Wk #19: Witnessing a Testimony Grow

 

 

 

Four months has brought the highest highs and lowest lows, curve balls and home runs, weakness and strength, confidence and doubt. I've learned, and I've learned, and I've learned. I've been on my knees, I've cried. I've biked until I just don't think I can anymore. I've bandaged blisters, and have laughed until I've been sure I've gained a six pack. I've loved, and loved even more. But most importantly, I've seen.

 

I've seen relief in the eyes of the lost. I've seen hope in the hearts of the fallen. I've seen gratitude in the lives of the clean. I've seen desire in the soul of the growing. And I've seen harden hearts soften, testimonies grown, foundations built, and faith planted.

This week has brought experiences that will forever be dearly cherished in my heart. Experiences that have changed my life, and have changed the lives of others.

Archie. Archie has been talked to about the gospel for over ten years. His home teachers have worked with him, his sweet wife has been a faithful member and huge example and influence in his life, he's met with missionaries before, but never would accept the gospel. He always felt like he was being pushed, and he wanted it to be his decision. We received a miracle from our sweet Heavenly Father when we went over to introduce Archie to Sister Rohwer. Instantly, his countenance changed. We have now been able to meet with him multiple times, he's come to church the past three weeks, stayed for a pot luck, and has let his desire grow. Yesterday, Sister Rohwer and I went over for a lesson with them after church. We recapped the Restoration by watching the Restoration DVD with him. Not only was I able to witness Archie gain a testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, but my testimony grew ten fold. As I sat on the floor, I watched Archie watch the movie. Tears filled my eyes as I saw his heart soften, as I saw him understand. I saw him feel the spirit, and my heart was so full. We had a very neat lesson with him. He is now working on keeping the Word of Wisdom, and will be baptized on March 14h! He told us yesterday, and told his home teacher yesterday at church, that he has been waiting for Sister Rohwer and I. We love him more than words could say, and have thanked our Heavenly Father every day for trusting US to help him.

I am SO grateful. So grateful for the miracles I've seen, and for the tender mercies that I've received. I'm grateful for the Atonement, for the beautiful strength and healing it brings me, and for the hope it brings to the people I am surrounded with. I'm grateful for my adorable companion. We've shed many tears together this week with full hearts and admiration for those we've been working with. I've really strived to apply Omni 1:26 into my missionary work, and be a consecrated servant of the Lord. I encourage you to do the same, and apply it to YOU!

Also, update on cute little Jazzanae! Her baptism has been moved to April, due to family complications. We are bummed about it, but she's still rockin the gospel!

I love being a missionary!

Love,

Sister Holmes

ps- I tried sushi for the first time this week. NEVER AGAIN. haha

Wk #18: Tender Mercies

Ya'll! It's been an awesome week!! Sister Rohwer and I have had so many amazing experiences that we have been so overwhelmed. The Lord has given us tender mercy after tender mercy, and we have been SO grateful for that!!

Valerie is doing AWESOME. She's sharing the gospel with two of her friends, and has been such an amazing missionary! Her testimony is so strong, and she constantly tells us how grateful she is for the gospel, then she gets teary eyed and says "Go out and find people like me. I want them to experience the things that I have. You are out here saving lives. Don't ever give up." We have had some extremely powerful experiences with her. WE ARE SO PROUD!

Our ADORABLE little investigator, Jazzanae is getting baptized on February 28th! She is a doll. I have never met a little girl with a testimony like hers. She's definitely got an extremely special purpose here on earth in the gospel. We had asked her how it made her feel to know that we can be with our families forever, and she responded "It makes me feel proud! I get to be with my beautiful sisters forever. And when I feel this way it just makes me want to hug everybody. I'm proud of my family, and my faith, and I love Jesus." Melted my heart! We are so so excited for her, and she is ecstatic about getting baptized!

