2 Nephi 31:20

Iowa is really quite a bit colder than Utah when the wind blows. I mean, honestly, when it hits you straight in the face then you kind of wish you were dead. It's awesome! haha

This week was great! felt like utah because earlier in the week it was WAY cold, then got warmer, all the snow melted, and now it's FREEEEEZING with lots of snow! yay! (the snow here sucks. and just gives the wind weapons to throw at your face.)

 

Tuesday we put some of that wheat in the huge trashcans in plastic bags, and Elder Keller needed a haircut really bad so we went and got a haircut. While I was waiting for him, I started talking to this lady about life. We ended up talking about the Gospel, and what she was looking for in a church (just so happens she was looking for a church.. hmm... ;) ). She wants a family oriented church, and I gave her a Proclamation to the World and she just loved it. We got a long really well. Just so happens she's not in our area, so we had to give her info to someone else. Then we taught this sweet less active guy who loves guns. Then we taught this other inactive guy who lives with his girlfriend, and we just answered a ton of her questions and taught her. It was pretty neat.

 

Wednesday we had a church tour with one of our grace-lovers and a member family, it was... less than good. BUT that night we went to find a new investigator, and we prayed, and I felt prompted to go to this apartment building we've never been to. Only one light was on in the WHOLE building, so we were like, eh. maybe not. We thought of other places to go, but the thought came to me, What if it's that ONE person that's here. There's no way i can deny that prompting. We went, and ENDED UP TEACHING HIM A 10 MINUTE RESTO! It was way dope! he heard about the church 2 weeks earlier and wanted to learn more. He's muslim, and so we can't really pursue him or invite him to baptism (its dangerous for them to convert), so he will call us if he wants to learn more.

 

Thursday we did a lot of service and found out that we can do service in a butterfly house and just talk to people. So we are anxiously pursuing that. A lesson fell through and we ended up going to visit the Widow of the man who died last week. She's having a really hard time, and it was way good to go see her.

 

Friday, we did service for a while, and prayed a lot and were directed to some sweet potential investigators.

 

Saturday we had a meeting all day, but I DROVE FOR MY FIRST TIME ON MY MISSION to go pick up some other missionaries. It was easy. haha. Then there was a ward christmas party, and there were tons of non members and it was sick! there are some pictures on facebook (i havent seen them) of us, if you can somehow find them.

 

This week was way awesome. I love all of you! thank you so much for everything!

-Elder Hollan

It's Cold

It's freezing cold in Iowa. When the wind blows, it kills. It snowed, and was blowy, and it was freezing. But later in the week it warmed up and im wearing a short sleeve right now. Sounds like utah, but the wind is frigid here.

This week was pretty interesting! not really too busy because of Thanksgiving and everyone was out of town or not in the mood. Which is pretty unfortunate when you're a missionary.

Monday night we had a dinner with a member but when we showed up, they had totally forgot. The wife went sprinting for the waffle iron (pretty good idea) but we were able to get out of it and tell them we were just stopping by. hahahhaaha

Tuesday, some members were given trash cans full of wheat and rice and beans for food storage. 8 huge trashcans full. We drove up to where they wre with the members and the members were surprised to find out that they were legit full size (the kind you put on the curb) trashcans with one huge plastic bag full of crap. They thought that it was gonna weigh like 100 lbs or something. hahahahaha. We tried to pick one up (elder keller and I) and ALMOST got it. I think we could've done it if we didnt want a hernia. but we ended up taking an old wooden fence, some cinder blocks, and jimmy rigging a ramp to get into the back of the truck. It was nuts. and incredibly heavy. to unload them, we didn't have the fence anymore, so we thought we would just empty some of the can out and then be able to lift it. Scooping endless amounts of wheat into plastic bags with a subzero (serious) wind biting at your bare flesh is not easy, fun, or what i signed up for. It was incredibly cold, and i thought my skin was going to break and fall in with the wheat to make some really interesting bread. finally our brains turned on and we ended up half sliding/half dropping the cans off the tail bed so we could just roll them. woohoo. they are estimating the cans weighed about 600lbs. NEAT. SO FUN. That night I went on exchanges and ran around and taught a sweet lesson to the guy from spain that is having a really hard time.

