Gooooooddmmmooorrrnnning AMERICA!
HOPE! Yes, hope has been the theme of this week. And what a great week it has
been. We have been spreading the Easter cheer like CRAZY! It's cool to feel the
spirit so strongly here during this time of the year. Easter is like their
Christmas! It's SUPER important to them. I'll continue on the subject of hope
in a minute.
We got our
transfers this week and Elder De Leon and I are staying here in beautiful
Batán! But even more exciting, President Cifuentes and the Lord have trusted me
with the responsibility of District Leader! It's been great so far. My District
is 3 companionships of Hermanas (Sisters)! It's been a week and it has already
been nuts. But I'm so happy to have a leadership position here in the mission. Plus,
I'm very happy to be living in this area for another few transfers!
Back to
Hope. Just a little over a year ago, my dear Grandma Dixie passed away. It's
hard to believe that it has been a year. Mostly because the memory is so vivid
for me. I was asked to play a song at her graveside service and I so
clearly remember the lump in my throat and the tears in my eyes as I sung
the words to "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton. For someone without a
knowledge of the Plan of Salvation or the Resurrection of Jesus Christ,
this moment would have been bitter without the sweet. But In that moment, I had
Hope. I knew that I would see my Grandma again. For too many, death is the end.
It's when we simply cease to exist. I dont understand how someone could live with
such an idea. Its a sad and lonely idea. But we know that it isn't the end. And
that death isn't a goodbye, but a very literal "See you soon". This
is the message of hope that we have been spreading this week. We had an
appointment with one of the church member's cousins who recently lost her
little brother in a very terrible car accident. As soon as we set foot in the
house, I had the very clear impression that all I needed to do was testify of
Jesus Christ, the Plan of Salvation and of the hope that we can find in those
two very important things. After doing so, we shared with her the video that
the church released for this Easter season and then invited her cousin (the
member of the church) to share her testimony. The spirit was SO strong and we
were all touched by the reality of hope. Today I testify that Jesus is the
Christ, He is our Savior, and in Him there is endless amounts of hope.
Also I want to
welcome my cousin Madi to ARGENTINA! BIENVENIDOS HERMAN HOLMES! Espero que Dios
te guía en todo momento. And also, I'm not sure why, but I have a TON of emails
asking me if the rumors about me coming home next month are true. Well, they
aren't! I absolutely plan on staying out in the mission for the amount of time
that The Lord has called me to be here. Rain or shine, I'll be serving with
everything I have. Heavenly Father needs me here and that's enough reason I
need to stay.
Thank you for
all of your support and love. Your prayers push me forward and help me take
that next step every day. I hope all is well and I hope that you are all as
excited as I am to hear our prophets and apostles speak to us this
weekend! (: I love you all! ¡Espero que el conejo de Pascua les encuentra!
Elder Holmes
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| MY FAVORITE PICTURE SO FAR. |
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| The family we live above has these birds! They talk ALL the time! I'm teaching them English (; |
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Me today, Selfie style!
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| Our roommate.. No, not Mickey but definitely a mouse. |
