I Can't Believe I Marked a Year in the Mission!

So yeah this week was pretty sick because those two little milagritas ("little miracles") got baptized!!!! We worked with them this week and they had already learned everything about the gospel, and they were extremely ready to get baptized! So that was really fun because my comp, Elder Hirst, got to do his first baptism! He was really nervous, but he did an awesome job, and the kids really love us! I can't believe what a miracle that was, and I was pretty excited for them yesterday. Also Hermana Rocio got confirmed. She was feeling a little sick, but she was able to come, and they are both doing great. My testimony has grown so much of the fact that when we do the things of the Lord, He always will bless us. Gerardo is happier than ever with his new job that is paying more then he has ever made in his life, and he has a lot of responsibility in his work! He is so awesome and his faith has grown so much over the time that he has started to learn about the gospel. Also Reina is doing awesome and wants us to start working with her sister and teach her the gospel, so that she can get baptized. The only problem is that she can't talk too well, so Reina translates to us what she says. She also loves the church and I think she could be getting baptized here pretty soon! So I saved the package you sent me for my year mark in the mission and opened it on Friday. I tell you, I opened my Jimmer jersey and I was sooooo pumped up! I will make sure to send you all the pictures of my year celebration. It was a really special day and we sure made it a good time. My comp said, "Wow you even have Jimmer supporting you on the mission! That must be nice! haha." My comp is a huge basketball player and a big Jimmer fan, so he was also pretty pumped about the jersey! haha. Anyway, Elder Cruz had told me to come home a little bit early that night so my comp could sign some papers for immigrations. We got back to the house early, and when i walked in, I smelled baked goods! I looked over to see some brownies with a candle, and Elder Cruz and his comp were hiding in our house! Elder Cruz still had a set of keys to the house so they snuck in to surprise me with some brownies! They then all signed my shirt and we had a nice burning ceremony on top of the house to celebrate the one year point of my mission! Major tradition amongst the missionaries. Then after they left, my comp and I ordered pizza and just ate that with some milkshakes that I made. We ate so much though, that the next day I felt a little bit sick! It was really fun though, and I can't believe that I already have a whole entire year in the mission. To answer your question mom, yeah I have liked my time as a district leader, but it sure is a lot of responsability and a lot of talking with the zone leaders. Sometimes I just wish I was just a normal missionary, but I love the opportunity that I have to get to know better and help the missionaries in my district. They are all really great people, and we are doing pretty well as a district. Well so that is pretty much it for me! haha. You guys have got to read the whole conference issue. It is amazing to review what our church leaders said to us just a couple of months ago. It is amazing how many things I don't remember them saying, but maybe that is just because I watched it in spanish! haha. Well, I love the church and I love the Lord. If this wasn't the only true church on the earth, I wouldn't be here. It has been raining EVERY DAY and we eat some of the nastiest things, but it is all worth it because I know that I am in the work of the Lord and that this is the only way people can be saved! I love you all! Elder Holmes

A Week Packed With Blessings!

Ok so this week was pretty packed with spiritual blessings, but I want to start off by saying that I have the best dad in the world. I felt bad that I didn't include that in my email last week, but I hope that you had an awesome day. You are one of the best examples in my life, and the reason why I have had the success that I have had in my life. I don't know where you got to be so smart. I hope that one day I will be able to raise kids in the way that you did, and also show the love and respect to my wife like you always did with mom. I don't think you could have done anything better in raising me and I am eternally grateful for what you have done. It was kind of weird not to be with you on father's day, so I just had to make my comp breakfast in bed instead! haha. Well So yesterday was the baptism of Rocio, and let me tell you something... It was SWEET! It was one of the most spiritual experiences that I have had here on the mission. One of the reasons was because I have been studying a lot the talks that were given in this past priesthood conference, that just talk about what the priesthood is, and why we have it. It was awesome to be able to see Gerardo exercise the priesthood that he had just been given about 3 hours before, when he was able to perform his wife (Rocio')s baptism! I have reallly learned a lot about the power of the priesthood, and what a wonderful blessing it is in our lives. A lot of times we take it for granted, but it really is the power of God on this earth to carry out His work! So Gerardo was just awesome and he had practiced the prayer and everything probably about 100 times. He kept asking me just to make sure he had it right! haha. But he did a wonderful job, and it was a great experience for everyone who was there. Ok Also something else that was really amazing were the miracles that just showed up at church yesterday. On saturday night, again we had no body progressing and had nobody to bring to church with us. I mean we have been working extremely hard, but really have been struggling on bringing new people to the church. By the way my comp elder hirst is my favorite comp and he and i get along so well! He is really nice and freaking hilarious. We are always just having a really fun time together. Amyways, so on Saturday, again we got down and began to pray together for miracles, and also in my personal prayers I was just pleading with my Heavenly Father for a miracle the next day at church. Well, we got to church and no one was there that we haven't seen before, until the second hour, when I see this less active hermana that I had visited just one time before! She has been going through a rough time lately, and has decided to come back to church, and to bring all of her kids along with her. She has two kids that have never been baptized and they have been to the church for the past couple weeks, and want to get baptized on Sunday! How crazy is that? NO one can tell me that God didn't answer my prayers on this one! I was so pumped, and the day was topped off with the baptism of Rocio! Wow what a day yesterday! Well that is about it! Can you believe that I am completing one year on friday!!! That is so nuts. Yeah we are going to be partying it up! I am going to burn one of my shirts and I think we might go for tacos with my zone leaders or something! Time flies too fast! I got a lot of work to still be done! Mom I did get the hump-day package, but I am not opening it until the 22nd! Yep I am pumped to see my gift from the jim jam! haha. love you all, Elder Boss Holmes