Wednesday we found out that the homeless dude was gonna have to move to des moines to live with friends because you can only stay at the shelter for 2 weeks. We also had some knocking, and ate lunch with a sweet less active guy and dinner with some of my favorite members.

Thursday we made some lesson plans, and went to some members to eat thanksgiving. Played some board games, and ping pong, and ate a lot. It was really good. We went and spent the night with a less active guy who was all alone, and we juggled and ate and had a good time with him. He's a genius, and makes me feel like it.

Friday we had meetings, planned, and some typical knocking.

Saturday might have been the worst day ever. We had a lesson fall through in the morning, walked to city hall to do some service but they were closed, got a flu shot (that wasnt bad i kind of liked it) and went to the old people we gave blessings to and found out that he had died that morning. did some knocking and found a lot of asians who believe in science. hahaha taught a lesson to a sweet family (that was good. and he made good pancakes) and went to teach the guy from spain but he told us that he talked to his wife and she doesn't want him to investigate anymore. overall, a no-show, a death, and a drop. hahaha

That's pretty much it, but I'm very thankful for every one of you and everyone who loves and helps me. Thank you for the support.

Most of all, I am thankful for the Atonement and the Savior, and the Gospel in my life, and the opportunity I have to share the blessings and happiness that comes with it.

-Elder Hollan

Dang Concussions

I left my planner at home, and because of my awful memory, (probably from concussions) I can't remember much of anything from my week. I'm sorry, but this week was a lot better than last.

Tuesday, we raked some leaves at the 92 year olds, and that's honestly all i can remember.

Wednesday, was P-day, because of transfers, but we ended up playing board games because the gym was full of random stuff. (i actually didnt play any, i learned how to juggle.) Oh ya, i learned how to juggle, and it's really cool! I'm getting pretty good at it too... which is good! cause it's a random thing that i've kind of always wanted to do.

Thursday, the other wards sisters gave us a referral for some guy they met in the library, and scheduled a lesson in the morning at the institute. he didn't show up, so we went looking for him. We found him at the library and he was still willing to talk to us. He's way sweet! we talked about our relationship with Christ, and really just got to know each other. it was snowing and we went around looking for people who are still on the records but no one has ever seen or heard of. No miracles with that, but that's ok! the new elders came and when they arrived a member of our ward was at the church and he was like, "lets go get pizza!" so he took us to a pizza buffet, and it was really good. I didn't eat much, but it was really good. haha. what a sweet dude, taking 8 missionaries to dinner like that.

Friday we had district meeting, and i dont remember anything. It was freezing cold. I remember that.

Saturday we had Iowa games again!! We got to score 6th grade GIRLS basketball for 9 hours! how awesome is that?! it was sooo incredibly fun, and active, and my rump is still sore from sitting so long. Sheesh. haha

Sunday was awesome!! the dude we taught in the library came to church, and two members brought investigators too! It was crazy. I felt like i was running around going crazy, but the ward did an awesome job, and the experience was good. but very stressful one member, im gonna call him will, has been bringing his girlfriend for a few weeks, and then that night his family had us over for dinner. We taught the Restoration, and it was awesome. It was all going very smoothly, and wills sister was there too. We talked about the healing of the Atonement and how Jesus Christ is there for us at all times, in all circumstances. His sister bore SWEET testimony of it, and was crying. Then wills GF was crying, then we continued to teach and bore testimony on the Book of Mormon, And Will cried, his GF cried, his sister cried, Elder Keller Cried, I almost cried, and it was SUPER strong spirit. It was amazing. And Hopefully something comes from it all.

That's pretty much all i remember from this last week off the top of my head. The Lord is leading me along, even through low valleys and high peaks, I just have to be patient and submissive. Easier said than done.

Thank you for all of your prayers and love and support and letters.

