November 28, 2011

Hello! Sounds like you've all had a happy Thanksgiving.

The library is quite loud today. I guess they do ukulele lessons at our library now???

We had p-day on Thanksgiving...since we'd already emailed on Monday last week and we didn't really have any shopping to do we actually did get a day to relax! It was so nice! We studied until 10 like always, and then we played finger football (we made a full field on our coffee table and everything!). Unfortunately, BYU lost to Utah 20-18. Our kickers just weren't with it.......Then we went to one of our members' homes. We had a wonderful meal, and then we played some games. I won scattergories...I warned them when we started that I was going to!

Transfers are coming up on the 13th of December. I'm anticipating that I'll be transferred. I've been in Everson forever...It'll be good to be in a new area. I will miss Sister Beckstrand and Sister Niu though. We're having a really great time together. Next transfer we're getting four new sisters though, and one is going home...So we'll have 22 sisters!!! (With more coming still!) So we know at least one of us will be leaving, since there will be an even number in the mission again.

The highlight of this past week was probably starting to teach Jessica. She's the friend of a member in our ward we've met a few times. In the past she's been lukewarm, but last Monday when we were all at our member's house for dinner she said she'd been reading out of the Book of Mormon earlier that morning and that she was curious about it! She said her son's grandmother is also a member. We talked a bit about what the Book of Mormon is and how we came to have it. We asked her to read it and she said "But...I feel like I'm cheating on the Bible!" So we gave her some examples of how we use the Bible and the Book of Mormon together when we're studying (quite convenient that Sister Beckstrand and I are both in the Isaiah chapters of 2 Nephi right now, so we DO actually study out of both every morning) and she said she felt better. So we're excited to be teaching her now.

Love you all!
Sister Heather Holdsworth

November 21, 2011

Hello everyone! It has been snowing (just a few inches still on the ground in the mountains) a bit this past week. We are being careful...with all the stories from the missionaries in Texas and the sisters in New York. Both my companions are from Utah, and they say that they're impressed with how well I drive when it's snowing (for as much as I complain about the snow being unnecessary, being from California, etc.)...so I guess that's good?

Glad to hear Michelle is doing well! I'm assuming Adam is the boy she's been dating?????

This past week we celebrated my 8 month mark by having another great lesson with Chris about scripture study and prayer. She's having her knee surgery on Friday, so we talked with her about getting a blessing from Joe's (her boyfriend) home teachers. Hopefully all will go well! =)

Yesterday at Church was the primary program. It was wonderful, as always. Chris loved it, and we had a lot of less active members come as well. It was really great to see. Erik (former investigator) even came to support Heather's son, Jaden, in the program. We're going over to Heather's for dinner tonight, so maybe he'll be there and we can begin teaching him again.

Right now our ward mission leader is out of town. The first counselor in our bishopric runs his own non-profit that builds orphanages in Africa...so he, and Brother and Sister Packard left for a trip to Africa on Tuesday. They should be back in about two weeks. (It was pretty interesting too, because at our stake conference, Elder Clayton was using an analogy about the way one of the African tribes protects their flocks, and they're actually going to be spending a few days WITH that same tribe...they're even more excited now!) For now, our assistant ward mission leader, Brother Jensen is running the show. We had to wash our car for zone conference last Friday, and so he let us borrow his hose and such. We got first place between our zone and one other that was there!! We got 50 extra miles for the month! Which is much needed, since we have an investigator all the way out in the boonies of our out-in-the-boonies-already area! Woohoo!

...oh, the highlights of being a missionary....

We also had a memorial for one of the members of our ward on Saturday. Sister Bennett--I may have mentioned her....she was the lady with lung cancer that we were helping get ready to move to California....? Anyways, she passed away a few weeks ago. A lot of non-members came to her memorial...no one was interested in learning more about the Church, but a lot of people expressed how grateful they were that the Church helped her so much. So, that was really good.