Two Weeks Worth of News from Mexico City!

Hi Family. Our family was in Mexico last week (Cabo) and so I didn't have a chance to send out Scott's e-mail. I'm including below his e-mail from last week and one from today. There are also some cute pictures he has included at the end. Thanks for your continued interest in Scott. We sure love you all.......Carolann Letter from Monday, June 4th, 2012 Well I am glad that you guys are just living the life down here in Mexico and that you all are just loving mi tierra! The funny thing is that my convert Andres and his wife were just in cabo 2 weeks ago. That would have been pretty cool if you would have run into them! I cant believe that you guys are so close to me, but at the same time so far. I tell everyone that you are down here and their first question is always, "are they going to come visit you?" I just tell them that you don't really love or miss me, so probably not! haha. Just kiddding. Well i want to give the birthday shoutout to Alex Holmes on the 5th and Jill Marler on the 8th of this week. I hope that they are special days for you both and that you know I am thinking about you down here in Mexico. Well I don't know what is up lately, but it has been extremely hard for my companion and me. We have been getting owned in these last couple weeks. But not to get too down, because there are still some positive things that are going on. To answer your questions about Rosio: she is pregnant and so she is always getting sick, and it is really hard for her to progress because she isn't able to come to church on Sunday. That pushes back the baptismal date that they have. But Gerardo said that he still wants to be baptized this next Sunday, so we will see what happens with him. Rosio has totally recieved an answer from God. We had this awesome experience with them that just grew her faith so much. Last Saturday Gerardo was really stressed out, as he has been looking for a job for a long time. We went over to his house and I told him that I was going to give him a blessing to help him find a job. He wasn't too excited because he was pretty bummed out, but during my blessing, I remember telling him that if he did the things that the Lord asks of him, then he will find a job. Well so Sunday he and his wife came to church and on Monday morning, Gerardo gets a call from two different places offering him jobs. He called his wife and told her and she said the first thing she thought about was the elders and the blessing that I had given to her husband. She told us that she felt something so amazing that she couldn't even describe it in words. It was a great testimony builder for me, as well, as to the power of the priesthood that we have, and that it is the only church on the earth that has such authority from God. Well other than that, we didn't have any new people in church on Sunday and we were pretty bummed out about the whole thing, but as I was reading in my studies that morning, I felt prompted that we should stop worrying, and just get to work. I have stopped worrying, and have just put my faith in God that He will help us when we are doing the things that He asks. Well that is about all that I have. I hope that you guys have a great trip, and just know that I love you all so much. Love, Elder Holmes Letter from Monday, June 11th, 2012 Hey! Happy birthday to my little brother today! I can't believe that you are already 19 years old bro! You could be leaving on the mission right now! That is a crazy thought, but hey i am glad that you aren't leaving till next year, because then maybe I will be able to see you! Also birthday shout out to the other Nick, that would be Nick Chilton on Wednesday! I also hope that you have a great day and to be honest, I don't really know how old you are turning, but I'm pretty sure it's old enough to at least get married! haha. Just kidding. NO pressure baby! Well the highlight of this week was that GERARDO GOT BAPTIZED. Yeah baby! It was a really special day for him. We had his baptismal service on Saturday and then he was confirmed on Sunday in church. We did it that way so he can baptize his wife this next Sunday, when he receives the Aaronic Priesthood. He is really excited and keeps telling me to teach him how to baptize! SO the service was reallly nice and a lot of people from the ward came to support him. He asked me to baptize him, which was kind of surprising because there were a couple members from the ward that he is really close with, but he wanted me to baptize him instead. He is an awesome guy and his testimony has grown so much over the time since I have met him. I remember when I met him for the very first time and all I could think was "this guy has got a long time before he ever really looks into the church seriously." But miracle after miracle passed with him and he was completely ready to be baptized on Saturday. He is an amazing guy and has helped us so much with his wife, as well. Well yesterday we received cambios, and the only change in our district is that Elder Hyde left. He was like my best friend here in the mission and it was really tough to see him go. He always was so pumped up and we got really close over the time that we have had here. SO I will be here in my area for another month and a half with my comp Elder Hirst and then I will be leaving here. Time is passing by really fast and I have loved the time that I have here with my comp. Well i cant really think of anything else that is new! I will let you all know the progress of Rocio this next week and if she also decides to be baptized! Your trip to Cabo sure looked like you all had a blast. I really appreciate the photos that you sent. I sure do miss the whole fam a bunch but I know why I am here and what I need to do. Love you all, Elder Holmes

