Wk# 41: Be Still My Soul

FSU Missionaries before transfers

Words cannot even begin to express my gratitude this week!!! Minus all of the stress and anxiety of transfers, I have never felt so happy. :)

Speaking of transfers..... 

Big News.....

Last night with Sister Rindlisbacher

I GOT TRANSFERRED!!! 

Oh. I can't even explain the great devastation I felt to be leaving my FSU home. Tears, LOTS of tears for days. Not only to be leaving FSU, but to leave Sister Rindlisbacher! Pure devastation was going down in apartment 113. I felt like my heart had just been ripped out! BUT, Heavenly Father's plan is absolutely perfect, and I was very willing to go wherever my next calling was.

Hump Day! Transfer Day (Sis Rindlisbacher, Lexa, Sister Dillon, Sister Wood)

Sister Charles on her way home!

Interestingly enough, I had told Sister Rindlisbacher on Saturday that I was conflicted because when I was serving in Callaway, I KNEW that the work I was sent there to do had been completed. So, I knew I was going to get transferred, and I did. But, this time around I had so many mixed feelings. I felt like I wasn't the missionary that was supposed to be working with the investigators that we had (which broke my heart, because we had some INCREDIBLE people we were working with), but at the same time I didn't feel like I was supposed to leave the area. I wanted so so badly to stay in the ward and the district I was in. Then Sunday came and we received the dreaded transfer call.

Love Woody from Callaway! Saw him at the transfers location.

So, after some tears, I began packing my things (which I loathe by the way.... how do you accumulate so much junk!?) We had a crazy two days full of lessons and goodbyes, and more tears.... and then, it was wednesday. We left bright and early to head over to the church for the training meeting since cute Sister Rindlisbacher was going to be training (told ya she was pre-trained!) then after meeting all of the new missionaries (which by the way, I met Elder Andersen! Blake and Sue's son!) Sister Wood and I (the head sister training leader who was also on of the other sisters in my district) made the 2 hour trek over to Crestview for transfers. Her companion was getting transferred as well. Now, my anxiety level was about a 99.6 on a scale from 1-10. It was awesome. We waited and waited as the companionships were being announced, and then, all of the sudden....

Kimberly

FHE... 'We are CHAMPS!'

Sister Holmes, you will be serving with SISTER WOOD on TCC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU GUYS!!!! I'm still a campus sister! Serving on Tallahassee Community College! Which MEANS.... I'm still in my same district, still in Tally, still around FSU's investigators, with Sister Wood who I have adored for two transfers now, and A HEAD SISTER TRAINING LEADER. Talk about an overwhelming calling and one I am extremely humbled by! And, talk about the greatest blessing EVER!!! I get to go on exchanges with the sisters serving on FSU! I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY!! And yes, I have still been full of tears! Grateful tears!!! Heavenly Father is definitely aware of us! I'm extremely nervous about my new calling because I haven't even been a sister training leader, let alone a head STL. But I am looking forward to the challenges and growth that come along with it!

Xavier

And to make transfer day even greater... It was HUMP DAY!!!!! I can't believe I have been out nine whole months already! I feel like this is still my first transfer out. It was super fun though because in Crestview at transfers, All of my MTC sisters were there! So we got to celebrate our 9 month birthday together! We took a picture... but I have to wait for it to be emailed to me. I was SO happy though! Sister Wood and I also celebrated with some Panera for lunch :) 

Thickest southern accent award goes to Ryan

TCC is quite the adjustment, but I like it already. It's about a sixteenth of the size of FSU, so that's weird. I did get to chase some geese yesterday on the field though! My poor companion. hahaha I am super excited for this transfer and everything it has to bring!!! 

Also, it's the weirdest thing being in a place that doesn't celebrate Pioneer Day. 

That's all of the exciting news I have, but I'll leave ya'll with this:

"If you can’t be a pine on the top of the hill,

Be a scrub in the valley—but be

The best little scrub by the side of the rill;

Investigators & Therese at Institute

Be a bush if you can’t be a tree.

If you can’t be a highway then just be a trail,

If you can’t be the sun be a star;

It isn’t by size that you win or you fail—

Be the best of whatever you are!

I give you my witness that I know by personal experience that, the more you serve the Lord, the greater are his blessings to you. There is no greater joy than being a builder in his kingdom. I challenge you with all of the great power and potential that is within you to be the best of whatever you are, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

Elder L. Tom Perry

I love you all SO much! and I love THE MISSION!

Peace and Blessins,

Sister Holmes :)

Wk #28: Next Chapter

What a WEEK!
 