In this week of Thanksgiving, remember all that the Lord has done, is doing, and will do for YOU.

Thank you all, Love you!

-Elder Hollan

Alma 26:27

This week was just crazy and feels like it was a month long. I'm not getting transferred, so i'll be here with Elder Keller (the new district leader) until january!

Monday we went and helped the old couple we gave a blessing to move from one house to another. It was way sweet because they are super nice and love us.

Tuesday we had interviews with President Jensen most of the day. He's a sweet guy, and his wife is a sweet heart. After that we went to John and Allie's to meet with them. They had read the Book of Mormon, but were picking it apart word by word, and asking a million questions about it. So we just tried to answer their questions and move onto the lesson but there were so many questions there was no time. It was really dumb. The spirit WAS NOT there, and at the end he told us that they "just aren't buying it. If we have any more questions we'll give you a call." So that's extremely lame, and it really bothered me a lot. I was really really sad, and felt like it was my fault, (because partly it was).

Wednesday i was still feeling AWFUL because of John and Allie from the moment I woke up. But after studies and some prayer it got better. We went and contacted and no one would answer and nothing really happened until we found this sweet girl that was interested, but she's single so we gave her to the sisters. We went out to a members house and helped them with their yard because it had been dug up from replacing pipes, and we moved a ton of their stuff into their barn. When we were finished, they had prepared a full fledged Seder. (meal of the Passover for Jews), and it was crazy weird and cool. They had silver platters and little silver shot glasses for grape juice, and a real script just like when the Savior had it. It was pretty legit. Really quite interesting and cool to see how the Savior fulfilled every "jot and tittle" of the Law of Moses. I had lamb, and it was a little funky but I liked it. She gave us souvenirs and stuff to keep and remember, and it was neat!

Thursday, I gave a training in District meeting, then went on exchanges with Elder Barger. We taught the Restoration to one of our potentials and it was really sweet, but at the end of the lesson, after accepting a baptismal invite, they still said that they "will call us when they find out". So that's really lame. After that we ate some pizza with a Recent Convert so that was fun.

Friday, we were running a little late to an appointment and when we got there he wasn't available anymore so we had to reschedule. But in that free time, in the MIDDLE OF THE DAY, (awful time to knock doors), we had no other choice but to knock doors. So that's what we did! Said a prayer, and started going. NO ONE answered their doors. We knocked and knocked and NO ONE would answer. Then this guy came out of a building and was like, "Hey! are you Mormons?" ...ya "well i'm a dwindling catholic and i would love to meet with you guys. Do you meet with people and like teach and stuff?" yes.. that's pretty much exactly what we do (i said in my mind.) So the Lord gave us that guy. That was neat. He can't meet until after Thanksgiving, but still a blessing. The VERY NEXT DOOR we knocked on, was this man from Spain, he wanted us to come in and teach him right then, but our next appointment was in 10 mins, so we asked if we could come back later. He said he didn't know if he would have time, but we still had to go to the other appointment so we got his info and rushed to the appointment. It fell through, so we ran back to the Spanish man's apartment and he let us in. Very long story short, He is going through the hardest time in his life, and he told us so. He's having problems with his wife, financial, and emotional problems. He is extremely humble, and AMAZINGLY prepared. He's super awesome, and i feel so bad for him. After the opening prayer, he was crying, and We started teaching the Resto, (because he expressed how he thought some truths taught in churches have been changed.) and it was not going well. So we started to teach about the Atonement, and the Book of Mormon. It was extremely spiritual, tears all around. He thanked us and promised us he would read, and asked if we would hug him. When i hugged him, he said it felt like hugging a brother.

I am extremely humbled and grateful to be help him in his greatest time of need. Even if it was just to love him and help him not make irrational and permanent decisions. I know that the magnitude and effect is still not in perspective for me, and what we did to help him, but from what i do know, I am very grateful the Lord trusted us with loving him that day.