Que Honda!

What's up fam!! Ok so i was pretty chapped when i got on today and i only had 4 pictures from the whole week! Last week when i read the email i was blown away by all of the fun stuff that you guys were going to do, and then today i was pumped to see all of the pics from the party, andrews birthday, more of the graduation, and maybe a picture of the new president of Bradford! But what do i get? 4 little pictures! New rule is that i am not sending home any of my pics if i dont even get any pictures from you guys! haha. I only have 45 minutes for goodness sake and i still manage. Sale? Ok well now that has been established, i guess i can tell you guys a little bit about the week this last week. Let me tell you that it was a little bit difficult. The sun is owning me and i just feel completely wiped out, but i am praying a ton to just be able to have the fuerzas to continue working hard. Not many people let us in this last week, and since it was so hot outside, there aren't really too many people in the streets to contact and what not. The area i am in has a bunch of people that are walking on the streets and we usually always complete our goal of 140 contacts every week, except for the weeks like this last one when it is just super hot! Well something that was really good, is Rosio (Geraldo's wife) came to church yesterday with us! She seems to like everything and is sincere. I hope she can progress towards baptism. One thing i have learned here on the mission is how so many people dont even realize why they believe in the things that they believe in. They just follow the things of the world and what everyone else is doing and think they're good. Sometimes it is tough to invite them to church because so many of the people have the same excuse of "i dont need to go to church, because i know god is with me and that all i need to do is pray". This is kind of the example of Elia and her daughters. She just doesn't really see the importance of the church in her everyday life. I have to remind myself of what it says in the D&C, that "the chosen listen to my voice and harden not their hearts". Well this week we did have a cool experience with an antiguo named Alfredo and his wife Elizabeth. The missionaries had worked with them for a very long time and even baptized their little daughters, but the parents couldn't get baptized because they weren't married. The wife never wanted to get married, but never told the missionaries the reasons why. Well the other day we were walking and i had the spiritual impression that we should go by their house. When we arrived, they let us in immediately and then Hermano Alfredo told me that he just has a ton of problems and that he was about to take his life! We calmed him down and then his wife came home. They started to talk to us about EVERYTHING! It was extremely dificult and all i could do was just listen to the Spirit and respond in the way of the Lord. Right now everything seems to be ok, so i will let you know how we progress with them. It was just another cool spiritual impression that i had at the perfect moment. Well i know that this is the only true church on the face of the earth. nuff said! haha. Love you all, Elder holmes

There Are Always Things That Make it Worth It!