First of all... we got transfer calls last night....

I'm getting transferred and training a new missionary! I have such bitter sweet feelings about it all. Am I terrified out of my mind? You better believe it! I will be "white washing" an area! (Two new missionaries in an area..) I'm a little overwhelmed, but SO grateful that I've been given this opportunity! There are only 4 new sisters coming into the mission this transfer, and out of ALL the sisters serving here, I was one chosen to train! What a huge compliment and honor. Sister Rohwer will be staying here in Callaway, and she is also going to be training a new missionary. :) We've already shed lots of tears over leaving each other... so it's going to be quite an emotional few days for us, BUT I pray and hope that I can help my new little missionary the best I can. I truly am so grateful that Heavenly Father and President Smith have trusted me with this. I'm excited for this new chapter in my mission. :) I will be heading to Tallahassee tomorrow night, getting my new companion on Wednesday and heading to our new area! We won't know where we are serving until then... so keep your eyes out for the blog! or just wait until next monday ;) Sister Rohwer and I are both guessing Alabama, but we'll see!

 

Luckily, I was able to take pictures and say goodbye to most the ward on Saturday night at the Fish Fry they had! There are a few people I'm going to stop and see today and tomorrow. Gah. I hate goodbyes. I feel like I'm leaving home all over again!

I also hit six months this last week! CRAZY! I took a 6 month picture... but silly me forgot my camera today! So you'll just have to close your eyes and picture it. Sister Rohwer and I may or may not have celebrated by eating frozen yogurt for lunch... again.. I've gotta stop. haha Chocolate, Salted Carmel and coconut swirled together with toasted coconut and candied pecans on top? How can you not want that for a celebratory lunch.

We got a new investigator this week! His name is Braden, and he is the most polite little ten year old I have ever met. He is Walt's nephew! We are so excited to start teaching him! He told us that he had already started reading the Book of Mormon, and was so excited to learn more. What the! he's so awesome.

 

 

We also had some amazing experiences this week with service. Something that the south really struggles with is Home and Visiting Teaching. It is hard to watch, and at times extremely frustrating for us missionaries. So, we went out Visiting Teaching with one of the amazing women in our ward and was able to serve a sister who had just lost her husband not to long ago. She also suffers from extremely poor health and has a lot of family struggles. Sister Rohwer and I sat back for a few minutes and watched the sisterhood of the Relief Society unfold. What a humbling experience it was to watch two sisters serve and love each other.

We also had a few other amazing opportunities that we were blessed with, and we learned so much and felt such a love for our Heavenly Father as we did so!

Saturday we were able to attend and Wedding/Baptism for a family that the other sisters had been working with. It was a beautiful day for them, and we're so excited for them to start working towards the temple. :)

 

 

Last night Elder and Sister Crandall (a senior couple serving in our zone from Idaho) came over to our apartment and had Sunday dinner with us. We LOVED it. It felt like a Sunday at home getting together with family! They are the sweetest people ever, and I am so grateful I've been able to serve with them.

Today, a bunch of us missionaries in our zone are meeting at the beach for a BBQ and some fun.. 

but it's raining, so it should be a good time ;)

I love being a missionary, and I have loved serving here. It's definitely been REALLY hard, and very testing, but I have grown and learned so much about myself and my Savior. I'm grateful I've been given the opportunity to represent my Savior, Jesus Christ for 18 months. What an unexplainable experience it has been.

Thank you for all the love and prayers on my behalf. They are GREATLY appreciated!! 

 

 

 

Love Ya'll!

Sister Holmes :)

Wk #16: 21 and some Callaway fun!

Well hheellloo!!

First of all... T H A N K  Y O U  for all the birthday cards, packages, and emails! I was completely overwhelmed with love and have to say I got a little spoiled out here! So thank you!!! I ended up having a wonderful birthday! Sweet Sister Rohwer made me my favorite brownie sheet cake for my birthday, which I of course ate for breakfast.. ;) we went out to lunch with Sister Jenson and Sister Campbell (the other two sisters in our area) at Applebee's for my birthday lunch, which I ended up being having a birthday solo performed for me. Sister Campbell decided to tell our waitress that it was my birthday, and all the sudden she starts singing a very intimate, eyes closed serious birthday solo, almost at a Josh Groban level. You could say I was QUITE embarrassed. haha But it made for a funny moment. We did some service at a member's home, which means I got to wear SWEATS! Booya! Then went to scripture study, where I was surprised with a four layer cake that one of our YSA's made me! They all sang to me too. It was such a great day, and it felt great spending it out here! :)

Some other big news... We got transfer calls last night.. and.. SISTER ROHWER AND I ARE STAYING TOGETHER HERE IN CALLAWAY!!! We. Are. THRILLED. I just love her!

