next sunday! Man you're going to be 20! Let me tell you, twenty is a weird age. You're like not even a kid anymore! haha. And finally, thanks to Uncle Lee and Tammy, Clairabell and the Paduas for the money you all gave me for my birthday! THAT was way nice of you guys. Sorry it's taken so long to thank you! Oh yeah btws the word "way" down here is actually a bad word and so whenever i speak english, I have to be carefull to not say it because people will think i have a potty mouth! haha. It is hard though, because we use that word alll the time.

Well to start off, i am glad that you all had a bunch of fun on this thanksgiving. I would have totally forgotten about thanksgiving, but that day we had intercambios de companeros, i dont know the direct translation into english, but i worked with elder coley (from my district in my mtc) the whole day and slept at his house. We had a nice thanksgiving feast. I will send the pics later because he still has them. It consisted of microwavable pizza, french fries and ice cream! haha. Not quite the traditional feast, but it was a lot of fun and some good american food for once. And i am trying to send the christmas package and one of the members is helping me find the fedex that i need to go to so dad, i will use that number so i dont have to pay! haha.

Well yesterday we didn't have any baptisms but we still had a pretty good day in church. If everything works out well, we should have another 5 baptisms this next week. Actually that will be if everything works out perfectly! We are teaching Yolanda's sister and daughter, Kenia, and they both have a date for next week. Jazmin and Ruth are both working hard and have dropped the habit of smoking! If they can keep that up, then they will be baptized this next week too. Then there is a lady named Yovana who is married to a member and is pretty excited about her baptism this sunday! SO things right now in our area are way good and we are seeing a lot of miracles come from our hard work and obedience. My new comp, elder Ostergaard, is very obedient, which i really like about him, and we are getting along well. Sometimes it is hard with the people understanding us but i think it is going pretty well.

I really love our ward and i get along well with everyone here, but it is hard to get the help of the members in this ward. It is a little bit unorganized and no one is too excited about the work, which i don't understand because we are bringing a ridiculous amount of new members into the church. We are trying to work hard with all of them and trying to get their help with the work. Some of our investigadors and Yolanda's family gave us a mini christmas tree, lights and ornaments and everything so the house is looking pretty dang festive! haha. i will send some pictures of that. I sure do miss you all. Holidays are a really strange thing here on the mission. It just feels like another normal day and we still work just the same. Christmas will be a little sad without the barricade and the real tree, but i know that the best gift i can give anyone is the gospel, and i am so happy to be here in the mission! Honestly, one of the best feelings is watching my converts be active in the church, like Yolanda's kids received the Priesthood and were passing the sacrament yesterday. They are going to go to the temple in december with the ward in order to do baptisms for their dad who passed away. Man i was so happy to hear and see that. There really isn't a better feeling! Well we are going to go bowling again today! i love you all!

Elder Holmes

Thanks to Everyone!

Well Hey there everyone!

This week was a little bit harder than the others, but still turned out ok! On Sunday we baptized the four kids of ruth, antonio and jazmine. That's why my email is entitled not so white!! haha. The parents had actually been having some troubles dropping the habit of smoking so we are going to continue to work with them on that and hopefully the next month they will get baptized as well!! It sure was a special sight to see all of their kids setting the example for their parents to follow. Also, we confirmed mario and lourdes yesterday with their 2 kids, so you could say it was a pretty successful sunday. We also brought one new lady to the church that i think should progress really well.

So the first week with my new gringo companion was a lot different. I am now talking a ton more, which is a good thing, but sometimes i think the people struggle to understand us! haha. But we did have some pretty good success. The hardest part is just everyone talking about how much they miss Elder Castillo and stuff, and i think it has kind of been tough on my new comp, as well. But he is a great guy and is exactly obedient, which i really like to see. We will definitely see the miracles come from our obedience.

So today i am writing a bit late because we went and toured like all of Queretaro with the Castillo family!! It was a ton of fun and i took lots of pictures. I will try to send some of those along your way today. We went into a bunch of different catholic churches and stuff, and by doing this, we got a couple contacts from people who were interested in what the heck two gringos were doing in a catholic church!! The Castillo family is extremely fun and it is always a great time when we are with them. OK so I finished up all of my christmas shopping for the family! Dad they tell me there is a fed ex here so i will try to send it this next week on your account. I have a gift for everyone in the family so dont you worry, but i also have no money!! haha.