We also got a new investigator this week, and he is quite the miracle. His sweet wife is a strong member in our ward, and the cutest little lady in the world. Archie LOVES to feed the missionaries, but has always been very bold about not wanting to talk about the gospel with us. (It's been this way for years, and his home teachers have been trying to work with him for as long as they've been here in Florida.. which is a where they grew up.. so a long time.) Well, Mr. Archie wanted to meet Sister Rohwer! So we set up a time to go over there, and both felt prompted to share a little gospel message with him. THE SPIRIT WAS SO STRONG. We ended up setting up another appointment, he came to church that sunday (which was H U G E), and at the next appointment.... drum roll please... we invited him to be baptized, and HE ACCEPTED!!!!!!! So yesterday (he was at church again!!) we asked him how he was feeling about being baptized, and he was so excited! We set a date for March 14th!! Keep him in your prayers! We have had the most powerful lessons with him that I've experienced my whole mission. He is ready for the gospel, and we are SO happy for him!!

We had a lesson with our new investigator, Roy. (The bible basher...) and we really focused it on the Book of Mormon. It was a little frustrating, but I was able to bear testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith as well as the Book of Mormon, and I was overwhelmed with the spirit. It really hit me. I am so lucky that I get to be out here, sharing what I KNOW is true. you can't deny something that someone knows, and I was able to truly testify with all my heart about the gospel. We have another appointment with him next week. :)

This week we also got to go to Tallahassee to get the lovely Black Boxes put into our cars! (If you don't know what those are... google them. haha they are a safety device for our cars that I'm still trying to get used to) but I'm now the designated driver, and the steward over the car, so that's fun. haha BUT, it was Zone Conference so we had an AWESOME meeting with a few of the zones in the mission! I learned SO much, and as always, the spirit was just so strong. President and Sister Smith have my heart. I'm so grateful to have them leading this mission! Sister Smith showed us this video during the conference, and it really touched me. We are all in battle with the adversary. We know we are going to win, but we have so much to do before we gain that win. http://floridatallahasseemissionexperience.blogspot.com/2015/02/training-video.html
 It was a fun little road trip, and definitely exactly what I needed. :)

Also, Sister Rohwer has converted me to coconut. Never been a fan until now! She got a cute package with coconut macaroon cookie mix in it from Kitchen Kneads and WHOA. I had to REALLY practice my self control. HEAVEN.

This week I have been so overwhelmed with the spirit, that sometimes I look at my badge and just feel so honored to wear my Savior's name on my chest, to represent Him, and to bring others to the fold! What an amazing opportunity.

Thanks for all the Valentine's Love over the weekend! I loved it all!!!

Have a blessed day!

Sister Holmes :)

Wk #17: A Weekend Full of Tender Mercies

WOW! What a weekend!! Sister Rohwer and I have been on a spiritual HIGH! :)

Saturday sweet Valerie got baptized! It was such an incredible baptism and the spirit was extremely strong. Everything went smoothly (except our water heater for the font.. poor girl. haha) and the cute program was so great. Valerie insisted on bearing her testimony at the end, and whoa. I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. She definitely has a deep understanding and strong testimony of the gospel. She has come so far, and her life has truly been changed by the Atonement. What an incredible opportunity for her! I was so so happy. I have been so grateful that I've been able to get to know Valerie. She has the most tender heart, and I am SO beyond proud of her.

After the baptism, cute Sister Rohwer and I had a big heart to heart that led to tears of gratitude. You guys. She is SUCH a blessing to me. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father let us be companions! She is my family out here, and I will forever be grateful for her.

We rode our bikes all day Saturday, and the weather was absolutely GORGEOUS. Perfect blue skies, warm sun, and a soft breeze. Man, February in Florida is nniicceee. We were able to talk to so many people about the gospel, and there were so many tender mercies from Heavenly Father. We were so overwhelmed.

Later that night we decided to try a new technique that another sister shared with us called "indoor finding". So we went through our area book and called all the numbers that were listed, even if they were from years and years ago. And guess what! More tender mercies! We were able to set up multiple appointments with people! Some who hadn't talked to missionaries ever before that had given their information in 2008!

We ended up having a lesson with one of them last night. We were so excited, and had one of the young women teaching with us! So we went into the lesson. And there it was. My first experience with a bible basher. Welcome to the South ya'll! It was... an interesting experience. He wants us to come back next week so that he can have his buddy (a Jehovah Witness) hear what we have to say. Yikes. haha

But church was amazing, and we had THREE of our investigators there! What a blessing! One of which was a new gator we got this week!