Miss Valerie's baptism is all set for this coming Saturday, and wow. My heart is just SO full of so many happy emotions! She is the biggest sweetheart ever, and her testimony just radiates. I am so beyond proud of her! Both Sister Rohwer and I are so, so excited that we get to both be here for her baptism. WE'RE SOOOO EXCITED!

Church yesterday was amazing. Our testimony meeting had the sweetest spirit, and it was amazing to hear such strong witnesses of the truth share their feelings. What an amazing opportunity we have to bear our testimonies! Other than that, we had a pretty slow week. We had a lot of cancelled appointments and lots of failed plans, but we're still workin hard!

This week I wanna leave ya with a little message about Family History. It is such a HUGE focus here in this mission, and something we should put as a priority in our everyday lives. I want to challenge and commit ya'll to find 1 name... just one.. this week to take to the temple! Remember your kindred dead. Read D&C 128:15,18-19, then pray for the spirit of Elijah as you search through your family tree. I promise you, that as you sincerely search for those ancestors, you will feel the spirit, and you will find those who are prepared to receive the gospel. You will find those who have been waiting for you, and specifically you, to do their work here on earth. What an amazing opportunity it is to live in a place that is completely surrounded by temples in every direction! Recognize that blessing, and recognize the opportunity and endless miracles that come from taking names to the temple. If you don't know how, or have never done it, ask someone. Go to familysearch.org and see your eternal family unfold :)

I love you all, and I am so grateful to be a missionary! What an amazing experience it is to help the lost sheep come back into the fold. Helping others feel the love that our Savior, Jesus Christ has for them. Seeing the Atonement work and change the lives of those around me. Everyday I am overwhelmed with an appreciation for my Savior. For the call that I accepted to help labor in the Lord's vineyard. My heart is just so happy, and it's so happy all the time. :)

Have such a wonderful week!
Peace and blessins.

Sister Holmes :)

Applebee's birthday lunch (Sister Campbell, Alexa's runnin' buddy, is on her way home!)

Partners in everything... 

Week #15: My companion can talk to gators..‏

What the Monday?! Days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days. Time on the mission is bizarre! But that's okay, because...

Valerie is getting baptized! We. Are. THRILLED. In a couple weeks she will take the first step into her eternal journey, and my heart has never been happier! She is so ready, and her testimony is one that rings true in my heart time and time again. We are so blessed that we get to work with her!

We also got two new gators this week, James and Sandra, and they are super awesome! Little tender mercies and miracles from the Lord are the greatest.

It was definitely a ssllooowwww week, but still a good one. :)

We had interviews with President this last week, and sheesh. He is one inspired man! I just love him with all my heart! President Smith and Sister Smith are AMAZING! It was such a great meeting!

We got to do some service at a member's house which was SO nice. For some reason, service is close to impossible to find here. We got to help paint there house, so it was good :)

I also came to the realization that if I change the gear on my bike and raise my seat, life get's a lot easier. Don't worry. It's only taken me 21 years to figure that one out.

BREAKING NEWS. WE HAVE GATORS LIVING IN THE POND BEHIND OUR HOUSE. And it's hilarious! We haven't seen them yet... I know, I know. BUT we can sure as heck hear them! As soon as they get dark, they get croakin away. It was pretty intense the other night. The first night we heard them, we may or may not have spent a good 45 minutes searching, watching, calling, and singing to them to get them to be visible.. They don't respond to primary songs.. But Sister Rohwer decided to try making a gator noise, and IT TALKED BACK! They went back and forth, and back and forth, and I was about ready to die! haha It was hilarious. We are going to feed it some raw chicken this week... I may or may not be emailing next week with one less limb.. But every living creatures gotta hear about the gospel! ;) We have a good time.

I absolutely ADORE Sister Rohwer. She is the biggest sweetheart ever, and one of my greatest friends! I'm so so grateful I've been able to serve with her!

Oh, and yes. My scriptures have fallen apart. The new scriptures are bound real bad. I'm not the only one that it's happened to, and super glue doesn't do the trick! But we'll just say that I've used them so much they are just fallin apart. ;) Because I have...

That's about all for today, but thank you to all who have sent me birthday things so far! I just get so overwhelmed with all the love! so THANK YOU! Ya'll are the greatest!

Love peace and chicken grease,

Sister Holmes :)