Week 8: #ShareTheGift

HELLO! This week was a great week full of progress and growth! Sister Charles and I set a goal to work on asking for referrals talking to everyone (for some reason we have been having a hard time remembering to do that) and we got SO MANY! We are so excited to contact them all, and pray that they are ready to receive the gospel! 

We also have a few new potentials that we are excited about, but one in particular that I want to share with you is Joe. We were driving home from an appointment one night and I saw this house with what seemed like millions of Christmas lights. So naturally, I had to go past it to take a picture! This sweet man was out passing candy canes to all the cars and people who came by. We exchanged candy canes for a pass along card, and ended up getting out to talk to him. He and his wife have been doing the lights for 27 years, and his wife just died a few months ago. He cried talking about how much he misses her and how hard the holidays have been. Anyway, we offered to come help him pass out the candy canes the following night, and he appreciatively accepted. So the next night we went over, and it was so much fun. He plays the Elvis Christmas Album every night, and we got to know him so much more. He was asking us questions about missionary work, and he was definitely intrigued by why we do it. THEN he invited us over for lunch next week AND for Christmas dinner! We are so excited, and so is he. He's making us Shrimp Boil (please pray for me... haha) and homemade blueberry cheesecake. He is SUCH a sweetheart and I love him so much already. He has gained the nickname "Grizzwald" because his house is so full of lights. It made me laugh and think of Dad. We are praying that he accepts the lessons and gains a testimony of this gospel! 

Our less actives have been progressing so much and we have definitely seen a huge change in all our families! It's been awesome to watch people learn and grow. keep them all in your prayers!

We had the ward Christmas Party and that was super fun. We dressed up and the theme was Little Town of Bethlehem. It was SO CUTE and the Christmas spirit was so strong. Our ward is so great!

The days have flown by, and the weather has been nuts. I was sweating one day, freezing the next, sweating the next day, and it felt like a tundra the next. What the! But I can't complain, at least I'm not out in the snow! 

As I was reading the Conference talks from October, I was reading "The Reason for Our Hope" by President Boyd K. Packer. He states that "His mercy is the mighty healer, even to the wounded innocent... The true success of the gospel of Jesus Christ will be measured by spiritual strength of its individual members."

I loved that. He IS the mighty healer, for all trials, sicknesses, and ailments. We also need to strive to strengthen our faith through all situations. He is there. He is with us. He knows us, and he loves us. 

If you haven't heard, the church is doing a Christmas message called He is the Gift. (John 3:16) When you get a minute, go to christmas.mormon.org and watch it. Discover the Gift, Embrace the Gift.

I love you all SO much and truly am so grateful for all the love and support and prayers on my behalf! I definitely feel them. 

Have a WONDERFUL week!

Love,

Sister Holmes

ps- Boiled Peanuts? SO. BAD. Did I gag? Yup. Did I continue to gag? You better believe it! Oh, and Aligator?! SO GOOD! It really does taste like chicken! hahaha 

pss- We have a plethora of goats in our area. So we stopped to feed them one day. haha And no, the goat didn't turn into a prince... I did get sneezed on though! Did you know that goat snot is black? Yeah. How disgusting is that! ALL OVER MY ARM. haha Love ya'll!

psss- I'M GOING TO MEXICO BEACH TODAY! WHOOHOO!