Sister Rohwer and I have also had some pretty awesome, fun moments. haha Saturday night, we got laughing so hard that I was crying because I was in so much pain! haha I thought my abs were going to tear! Oh the joys of a good hardy laugh. We had so many happy moments!

I LOVE THE GOSPEL. And I LOVE being a missionary. It is the greatest experience of my life. The happy moments, like Valerie's baptism, outweigh the bad every time. Sometimes missions are 98% difficult, exhausting, and overwhelming. But the 2% of joy makes it worth it beyond measure.

Thank you for all the love and support. I couldn't be out here without ya!

LOVE YOU!

The happiest sister in the south,

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 :)

Week #14: I Shook The Hand of an APOSTLE.‏



The MTC girls together again (L-R; Sister Holmes, Sister Brown, Sister Beal, Sister Christiansen)

The Plain City Crew (L-R; Elder Parkinson, Sister Holmes, Elder Bradford)

Well hello there! WHAT A WEEK! We had the absolutely incredible opportunity to have a mission conference with Elder Neil L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve! President and Sister Smith were able to make it work so that the ENTIRE mission could meet together for this. Such a huge deal! We had the opportunity to meet Elder Anderson and shake his hand. Whoa. Let me tell ya. The spirit when he walked into the room sky rocketed. Instant tears on my end. Then when I got to meet him, I just wanted to hug him so bad! He truly is a man called of God. What an awesome experience! We got to sing our mission song to him (which holy emotions all over again because there were 200+ missionaries singing it for an apostle!) and then we got to hear from President and Sister Smith, then Elder Anderson and his adorable wife. Also, Mark Goldsteen (springsteen? crap. I forgot his name already) anyway, an AMAZING pianist played all the prelude, hymns and mission song for us! SO. COOL.

A fellow class of 2012 Silverwolf, Elder Smith

 

It was fun to have the whole mission together! I got to see all my MTC family and catch up with them, then I also saw Elder Bradford and Elder Parkinson(?) (crap.. I've already forgotten his name too!)  We of course had to take a Plain City picture. So crazy. haha I also ran into Elder Smith (Collin Smith) who I graduated with! What the! It was so fun. I especially loved seeing my girls!

So to make this even better, Elder Anderson came to the Panama City Stake and did a devotional. So I got to hear from him and be in his presence TWICE! He's amazing and I learned SO much. I was on a spiritual high for ddaayyss.

 

We had two investigators come to church, so that was ssaawweeet! We are still working with Valerie, and hoping to set a baptism date with her tomorrow! Peter is doing so well! He definitely feels the adversary working on him, but we have faith that things will work out! He is from Egypt, so Sister Rohwer and I surprised him with an Arabic Book of Mormon. He LOVED it!!! He was so so grateful. So that was a cool experience!

 

It was quite the week! I may or may not have had some mini meltdowns, BUT my sweet Savior pulled me through every time.

Just like I knew He would. :)

 

I'll leave you with one thing that really stood out to me as I listened to Elder Anderson. "Lift your face, and lift your faith."  Always look up to the Savior for comfort, for guidance, for happy times and bad times. Lift your faith and rise up to the

potential you are divinely destined with!

I love you all, and I feel your prayers every minute of the day. Thank you for ALL the support!!!

LOVE: Sister Holmes :)



Nobody's home... Was told an investigator lived here. Good new is no one lives here.

Frozen Yogurt for dinner!

Amazing friends and companions. An instant connection.

Week #13: MIRACLES! THEY'RE REAL!

Alexa & Sister Rohwer (Logan, UT) during Christmas day Skype

WHOA! Has this week been amazing or WHAT! Sister Rohwer and I are being SO BLESSED right

now. We've just been dying at how quickly the work has boomed this last week. My heart has never been so happy!
We got 3 new gators this week! Can you believe that?! THREE CHILDREN OF GOD READY FOR THE GOSPEL! And not only that, but we have 3 others that are pretty amazing potentials that we think with become investigators, and one little 7 year old girl we are working with for baptism! The Lord answers prayers, that's for sure! So all together we have 5 investigators! *insert the victorious butt scootch dance, screaming, and jumping up and down with all the excitement of the universe.*

Now here is a story all about how the work got flipped turned upside down. I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, I'll tell you all about how the work is hastening out here... I'm so clever.. ;)