That night we tracted again, and on one door, the door across the hall thought we had knocked on theirs, so we split up, (me teaching one door, elder keller turned around and teaching the other). it was sooo funny and sooo sweet. I didn't really think about it until after and realized how sick that was. haha

Saturday we helped the sisters get everything ready for their baptism. He's a tall guy, and so it took 4 times (finally with them kneeling in the font) to get him completely submersed. He said he felt like the Lord was saying, "Are you sure you want to do this? Are you sure you want to do this?" and he was just like "YES! I WANT TO DO THIS!" haha so awesome. That night was stake conference, which was centered on missionary work, and it was really awesome.

Sunday we had stake conference again, and we went and visited some Less Actives, and had dinner at a members.

I know that the Lord is testing me, building me, and putting me through a refiners fire. This week was really tough, and i'm still trying to work through it all with the Lord. But I know that if we keep working, praying, and being obedient, then we will finally get some success.

-Elder Hollan

In The Hands Of The Potter

 

 

 

Hello! This week was good, but looking back it felt like last monday was a month ago.

On Tuesday, we woke up and it was raining super hard. But by the time we had to leave for a lesson, it was just this mist rain that happens in Iowa, so we just wore rain jackets. While walking to the appointment, the rain started to pick up, and by the time we had arrived, it was POURING rain. We were completely soaked. We were teaching John and Allie, and we taught them the Plan of Salvation. It was really good, and they totally understand and are willing to read and pray and everything in order to reach the date of Dec 14. Very exciting! Elder Keller felt sick still, and when we had walked in the rain, it made him feel very sick. So Tuesday night he couldn't even talk at dinner. We went home early.

Wednesday, Elder Keller was very sick so we stayed inside all day. When we went to the Dr. to see if he had Strep, the Dr. was super interested in the gospel and missionaries because she had seen The Book Of Mormon play! It was sweet! We are going to schedule a time to meet with her! SO SWEET! We sat around, watched a ton of church movies, listened to talks, and studied.

Thursday, Elder Keller was still sick so we just went out to reschedule lessons and give a Book of Mormon to the sweet Japanese guy. It took 30 minutes just to give it to him, because we COULD NOT communicate with him. It seriously took 10 minutes alone to say goodbye. hahah so funny.

Friday, we went on exchanges and I was with Elder Mckenzie here in Ames. A less active girl from a different ward wanted me to teach her how to throw clay on the wheel, (make pottery) so we went to the ceramic studio she worked at and I taught her! It was way fun! I got to throw again! I missed that, and it was a tender mercy to be able to do that. The owner of the studio saw me helping her, and asked if I would be able to throw her some lids and stuff that she needed. I said I'd try, and honestly, with not much confidence in myself because it has been MONTHS since I've thrown, said a quick prayer to myself that I would not fail. AND THROUGH THE LORD I DID IT. I made everything that I needed to make her, and to the right dimensions and everything. She was very impressed, and I was very surprised. Haha. We're going back to do some service for her, whether that's teaching customers how to throw, or what, I'm not sure, but I'm excited! The Ward Mission Leader found out, and is organizing a ceramic class for our ward, with me as the teacher... great. I'm very nervous. haha. We'll see how it goes and if it actually goes through.

We then went and raked leaves for 3 and half hours. Good grief. No wonder I never did it before my mission. Then we went to dinner, and taught the Recent Convert that's a boss.

Saturday Morning we taught a girls friend who has a bunch of questions about the church. So we met outside his building on a bench and froze our faces off, and taught him! It was sweet! He's now an investigator! Then we went and taught a Hindu family AND GOT THEM TO PRAY! WOO!! Then a lesson with the evangelical guy from Nigeria. Then zone training, then we had the opportunity to give a blessing to an elderly man who was recently diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. It was super spiritual and I LOVED it. They loved each other (him and his wife) so much, it broke my heart how sad she was. We are going to try and teach them, but we'll see how it goes.

Sunday was a day full of meetings, planning, and more meetings. Woohoo.

