Great News!

So the Thanksgiving celebration was pretty awesome over here in Mexico!  The only bad news was that I got a little bit sick the day of Thanksgiving, but I have some fun things to share with you guys. Exactly one year ago on Thanksgiving, I was doing an inter-cambio with Elder Coley from my generation and this year I also spent Thanksgiving with him on an inter-cambio. We had a good day of work, and that night, they had some members who invited them to go to a Thanksgiving feast at their house. The area of Elder Coley is a really rich area, so we went to eat at this huge house of one of the members in their ward. They had invited like 20 people over, and had made a really big turkey. My comp actually met up with us in the night to go to dinner with them and with us. We also made a nice Thaksgiving dinner for a family in the ward, and the dinner turned out super boss, but I sure miss your food mom! haha. 

OK so the most exciting announcement of the week is that ADRIAN GOT BAPTIZED!  For those of you who don't remember Adrian, he is the husband of Mayra who I baptized in my last area, along with her children.  Adrian is thedad, who was just waiting for permision to get baptized. He is so awesome, and he finally received permission this week and everything went great in the baptism. I couldn't believe it when I received the call from Elder Marquez this week telling me about his baptism. I was able to talk to Mayra just for a couple of minutes, and she started to cry talking to me on the phone. That was a really special moment for me, as well. 

As for my area, everything is going well but I have felt pretty sick, lately. I have got kind of a cold and my nose is all congested. I feel like I should be getting over it soon, but I still feel super wiped out. Today we went to play soccer because it was Elder Rojas' birthday yesterday. It is always fun to see him, and some of the other elders of the zone. The rest of the day we spent visiting the other families up here that I still haven't visited. They were sure happy to see me, and we had some cool experiences with them today. I hope that it will excite some of them to go back to the church. I think that it is the perfect time for them, especially with the christmas season in the air. Mom I want you to know that i have started listening to Christmas music so you would be proud of me, but it isn't the same without the Chipmunks. haha. I am really excited for the Christmas season, and I want you all to know that i miss you! 

Love,

Elder Holmes

Happy Thanksgiving!

Is time just freaking flying or what???  I am loving life right now, and I am super excited for all of the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons!! I hope that you guys all have fun as a family and that you do some fun stuff. I want to start out by saying what I am thankful for! I am so thankful to be a member of the Lord's church here on the earth. AND that through his teachings, I know that I have an eternal family. I am so grateful for the family that I have and everything that you guys have taught me. I don't know where I would be without the direction from my parents, and I am so grateful for the life that I have, especially that at this point in my life, I am serving our Savior. I am so grateful for His sacrifice that he made for us, and the opportunity that we have to be cleansed from our sins. I don't have words to describe how grateful I am for His great sacrifice. I love you guys so much, and you are the best thing that I have in my life!!

Well so to start out, this week went pretty well for us with the family of Ashley!! Her mom and dad got married on Friday! They invited us to go with them, and the mom (Alicia) said something really cool when they were exchanging the rings. She said that this is my promise that we are going to do everything possible to enter into the temple in a year and get sealed! That was really special. After the ceremony, they took us all out to lunch, and then we went back to work. The next day we had his baptismal service (George) and he wanted me to baptize him. I don't have much time here, but I feel like I have a really strong connection with him in the short time that I have spent here. They are a really special family, and it was a really amazing weekend for them with the wedding Friday, baptism Saturday, and the confirmations of Ashley and George on Sunday! It was a really spiritual weekend!

We have some other great people that are progressing, but they all have their different difficulties, so we are working with them, and hoping to see their progress here in the next couple of weeks. Iris is going to be out of town this week, and she has some fears about getting baptized because of her really Catholic family. The thing is though, she has received an answer to her personal prayers, and I think she will take the next step here soon. If you can't tell, I love my new area.  The ward is really fun and the zone is great.

Well for Thanksgiving we are making a little Thanksgiving dinner for a cool family in the ward tonight, and on Thursday some people invited us over to make us a turkey and everything!  Should be really fun. Mom I definitely take you for granted, because today I tried to make a jello salad kind of like yours, but I totally messed it up! haha. There is nothing like your great homemade food, mom, and your ORANGE ROLLS, of course! haha. Hope you guys have a great time. 

I love you,

Elder Holmes

It's Great to Be Back in Queretaro!