Well for some reason i cant really think of anything else to say1 I worked a lot with our district leaders and zone leaders this week with our big families, which was a great learning experience for me. Oh yeah, and I've decided I am going to be a great stay at home dad! I am wicked good at ironing and you should see my sewing jobs that i have done. And btws mom, i received your christmas packages like 2 weeks ago, and i am dying to just open them already, but dont you worry, i still haven't!!

Well love you all and hope all is well with each of you. I hope that the thanksgiving break is great. I want to give thanks at this time to everyone that is praying for me and supporting me down here in mexico. It isn't always easy and i have felt the power of your prayers. Thanks, mom and dad, for being the two best parents a kid could ask for! And finally, for my 4 best friends in my life! The Bros. I miss you guys like crazy and want you to know i am thinking of you! Just so you know, I am sending some of the sickest gifts you have seen your way so i hope i see the same!! haha.

Love to all,
Elder Holmes

Another Beautiful Experience!

Hola everyone! So i am pretty pumped up right now!! We had our baptisms yesterday of Mario, Lourdes and their 2 kids! It was another beautiful experience and i will attach pictures again on that! Everyone in the other family (of Jazmin and Antonio) came to church, as well, so they, along with Ruth and her two kids, will be getting baptized this next sunday! When we had the baptism of mario and lourdes, the others were all like "why cant we be baptized right now!" haha. They are all really excited, it seems, for their baptism this next week! We need to work extremely hard so everything will go well. So, as you can tell, right now our area is booming! We are experiencing so much success and it is awesome. It is completely amazing to see the people who have been so prepared by our Father in Heaven!

Ok so yeah, Elder Castillo left this morning at around 8 in the morning, and my new comp is named Elder Ostergard. He is a gringo from Heber, Utah. He really looks a lot like me! Blonde hair, blue eyes and tall. He has been in the mish for 16 months. Our investigators are going to freak because we look so much a like! haha. He seems nice, but i am not sure how great his spanish is. He sounds pretty white! haha. But we haven't taught anyone yet so we will see when it comes to that time, i guess! It was hard to say bye to Castillo! I grew to really love the guy! Towards the end, we were having a ton of fun together and with our investigators. We were always happy and joking around with jazmin, antonio, ruth and their families. The only bummer is that all of them are always like "Holmes, you are baptizing me. I want you to baptize me!" haha. I hope my companion can show them his love, as well. So next week when i send the photo, there will be 9 people dressed in white! how beautiful will that be!! My new comp has a lot to live up to! Everyone really loved castillo and we really brought energy into the lives of the people here. The families of jazmin, antonio y ruth told our bishop when we had a lesson all together that our visits are the best part of their day. Their kids all just wait at the window, looking for us to come. I am loving it here! I have learned to be myself even with my spanish that isn’t that great. I was so glad that i didn’t leave. You don't even know the kind of happiness that i am experiencing! Well i guess maybe you do, if you also served a mission! haha.

So this week the highlight was definitely the baptism, and then we had our missionary rally on saturday, which i will also send pics of! Elder castillo and i did an activity that was based on the atonement. We bought donuts for everyone and then we would offer them to the people in the room. If they took the donut, Elder castillo or i would have to do a bunch of exercises. The more people that took the donuts, the more exercise we would do! We then related this to Christ and how he has paid for all of our sins, but when we do the wrong things, we add to that suffering. It was a powerful message and everyone really liked it. It is hard to explain but just trust me. It was sweet. We also had four other stations and we had a ton of our investigators there. Then we all ate chimichangas! Hermana Meza, the Relief Society Pres, makes the best chimis ever! She always makes them for me because she knows how amazing I think they are!!!

We also got some new investigators out of the activity. If you can't tell, I am doing just awesome and the spanish is coming along! I am at least at the point where i have the people dying laughing! I don’t know if it is because of my gringo accent or what! haha. I am happy! I love you all! The gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives! I have seen it in the lives of the people i have taught, and also in my own!!! Well, peace!!

Love you all,

Elder holmes