Yesterday we had Interviews with Presidente Cifuentes and he told me, "Elder Holmes, there are a lot of people who love you at home. You have a stack of letters sitting in the office with your name on them." He said that he has never seen so many letters for one missionary at once! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for sending me your love and support. I'll get the letters tomorrow when my companion comes back from Bahia Blanca! (He's been doing his paperwork to make himself legal) Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
Here's a report on my week:
We have been searching so hard for people to teach here, but we just havent had very much luck! It seems like every day we are contacting, making other appointments, and then getting stood up and no-shows! It has been very frustrating. But, we press on.
On Saturday, we had our appointment with Anai Rios! She was VERY receptive to what we were teaching and she wanted us to come back this saturday! She said, "I've heard about the mormons, but I have never spoken to one!" I guess there's a first for everything (; Keep her in your prayers!
I've been on splits with Elder Topham, one of the zone leaders, since tuesday morning! He is in his last transfer and will be returning home the same time my sister Alexa gets home! Like her, he LOVES his mission and is sad to leave it. It's cool to see how much differently a consecrated missionary works compared to some of the other missionaries here in Mar Del Plata. I have learned a TON. He told me, "Elder Holmes, if you keep working like you are and taking advantage of every moment like you are doing now, you'll be the most successful missionary this mission has seen. Missionaries here usually figure out what you have figured out at their year mark. And you only have 6 months!" His companion is SUPER homesick and they don't work very hard because his comp is hard to manage and I haven't been able to really work my hardest here with my companion due to some issues that we are working through, so its been SO NICE to finally work hard this week. We have seen the fruits of our labors just in these 3 days! You know you're working hard when you dont even remember putting your head on the pillow at night! haha (:
During my interview with my mission president yesterday, he said something that has really impacted me. I had expressed some concerns I had and told him that I was working hard every day to become a real Disciple of Christ. I told him that I found that the road to Discipleship isn't easy and I asked for some advice! He said, "Elder Holmes, it doesnt matter how we get there. It doesn't matter how fast we get there. The only thing that is important is that we get there." Wow! Sometimes we think, me especially, that if we are not exactly living the gospel and being 100% obedient that we are failing. We think that when we make a mistake, we have written in stone that we have failed and are forever worse because of it. But this just is not true. On our "Road to Discipleship" we have to remember that the way is not perfectly smooth. What road is? There will be roadblocks, pot-holes, and any number of things that could make it harder for us to progress! There will even be times where we mess up and take a wrong road. But let's be real. When we are driving in our cars and we take a wrong road, we dont turn the car off, cut up our drivers licenses, throw the keys and give up driving forever! No! We turn around, find the right road, and get to where we need to go! It is the same in this case. We also need to remember that the roadblocks we come across are part of the plan. They aren't unexpected! If we didnt have hard times, how would we know how to enjoy the good times? I have learned a lot of my lessons the hard way. And although that sucks sometimes, I have found that I learned the lesson faster and they have impacted me more deeply. We should be grateful for the hard times. Please don't give up because you have made a mistake. We are meant to progress here on this earth. Not to make a mistake and stop our journey on this Road to Discipleship. Hard times will come and go, but true joy, found in Dicipleship, will last the eternities. I'm on this road right now, working every day to better myself and to become who I have to potential in God's eyes to become. It's hard, but I don't believe that we can imagine just how worth it, it will be. I invite you to join me! In scouts they teach, "Do a good turn daily" What a great place to start on our own personal "Road to Discipleship"!
As always, thank you so much for your prayers, love, and support. I couldn't do it without! I pray for you all daily! Be safe!
Obedience today, Miracles tomorrow!
Elder Holmsito
(My nickname to the Latino missionaries)