I've always heard people talk about how Christ is the Master Potter, and how we should be soft and form-able in His hands. This is one thing that I have been striving to do my entire life, to be what the Lord wants me to be, to put myself aside, and make His will mine. It's a life-long journey, but as with every thing, it begins with one step. I hope you guys will try to see what kind of clay you are. If you're being obedient and letting the Lord form you, or if you're trying to make yourself something YOU WANT.

I love my mission, thank you for all the love and support. I hope and pray that I will be able to help people realized the love and plan that our Heavenly Father has for them. I'm not very good at it though. Eh. it'll come.

Love, Elder Hollan

Halloween Town

 

 

Hello! This week was pretty crazy. We literally ran from appointment to appointment, and it feels like last week was a month ago. Doesn't make sense, but we did a lot this week.

Monday night we went tracting (like always) and knocked into this SICK guy from Japan. He's been in America for like 2 weeks, and he has VERY broken english. It was so hard to understand him, and he would stop and try and say things in japenese expecting us to understand. But he was the nicest guy ever! he kept saying how he was so glad he met us, and that we were his friends. He gave us this little toy that is a word (like monkey) in japenese, then transforms into the animal that is the word. I know that's an awful description, but it's sweet.

Tuesday we went back to the spidery cellar, and finished FOR NOW. whew. Then we went and hung out with our RC. He was just getting in bed but we talked to his neighbor (who's also in a chair) for a long time. He's one of the nicest guys i've ever met! sooo sweet. We had a ton of appointments, and most of them fell through, so we ended up knocking a ton. We found this Muslim guy and we started teaching him. (we teach a lot of muslims) and it was going ok. I was trying SO HARD to listen to him and the spirit, and it was working! He started... well... expressing his beliefs about the Savior, and I was seriously about to freak out. In my mind I was just like, I'm gonna lay down the law and bear testimony and tell him what's up, but i KNEW if i did that, the spirit would leave me, and it would get worse. So instead, i just let it go. And SOMEHOW (through the Holy Ghost obvi) we ended up talking about the Book of Mormon and gave him one and left. I was surprised in myself to be honest, but i'm glad I listened to the spirit and swallowed my pride.

Wednesday, we taught the elderly lady we gave a blessing to about the Plan of Salvation. She really understood it all, and it went smoothly until Spirit world. Then all of her concerns and questions came about the nature of God and stuff. A member who has helped her A TON was there, and he was being awesome! he was testifying of what we said, and teaching and we'd testify, and applied the lesson to her like we couldn't (because he knows her way better). He completely turned the lesson around, and explained HOW to find out if what we say is true. She said the closing prayer, and she was crying. IT WAS AWESOME. haha. He took us out to lunch after, and it was raining incredibly hard. But when it stopped raining we went and raked up some leaves for the 92 year old. That night was trunk or treat for our ward, so I wore the tie that Mom sent me, and it was nasty cause it was so long. i let Elder Keller borrow one of my gross ties, and we put on fake mustaches that his mom had sent us. We took the mustaches off for the trunk or treat, but had a nice photoshoot first. We had pumpkin flashlights, (flashlights with plastic pumpkins at the end) and directed the traffic into the parking lot. and we were getting WAY too into it. Dancing, flicking the light, doing all types of weird stuff. It was a good time. We got to walk around and talk to a ton of people, and it was a ton of fun. Because it was "beggars night" (kids halloween for Iowa) we had to be with a member after 6pm. We had an appointment at 8, so we had a member drop us off at their house, and scheduled a ride to pick us up right after. Unfortunately, the appointment fell through, so we hid inside their yard until an emergency ride could come get us. Hahaha

Thursday we had district meeting, and was Halloween. Our appointment fell through right before dinner with a member, so we didn't know what to do. We weren't going to go tracting on Halloween... but we just HAPPENED to be walking and find a member and he told us to come draw the Plan of Salvation on his driveway with chalk (for trick or treaters to see).

Friday, we went on exchanges and I went with Elder Dyre (Elder Bargers new companion).  We taught the woman with 7 kids, and she had a lot of questions, which were answered. The lesson was good, not great. But that's ok. We went and knocked doors in their area, and it was pretty successful! Then we drove around contacting less actives and potentials for the rest of the night. It was pretty busy.