Hi family.  So I'll bet you guys were just as surprised as I was with the cambio that brought me back here to Queretaro. I really do love it here!  It is a super pretty place and a really safe one as well, so you don't have anything to worry about. This last week was pretty fun because we got to go visit some of my converts in barrio fresnos, and then Sunday was actually stake conference, so i was able to see lots of people from the ward. The ward is really struggling though, and there aren't really many people who are attending church. I hope that I will be able to go and work there with the elders so that we can reactivate as well! That would be really nice! 

My new area is looking great, and we have some really great people who are progressing. Actually this last Sunday we had a baptism of a girl named Ashley. She is the daughter of a less active, and is 11 years old. She is a super smart girl, and was extremely ready to get baptized. It's so awesome because we actually have some great plans with the rest of the family this week, as well. The mom and the dad are going to get married on Friday. They are really excited and have invited us to go and see them get married. Then on Satuday the dad is going to get baptized, and will then be able to get confirmed with his daughter on Saturday!  They are an awesome family, and are extremely active in the church and with the ward members. 

Then we also found an awesome girl from a reference of a member family! Her name is Iris, and she had been to church already a couple of different times, but the missionaries always thought she was just a member. So it was kind of a miracle that we found her this week. We were walking on the street and this member who isn't from our ward picks us up and says 'hey you guys should pass by with my cousin who lives in your ward. She has gone to church a couple of different times, and she is really interested!'  So the next day we went with her and to visit her cousin and she was great. This last week she went to some of the young single adult's activities, and then she went to church again on Sunday. She loved it, and she actually ended up crying from the great spirit that she felt in the conference. We will see if she gets baptized this week! 

Also we found this other lady who also had been going to the church for a while, and this last week we taught her all about fasting!  She actually fasted all day Saturday to be able to receive her answer from God as to whether she should get baptized this next sunday, as well!  So everything is going pretty great in our area!  Nothing to complain about!  I LOVE THE WORK BABY!! 

Today we went to play soccer, and we tore it up! haha. My 'son' Elder Rojas is in the zone, so it is pretty fun to play with him again. One of the goals that I did score though, I fell and smacked my face pretty hard on the ground! I felt my tooth smack on the ground and I was freaking out because I thought that something had happened to it. You know me with my teeth! I love them! haha. Anyway, I ended up with this huge bruise on my chin but that didn't stop me from winning the game!!!

Well that sucks that Obama won. I am sorry mom, but I am going to have to extend my mission for another four years so I dont have to be in the states! haha.

love you all,  Elder Sholmesy

Home Sweet Home!

Here is Scott's most recent e-mail.  Many of you have asked where you can send Christmas cards.  Go ahead and send them to the mission home.  They do a good job forwarding them on quickly.  The address there is:

Elder Scott Holmes

Mexico City North Mission

Apartado #98

54740 Cuatitlan Izcalli

Estado de Mexico

Mexico

Well I'll bet you cant guess where I am at right now??? I am sitting here in an internet in QUERETARO!  They sent me back to where I started the mission. And the funny thing is, is that I am in the area that is right next to the area I was in when I got here!!  Can you believe that?  Kind of crazy how things work out. I never thought that I was going to come back here, and actually I didn't even think that I was going to leave my last area in Tepotzotlan. But everyone was sad to see me go.  The rain also came in like crazy in these last couple days.

Well so now I am with my new companion, Elder Hoops. The funny thing is, is that he is one of the best friends of my 'son' Elder Hirst, the comp who I just loved!  Hoops lives in North Ogden as well, and he and Hirst went to the same high school together. He is a really cool kid, and he only has a little bit of time left in the mission. SO today I got here to Queretaro, and I went to visit some of my converts here. I went to visit Lourdes and her family, the Castillo family (the member family that was always so great to me), and some other members along the way. Everyone was wicked happpy to see me, but the barrio is kind of suffering. I think the Lord sent me a little sign on how I have to reactivate some of the people who were so solid in the church when I left from here just 10 months ago!  Lourdes has had her fair shair of pruebas but she tells me that she is going to come to the church this week! I hope to see some of the other converts i have as well.