Hey there. How is everyone doing? I want to wish Michael Winters a happy birthday. Hope you have a great day. My mom tells me great things about you and your new job. Keep up the good work! I also want to wish my big brother Andrew a happy birthday tomorrow. I hope that you have an awesome day and that you are still just doing great things! You are one of the best examples i have in my life! i love you so much. Well this week was a really really difficult one for us. But we also had a couple of great experiences, so it didnt seem too bad. I feel like that is just how it is now on my mission. I might have a hard week, but there are always a couple of different things that just make it worth it. On saturday we had the baptismal interview for Hermana Elia, but the whole week she had not really been progressing. She did come to the church though on saturday to have her interview, and everything went all good. So you are probably all wondering 'why in the heck then wasn't it a good week?' haha. Well because she didn't end up getting baptized on Sunday. She sent me a text just like ' i'm sorry but i wont be able to come to church today because i am far away. so I was kind of sad, but it just made me realize that we need to focus on the ones that will really progress. It's tough, but i know that god has tons of people waiting here for us. Also we had a couple great lessons with geraldo and his wife and she seemed to be progressing just great, and we had put a goal with them and everything, but they didn't come to church on sunday either! She said she was sick. But Hermana Reina told us that she just didn't have the proper clothes to come to church. Gosh that was tough as well! I think that her parents also might play a little part in this as well, so we will see tonight how it goes with the noche de hogar that we have set up. Geraldo is just a total boss, but this might be a little bit of a impedimento (obstacle). Well on saturday i actually baptized one of the investigators of the hermanas which was a really good experience. I had the interviews and stuff with them and i guess we really bonded, and so the little girl asked if i could baptize her. (or maybe its just because i am wicked cute! haha. just kidding). It was a spiritual experience and it is fun to be able to conocer all of the investigadores of all of the missionaries in my district. Ok and now to the highlight of my week! Yesterday our mission leader, my comp, and i gave talks in sacrament meeting about the new plan that we have for all of the members of the ward. We also sang a special number with all of the missionaries. But the best part was Reina's testimony, baby!! We had her share her testimony on how missionary work has changed her life, so she shared the story on how she first met us. She said how one day she was in her house and that she really didnt feel good and didnt want to leave, but something prompted her and made her get up and go to the place she wanted to go. As she waited for her bus, which only passes by once every hour, two young men approached her one of them (that being me) asked her if the bus that was passing was her bus. She said that at that moment she lied to us because she told us 'no' when it really was her bus. She went on to explain how it actually wasn't a lie because that really wasn't the bus she needed to take. If she had taken that bus, she would have ended up in the place that she wanted to go to at that moment, but not where she needed to be in her life spiritually. She bore the most beautiful testimony on how her life has completely changed and that in reality, that was not her bus. She said she went on to wait there for another 50 minutes for the next bus, but she felt so different and felt a peace take over her whole body! Wow! Well i would say it was one of the most spirtual experiences that i have had so far in the mission. THe Lord knows his children and the path that they need to take. Hermana Reina now has a calling in the church(as relief society secretary) and is helping all of her family come to the truth. What a blessing she is in my life! Well i love you all so much. That sure freaked me out to hear about dad being in the hospital, but i am so glad he is doing ok! Love you, Elder holmes

That was Wicked Fun!

Family & Friends: On Sunday our family was able to Skype with Scott and needless to say, it was so much fun! It was great to see him and to hear his great laugh. He looks good and is very happy. Since we spoke for over an hour, his e-mail below is short. He asked that I just summarize a few things for you. So......While we were skyping, there was a young mexican boy from the ward who never left Scott's side. This young boy was touching Scott, playing with his hair, ears, etc. throughout the entire conversation. Scott just continued with his call as if this was normal. I asked him if the kids are just constantly all over him and he said "Yah mom - they think I'm the next best thing to Maruchen" (which is that packaged dry soup that comes from Mexico)! So I guess he is just used to it! I also asked him if he ever feels sad or lonely and he said "Why would I?" So ya see......Scott is still Scott! He's doing great. He loves the work he's doing and especially the people he's growing so close to. A woman he baptized a month or so ago, Reina (which means "Queen" in Spanish) came on Skype with her son, as well, and we were able to meet them. The son and his wife will be baptized soon. Anyway, Reina had written a sweet poem for us that she wanted to read over Skype, about what a wonderful blessing Scott has been in their lives. They love him -- and he fits right in! We had him speak spanish to us, and Andrew, Steve and I were all amazed with his mexican accent! He loves the comp he's with, a greenie from North Ogden. They are having great success together. He had one baptism on Sunday (see pic). The other three (Elia and her children) will get baptized this next week. He asked about each of you and wanted me to tell you how much he loves and appreciates your support. Thanks again for all you do to encourage and love our boy. We love you too......Carolann So what's up family? Wow that was really wicked fun to be able to talk to you guys on skype yesterday. You all looked really happy and a couple a little fatter, but hey join the party! haha. I dont have too much to say as i just talked with you yesterday, but moving onto this next week, i do want to say happy birthday to chris cassity on the 18th and also my daddy on the 19th! I hope that you both have awesome days. Dad i love you so much and am so grateful for everything that you have done for me. Well i will include today some photos today of the baptism and everything that went down this week. Oh and btw's, i did go buy my jerseys today and they are so freaking sick! i think i spent about 100 bucks but it was a 100 bucks really well spent! We went to play soccer today with the whole zone and it was a good time but i really have to stretch out before i play! haha. wow i am getting old! Well nick have fun with the last week of school, and live it up! Congrats on graduating. Might not seem like a lot, but hey thats a really big deal down here! haha. I love you all and that was a great skype session yesterday! It made me think about how the family, in today's world, is quickly sliding away from old traditional values, and I feel so blessed to have one that is solid and committed to the values that really matter! love, Elder Holmes