 

So I hate to admit it, but my faith had been lacking a little. We had seen little to no progress on the people we were teaching, we were having a difficult time finding new people to teach, and our plans kept cancelling left and right. As one of the most frustrating days was coming to an end, Sister Rohwer and I decided to pull into a parking lot and say a prayer. We sat there for a minute and decided to go to a gas station to get a drink. (I may have told this story last week... so if I did, ssoorrryy. you get to hear it again. but stay tuned. There's more information!) There was one person in there. And he was the worker. His name is Peter and we shared the gospel with him! He was SO interested. So fast forward a few days, and we were able to take him on a Church Tour, and teach him about the Restoration. We gave him a Book of Mormon, and the spirit was extremely strong! He asks the most incredible questions and has such a strong desire to know which church to join. He is our age, and is from Egypt (the gospel will be shared with all nations!) and is such an amazing person. He is always telling us how good he feels when we teach him and how much he looks forward to our next lesson.

 

Then, Sister Rohwer and I went on exchanges. Our Sister Training Leaders are Sister Peterson (aka Sister Pete) from Utah, and Sister Palmer from Arizona. And WE LOVE THEM. They are the two funniest human beings on the planet. Sister Pete and I were able to talk to a bunch of people on the streets as we rode our bike in tundra weather, and even ran out of Book of Mormons to pass out! The spirit was so strong in each OYM we did (OYM = Open Your Mouth) and we had so much success. So much that we have a family we are going to begin teaching, and another man who has been looking for this gospel. Holy Miracles!

Not only those, but we had THREE investigators come to church yesterday! That is HUGE! One of them being a lady we met saturday while riding our bikes.

 

As I was riding my bike, I was praying so hard to Heavenly Father. I told him that I knew he would place those children who are prepared to receive the gospel in our paths. I knew he would guide us to where we needed to be, and that I knew he had a plan for our day. I asked to have my eyes spiritually opened, that I would be able to be aware of all those who surrounded us. So, silly me took the wrong turn on my bike. We laughed and just went with it, and that's where we met Cindy. I yelled hello to her as she was unlocking her front door. She looked at me, and started walking toward me. I turned my bike around and rode back to her to hear her say to me, "I know you. How do I know you?! Are you from around here? Have you worked in an office building here locally? I have seen you before. I know you!" I was like wwhhaatt.. So i went with it. She brought up the gospel, was asking questions, and asked if we had any literature for her to read. So, of course I whip out my handy dandy Book of Mormon and she was so beyond excited! I invited her to church for the next day, and gave her the card with the church address, time, and our number. We set an appointment to meet with her on Tuesday.

 

Now, while this was happening, another man came up to Sister Rohwer and started asking her questions! We ended up sharing the gospel with two completely different people, and gave both of them a Book of Mormon having two completely separate conversations, AT THE SAME TIME. What the WHAT!

Now, it's Sunday. We were ecstatic to have two of our gators at Sacrament Meeting. We went to Sunday School, and randomly got summoned out of class. Lo and Behold, Cindy had WALKED about an hour to church because she didn't have a car and she wanted to come see what it was like. SHE WALKED. My heart about leaped out of my body! She stayed for Sunday School and Relief Society, we ended up having a lesson at her house a few hours later, have another appointment set up with her for tomorrow, and she wants to come to scripture study on wednsday, and church again on sunday! we have found her rides, and she is so just crazy awesome!

THE WORK TRULY IS HASTENING! My faith has been increased ten fold, and I thank Heavenly Father every day, and all throughout the day for blessing Sister Rohwer and I with these opportunities, and trusting us enough to let us help these children of His!

Sister Rohwer and I couldn't be happier, and we have seen the miracles and blessings that come from prayer and companionship unity.

SO! This week, I want to invite YOU. I want to invite you to pray for a missionary opportunity. They surround you, and they are always available. Have the faith of Enos, and have the desire to bring one of Heavenly Father's children into the fold. Have a desire to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel, through Faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, Baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. I know with every ounce of my soul, that you will be blessed with such an amazing opportunity to share the gospel.

I am SO grateful to be a missionary! And to not only wear a badge on my chest, but a badge on my heart. This church is true!

LOVE YA'LL!

Sister Holmes :)