This week p-day is moved to Thursday for Thanksgiving (we get to email still today, though, since the library will be closed). We'll be having dinner with the Brainards. Sister Brainard is possibly one of my Most Favorite People Ever. She wanted to have us over for her birthday last Wednesday, but the primary program practice interfered (she has three kids....I think her oldest is 6?? can't remember at the moment.) So, she was very glad to hear we hadn't had anyone for Thanksgiving yet. We've gotten a lot of offers since she signed up, though, so don't fret: we'll be MORE than well fed and loved on Thanksgiving. =) She says Brother Brainard will be doing the cooking (Sister Brainard is a great cook, but she says her husband is even better, so we're quite excited...he's also the second counselor in our bishopric...I guess that might be pertinent?? haha I don't know)...I'm sure his stuffing won't measure up to Grandma's though!!

Anyways...I've got a few minutes left....we'll see how fast I can be grateful....

I'm grateful for the chance to serve a mission for the Lord.
I'm grateful for the investigators, less active members, active members, and companions I've been blessed to know, love and teach.
I'm grateful for everything all of those people have taught me.
I'm grateful for my current companions,
I'm grateful parents that support me in everything I do; for encouraging me; for teaching me to appreciate the Gospel, education and service towards others.
I'm especially grateful that my parents raised me in the suburbs.
I'm grateful for the Atonement.
I'm grateful for all the blessings the Lord has promised me if I endure to the end in obedience to His will.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!! Love you all!
Sister Heather Holdsworth

November 14, 2011

Hello! It was good to hear from you.

I got your package! Thank you so much for sending the heating blanket, my medication, etc...Especially the Ensign! Good thinking, Mom, before I even asked you! =) I studied Elder Perry's talk this morning (pre-assignment for our zone conference coming up Friday...what can I say...we have lots of conferences!)...it was a little weird having the Aussef family smiling up at me during my personal study...but it was nice at the same time. I loved all the notes from the family...thank you all for writing!! Sorry I've been neglecting writing back.......the past few p-days have been WAY TO BUSY! we're determined to fix that today though. Cleaning and letter writing. That's the plans for today. (so the stamps will come in handy too! =) ) The cookies are probably half gone already...Sister Niu and Sister Beckstrand both say "thank you!"

The other highlight of this past week was, of course, our conferences with general authorities! On Saturday our mission conference was with Elder Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy, Bishop Edgely of the Presiding Bishopric and Elder Merrill (not sure if I've been spelling his name right...), an area seventy. It was wonderful.

We started off with Sister Wilson bearing her testimony of prayer and then President Wilson bore his testimony. What really struck me from his talk was that the big push for senior couples now isn't just for those that could serve immediately, but it's also for those of us that are younger and serving now to prepare now to serve another, as a reminder that a mission isn't THE defining experience of a life, just one of many.

Then Elder Andersen got up to speak. He started out joking that Elder Perry stole his thunder by visiting just a few months ago. It is really so rare to be visited by one of the Twelve anyways...to have two visits within three months of each other!? Anyways...He spoke about our role in the conversion process. It's so nice to hear so many of our leaders discussing how baptism isn't the end goal of missionary work, but true conversion, temple attendance and eternal life are the end goals. He spoke a lot in terms of "this is what I've learned from Elder Bednar" or "this is what I've learned from Elder Scott." Sister Niu, Sister Beckstrand and I were talking about it, and we've really noticed that the Brethren seem to be referencing each other, directly, more and more. Something else we've noticed is that they've been using their titles as apostles and prophets more to introduce their testimonies. The other day during our mormon.org time Sister Beckstrand was watching a video of Elder Oaks speaking in the Senate, and even there he said "I'm here to speak to you as an Apostle of the Lord..." etc. It was pretty interesting. Elder Andersen really bore strong testimony of our work, and how we shouldn't be too hard on ourselves.

Then Elder Clayton opened up for question time. A few good questions were asked....one of the better questions was about the urgency to preach the Gospel and accept the Gospel in this life rather than in the next. Bishop Edgely answered that question. He said the main reason is for our posterity. He gave some examples of some members in his wife's family that didn't stay strong, and it was four generations that fell away from the Church until his wife was contacted by missionaries and she accepted the Gospel herself. Then Elder Andersen spoke on it a little. He said it's not "just" that the "same spirit" will remain with us from this life to the next, but that as a member of the Twelve, he'd learned and seen many things, and that he knows that it is easier to learn the Gospel on this side of the veil. He said (as best as we could piece the quote together, between the three of us...) "Learning on this side of the veil is more enduring. A person is so much better off if he learns faith here. Learn to live for others. The person that says he will wait until the other side fools himself. If he will seek to turn himself out [towards others] in the role of the Master...[these] principles are much easier to learn on this side of the veil." It was really powerful. Elder Clayton had started with the question period reminding us that this wasn't the time to ask deep doctrinal questions that we'll have new revelation told to us...and while what Elder Andersen isn't new I felt like it was a little bit close...Very interesting.