Well so it was another teary farewell for me there in Tepotzotlan. The good news is though, that I left all of my converts there in really good hands. They are all active, and they are all doing great. I was able to say goodbye to almost all of them on Sunday. It was sure nice to say goodbye to the family Torres (an awesome member family), Yamina (who is the friend of mom on facebook), Marlen (with her mom Felicitas who are doing really awesome in their testimonies), and Mayra, Adrian, and their daughters. It was sure sad to leave them behind, but I hope that sometime soon Hermano Adrian will be able to get baptized. We saw some other great miracles in the church yesterday.  We had this one guy come who is golden! It is amazing to see the blessings that God has for us. And I was able to bare my testimony for one last time in Tepotzotlan. It was a really great experience, and a big surprise that I was leaving. I couldn't believe it. It is my first area where I have spent less than 6 months.

Well I know that the Lord puts me in the right place at the right time, and that all of the changes are given to me so that I can learn and grow. I know there are people that are here in Queretaro waiting for me, and that I have some work to do as well with my converts here. Thanks to everyone for the support,

Hugs and Kisses - Elder Holmes

Big Changes in the Mission!

Hi Everyone.  Well maybe you guys have heard this annnouncement from some of the other missions in the world, but on Friday we went to a junta with the president and all of our zone, and they announced to us that we are no longer allowed to knock doors!! They also told us that we are not to make contacts unless we feel inspired to do it!  It is a pretty huge change in the mission, because throughout my whole mission it has been 140 contacts weekly, and when an appointment falls through, it has been right to knocking doors. Before they told us this announcement, they gave us a huge spiel on security and all that jazz. Because of increased dangers, none of the missionaries in Mexico can knock doors or make contacts. Our main job now is to just teach the members, rescue the non-members, work with references of the members, etc. So we will see how it all goes for us here in these next months.

In this last week we found a man that has been studying with the Testigos de Jehova for the past 2 years, and he has a lot of doubts. He accpeted a baptismal date, and he went to church with us yesterday, but I'm not sure whether he really liked it or no. He is kind of an anti-social kind of guy, and he doesn't really like being around people! haha. But we are going to work with him this week and we will see if he can progress. The funny thing about him is that we found him this week knocking doors!  I guess that he will be the last person I will find on my mission knocking doors, so we will see if he gets baptized. Anyway, that was really the only success that we had in this last week. 

The time seems to be passing by so quickly, and I dont really remember what even happened during the weeks anymore. This last week, like I said, we had the junta with President Call and his wife and we talked about how to work with members. It is our job to teach them the gospel, and to help them in their "missionary work". That is now the difference. It is not the work of the missionaries anymore, but it is the work of every member. SO if you are reading this, PLEASE help out the missionaries that are in your ward right now! haha. It's the only way we will have success as a church, and the only way we will grow the lord's kingdom here on the earth.

Well yesterday I got permission from president to call some of my converts on the phone. I talked with hermana Reina, and she is doing SO AWESOME! She told me that yesterday was the first time she was able to give a class to all of the women in the relief society! Everything is going great for her, and her son gerardo (my convert as well) just had a baby boy on Saturday! Exciting stuff. I also asked permision to go and visit her, so i think I will do that in a couple weeks. Also speaking of converts, Mayra was called as the second counselor in the young women's program and Marlen (the daughter of Felicitas, who is 21!) is the secretary of the young womens. They are also both really excited, and doing great in the church! That is the best feeling! Knowing that your converts are progressing in the gospel! Well that is about it from me!  I love you all!

Love,

Elder Holmes

Birthday Wishes!

Hi everyone.  Just a short birthday e-mail from Elder Holmes this week.  Crazy kid!  Sorry I'm so late on getting this out.  He had a good day and maybe next week he'll write more about his actual week!  We miss him and appreciate all of you who continue to offer your support to him.  He - and we - certainly appreciate it.    xoxo - Carolann  

Well just want to give a birthday shotout to Elder Holmes this week! haha! Wow can you believe that I am now 21 years old. Most of the teenagers in our country are waiting on hands and knees to turn 21, but for me it isnt that big of a deal! I guess it would be different if i weren't a member of the church! I do feel like i am growing up way too fast! As I am writing, I'm also passing my 16 month mark point in the mission!  Hard to believe.

Well Just to tell you how pumped i was about my SOOOOOOCCCCKKKKSSSS! Wow I dont think I could have been any more excited haha. THe problem with the package was that when the ap´s gave me the package on Wednesday, they wanted me to open it with them, and my comp went right for his gift. He ripped open the one that said Elder Marquez but found the Broncos shirt that mom had sent for me!  SO there went that surprise.  haha (btw, my comp loved his jersey, and it fits him nice and tight just as he likes it! ). SO then i only had the package from christian left to open. I saw that it had his name on it, so I knew it had to be something super cool. So today in the morning as I was super excited to open my gift, the only thing i opened was a package of socks!!! haha. As my comp was wetting his pants laughing I continued to look in betwween every pair of socks to see if there was money or SOMETHING, but nothing but some sick socks! haha. My comp thought that was pretty funny!

