Elder Cade Holmes: Wk #14: What a Week in ARGENTINA!!

I fed a tiny horse this week

¡Hola y buen dia de Argentina! Can you believe that I'm a whole Hemisphere away? I still can't sometimes. But this week was different. I began to really love not only Argentina, but the mission altogethger. I thought about home less and less as this week went on and focussed more and more on the work. What a difference it made! It also helps that Elder Fallentine and I are pretty much best friends out here! He's such a stud! And I'm convinced that we would have been best buddies at home. We're having such a fun time and working SO hard! It's been amazing to see the fruits of our labors just in the short two weeks of hard work. We are making memories every single day out here and learning a ton with every moment that passes by. We have 4 investigators and even more potential investigators. I have had so much fun this week and the best part is that I feel in harmony with the Lord and His will. This week we walked 5 miles in the pouring rain (Laughing all the way HA HA HA.), Made the most American lunch ever because we missed home (Burgers, fries, and Coke), found a woman who prayed for help from God THE MORNING that we showed up at her door, and got SCHOOLED on the soccer field by a bunch of Argentinians. It was such a great week! But the thing is that it passed SO fast. I can hardly believe that I'm sitting in this computer cafe again already. Time flies when you consecrate your life to the Lord... Or having fun.. Or something like that (;

I learned something really important this week. In fact, I learned A TON this week, but two things really stick out to me as I write this email. The first is about Faith. Like I have said in the past, faith has two parts. Firstly, have the faith. Believe and desire to believe. Trust in the Lord and just very simply have faith in Him. And secondly, REAL faith requires action. For example, I had faith that the Lord loved me, had a greater plan for me, and needed me specifically, so I acted on that faith and went on a mission. Through doing this, I showed the Lord my faith and strengthened it 100 fold in the process. The second thing I learned is that being happy is a choice we make. When we choose to be happy, we will be happy. I learned that the hard way, unfortunately, but learned it nonetheless and I'm grateful for that. But most importantly, these things go hand in hand. Because really, having faith is a choice too isn't it? So my challenge to you all this week is this: Choose to be happy. And please, choose to have faith. Faith doesn't just happen. We grow it, cultivate it, and prepare it for something greater. I promise that you're life will GREATLY improve. Maybe not when YOU want it to.. But when the Lord wants it to. And it's better that way. I promise.

In closing, I want to give a shoutout to my STUD LITTLE BROTHER SI. I heard his version of Baby Ducks that he performed at his assembly and was blown away. I literally teared up listening to him perform it. I'm so proud of Si and so proud that he absolutely killed it. If I would have been there to see it in person, you already know that I would have been the first one to give that guy a standing ovation. He asked me if he could perform the song and I gave him permission, so no worries. (; Way to go Si! You made your big brother proud. And no.. The baby ducks didn't fly this far south just to get warm.. (;

I love you all and as always, I wish you all the ABSOLUTE best. I pray for you always and I hope that you are all living your lives to the fullest. God didnt give us these lives so that we could sit around and live them halfway. TAKE THE INITIATIVE AND DO SOMETHING AMAZING. What a beautiful gifts our lives are. Don't let life happen to you. Get out there and experience it. I love you all! ¡Que tenga un buen semana!

May we be blessed with the wind at our backs and the strength to press on so that we may further build His kingdom on this earth.

Con amor,

(as the Argentines say it)

Elder Olmez