WOW! What a Surprise!

Ok well wow good job on the surprise mom! I couldn't believe it when all of a sudden i saw all of the kids of jazmin and antonio coming up the stairs of my church! I did like a double take, and then i almost started to cry i was so happy! it took me such by surprise that my whole body was just shaking! I was wondering why you needed all of the information of my ward and everything! You are a sneaky one! haha. But thanks. That was a really cool experience and they are actually going to come to church with us next week, and then they are going to start attending the church in their area, as they really don't have too much time here in the state. They still haven't gotten everything transfered over! But yeah that was a great blessing on sunday! I am soooo pumped to see you guys on skype this week. You guys might not even be able to recognize me with the spare tire i am carrying around! haha. Yeah we will be in the house of our mission leader to skype on sunday after church. We have our services from 12 to 3 and then we should be having a couple of baptisms on saturday, so to tell you the truth, i really dont know what time it is going to be. Just have your skype open on on sunday and i will give you guys a little ring a ding. Yeah i am wicked pumped for saturday, because like i said, we should be having a couple of baptisms. Elia and her kids are on track to get baptized, as well as carmen. Carmen was supposed to get baptized this week, but they went to cancun as a family this last weekend, so she will be getting baptized this next sunday, as long as everything goes well. We're pumped that hermana elia and her two daughters will be getting baptized, as well. They have really progressed along just great and everything looks really awesome with them. Ok so we had a boss miracle this last week. On sunday night last week we were in reinas house and her son geraldo came down the stairs and told us that he opened the book of mormon to start reading it and he just felt something amazing. He then said he wanted to meet with us on tuesday. SO we went back on tuesday and he had had a complete change of heart and wants to be baptized, as well. It was so awesome and everytime we are with him, the spirit is just so strong! Hermana reina is so incredibly boss. i feel so blessed that i wont have to say good bye to her for a couple of more months! So geraldo came to play soccer with us and all of the jovenes on wednesday night and then came to church with us yesterday! He is just loving it and he should be getting baptized not this sunday but the next! He is super pumped up, and wants us to talk to his wife as well, because he told us that he wants to get sealed in the temple! I´m down for that, of course! Ok so i am now a father of two! haha. Just a little mission verbage for the fact that I have had 2 greenies! My "new son" just arrived this week and his name is elder hirst! He is an awesome kid who is from north ogden, and he is a great worker. He speaks very little spanish. We are getting used to teaching together, but we should do some great work in this area together. He likes to play ball as well. We actually play bball on saturday mornings at 630 am with some of the guys from the ward, so that is always fun! i will let you know how things progress with us. Well i love you all so much and i want you to know how grateful I am for the oportunity i have to be here in the mission. It continues to bless and change my life each day. OH and fam, reina and her son want to say hi to you guys on sunday so get excited for that as well! They really want to meet you all. I can't wait for some of dad's boss spanish jokes! haha. Yeah baby! Oh btw, we went to a place called fun central today to bowl and ice skate, so i am pretty pumped up right now! i will send you all of the pics, and a pic of my new born elder hirst! haha. Gotta love it. Love you all, Elder holmes! Cant wait to see you guys on Sunday!!!!! (that is on skype, of course!