So today we went to play soccer with some of the guys from the zone and they had a really nice surprise for me waiting at the end of the game. They lined everyone up in a spanking machine (about 12 missionaries and some other hermanos) and I had to pass through all of them. When i got to the point where I couldn't feel my backside anymore, I laid down on the ground and suddenly someone smacked me right in the head. I immediately thought "well that was unnecessary"!  Then felt some slimy stuff sliding down my face, and to my surprise, they all started to egg me and dump flour on me! What a great way to say happy birthday! NOT!  20 eggs and a bag of flour! I left there saying that I hated birthdays. haha.

After that fun celebration, I came back to shower and then took 9 other missionaries and an hermano from our ward to eat at Chilis!  Let me tell you, it was great! I haven't eaten a steak like that in over a year, and the hermano rafa told them it was my birthday so they gave me some dumb birthday hat and sang to me! I hate when they sing to me and the whole restaurant looks over at you! I am now getting back and we are going to work, and maybe stop by with Mayra towards the end of the day. So that is about it for the birthday celebration. It was a fun one, and all of the missionaries that I took to Chili's thought that they had died and gone to heaven!

The rest of the week was a little rough. Claudia couldn't come to church with us, but another younger girl came with one of the jovenes from the ward, and she accepted a fecha, so I will let you know how it goes there. I cast my ballot for the president today online. 

I love you all.

Elder Holmes

Tough Week

Hey well I want to start off by congratulating my cousin Miguel on receiving his eagle scout award! That is so amazing buddy, and I am really proud of you. That award will surely help you as you continue to grow in life!

I really liked the new paint job of the house! I think that it looks a lot better than the green that we used to have on the house! Just kidding ya mommy! I dont know if I will even be able to recognize the house when I get home from my mission. 

Well like the subject line of my letter says, these last couple of weeks have been pretty tough, and my companion and I really haven't been seeing the success in our area that I would like.  It still looks like as a zone we are doing well. We have been working hard, but I think that we have to work even harder. We have been trying to focus more on working with members, and we have kind of lost the focus on doing our 10 contacts daily. It might seem like a small thing, but I know that the Lord blesses us as we show him our full diligence and obedience!!  That is amazing that Peter Jensen is already home from his mission! I want to congratulate him for all of his hard work in the service of the Lord. It made me think today if I would be ready to go home today. I know that I still have so much more that I need to do here, and the time seems to be passing by a little too quickly. Sometimes it scares me how fast time has passed, and how I am now just about 8 months away from finishing this wonderful journey. That, though, only motivates me to work even harder in the time that I do have!!  As for companion, he finishes his mission in March.  He is really great and definitely one of my best friends here.  

Well we did recieve a great blessing from the Lord this week with this lady named Claudia! She lives extremely far away from our house and where we usually work, but the other day we went to eat in this pueblo that is far away, and we found her contacting. She gave us her direction and we set up a cita for the next day. We went the next day, and taught her everything and she accepted everything, including a baptismal date.  She was so prepared to hear the Lord's message. And on Sunday she came to church and I think she really liked it. She had to leave early from the church, but she told us that she would be coming back next week as well. It was about the only good news of the week!!! haha.

Today we cleaned our house, and it took us about 5 hours, but it is now probably the cleanest and best smelling house in the mission! haha. I don't know how Ana (the cleaning lady) does that every day. My back is killing me, and it wasn't that much fun! haha. But at least it is now a much better place to feel the spirit. And what's this about Lee skipping the Columbine game!! Even if they are horrible, it is a rivalry game.  That is like the Utah quarterback just saying that he is going to sit out against BYU because they are bad! Get better Lee so you can play!!!

I had commented to dad that I wanted to use my birthday money to take the whole zone out to eat or to go bowling, but the problem is is that they still aren't allowing us to get together as a zone. I told dad that I would rather spend my birthday money on the missionaries than on stuff for me, because you all know how much I love bonding! haha. It might just end up being a couple of companeros of the zone. I will let you know how it goes in my next letter home!

I Love you all,

elder holmes