We expected that Elder Andersen would be at our stake conference yesterday also (he was our stake president's mission president) but he didn't. The stake meeting was with Elder Clayton and President and Sister Wilson. It was all about missionary work. The three of us had been talking about what we expected from the conferences the whole week before (well...weeks really...). We were kind of expecting the mission conference to be this smackdown that we needed to buck up and do better work...but really, our conference was all about "You're doing a great job! Keep up the good work! Be patient! Don't get yourselves down!"

But then the stake conference....the members kind of got reamed. Basically, it was all about how if the members aren't doing their jobs to find and fellowship, what we do as missionaries won't make any difference. In a very nice, loving way, of course...but from a missionaries perspective it was kind of harsh...We're really hoping the members in our stake (and our ward especially) will really take the counsel they received to heart. We got a few ideas of things we can try form it also...but really, our conference was Saturday, and that was what was directly for us. We're here in the stake as guests...while the principles apply to us, the direct counsel applies to the members more...The after-effects will be interesting to watch.

Elder Clayton issued a challenge for the stake to set aside a FHE (Family Home Evening) to study the Proclamation on the Family by dividing a paper in half and on one side writing "Christ's Doctrine on the Family" and on the other "What the World Believes About the Family." He said that the Twelve had given that assignment to the Seventy, and it took several FHEs before his family was finished, but he promised that doing so would give added strength to our families, and it would help us "see where the Adversary is hidden" to combat him better. We're going to do that for a companionship study one of these days, I think. We're looking forward to it.

Chris and her son Derrick were both able to come. They actually even got to shake Elder Clayton's hand before the meeting started. They didn't know who he was, but when we saw them afterward they were SO excited to tell us about it. They're both really awesome investigators. They're doing so great =) They LOVED the conference...they said it was even better than watching general conference on TV!

Well...I'm out of time to really write anything else, but I hope you enjoyed reading about our conferences...I have some pictures to send you that I'll get printed and in the mail soon. Hope you have a wonderful week!

Love you all!
Sister Heather Holdsworth

November 8, 2011

Hello! Sorry for the late email...the power went out yesterday at the library. It was also district p-day yesterday, and BGOs day (BGO's is the Bargain Grocery Outlet. It is owned by a church member in Bellingham, and he gives each of the missionaries in our zone $20 there on the first Monday of the month)...so it was busy! Our district had lunch together and then we played games at our church building. It was interesting I suppose.

Saturday was Katie's baptism...it was really great. About half of our active members came out to support her, she really felt loved, and we were all very pleasantly surprised: we weren't expecting that many people! We loved it and appreciated it though! We had a meeting with her this morning; she's doing really good, getting ready to move and whatnot. She's really excited to be able to do baptisms for the dead in Provo. =)

My new companion is Sister Niu--the one I was having dreams that we would be companions! How funny! She is from West Valley, UT. She's 6th of 8 kids. Her parents are both from Tonga, but she was born and raised in Utah. (Sister Beckstrand is from Heber to answer your question...She'll be going back to Snow college when she's off her mission next March.) We're getting along really well. We can't believe we've only been all together for a week!

Let's see...what else is going on...Our investigators seem to be dropping like flies now that Katie is baptized......Erik dropped us...bunches of others, too.....Chris is still doing really well...except that she needs to have reconstructive surgery on her knee and so that's probably going to postpone her baptism until next spring so that she can recover!! =( bummer!

This coming Saturday is our mission conference with Elder Anderson--don't know if I mentioned that in my last email or not...if not...hey! guess what! Elder Anderson is coming to our mission...He's having a conference with the missionaries on Saturday and then on Sunday our stake is having a special stake conference with Elder Clayton and President and Sister Wilson...we're curious if Elder Anderson will be in attendance as well...Maybe! Who knows!?

Other than that...it's pretty much business as usual. Just trying our best here in Everson...The sun was setting around 5:30...so now it's setting at 4:30. Still taking the vitamin D.

Love you all! Miss you!
Sister Heather Holdsworth