Saturday was another Long, long, long day. We had a lesson with a man from Nigeria, and he goes to the Evangelical Free church. We were going to teach the Restoration but we taught Plan of Salvation instead. He was pulling out Bible references left and right, and SO WERE WE. WHATTUP. Just as the scriptures say, with the Book of Mormon AND the Bible, we have the power to confound false doctrines. WHADDDUP. He invited us to his early morning Bible study at his church too. We literally ran from that appointment to another with 2 of our other investigators. I will call them a fake name, Allie and John from now on. We knocked into them, and they have two small kids. One is 3 and one is 1. They are super sweet, and we get a long with them really well. They are both studying at ISU, and have already accepted the invitation to be baptized. John had a TON of questions about the priesthood, and told us he went and asked his Pastor about it too. So we tackled that. And then we were able to refer it back to the Book of Mormon and prayer. By the end, we invited them to be baptized on DECEMBER 14, and they accepted (if they knew it was true)!! They move to South-western Iowa on the 21 of December, so it's kind of pushing it. Haha. IT WAS SO AWESOME. And they said, "looks like we better start reading." HECK YA!! Then we ran to another lesson and her husband wasn't home so we rescheduled. While walking by a tree with a cool leaf, some Less active members called out their window and told us to come in. We showed them Mountains to Climb, and It was awesome, as usual. We ran from that lesson to a Dinner with a African American woman who is from the Bronx. She is old, and SUPER nice. Love her to death. She made A TON OF FOOD, and IT WAS SOOOO GOOD. After that lesson, we went and gave a blessing to someone who was sick.

Sunday, John and Allie came to church! IT WAS SOOO SICK. I WAS SO PUMPED. They had to leave right after sacrament, but the ward welcomed them well and we have a meeting with them Tuesday. :) I'm very excited/grateful/happy about all of that.

This week was awesome, and it's getting pretty cold! The wind sucks real bad. The sisters in our ward have a baptism next Saturday, so that's exciting as well.

Thank you for all your love and support, I love you all and I'm thankful for all of you.

-Elder Hollan

Namaste!

Namaste! Kai-Se-ho!

That is, Hello! (welcome) How are you? In Hindi. We come across a lot of Indians, and I have honestly learned A LOT from them about everything. Pretty nutty. This week, the weather was pretty bad, and it's cold, and we lost a few investigators. But we also carved some pumpkins, met some sweet people, had some spiritual experiences, and had the primary program. pretty sweet.

 

Tuesday morning it was raining, then snowing, then rain-snow, then rain, then snow... etc. It was WAY cold, and my face was numb. Welcome to Iowa. Also, Two investigators dropped us because they want to be catholic (and comfortable). We walked up to an appointment in the cold precipitation and they didn't answer the door, so we walked to our RC (recent Convert, the quadriplegic) who is a stud and watched some conference with him. THEN we were invited to go to a YSA activity to fellowship someones friend, so we went, and got to carve pumpkins! It was sweet. As for the friend, he was muslim and not interested AT ALL in anything we had to say. but hey, SWEET PUMPKIN.

 

Wednesday we went and gave the same RC a blessing because he was sick after going through surgery. Then we went on exchanges! I went up to Story City with Elder Fiso. We did some service at a thrift store like D.I. and got to sort through the things that were donated. Honestly, it was pretty sweet. They had a TON of random stuff that was SO COOL. I could never work there, i would spend so much money. I bought some way nasty ties for dirt cheap too. Then we went to dinner at a members, and taught a way solid lesson. THEN we went to a Part Member, Less active family. They are from Mexico and speak spanglish. SOMEHOW we were able to communicate really well, and I even could understand their spanish. My spanish was, well... bad but THAT'S OK because it was really fun and we taught a WAY sweet lesson to them. The father (who's not a member) was getting GRILLED by the spirit, and Elder Fiso said that they haven't had a lesson like that with them before. I just felt insane Charity for that family, i wish i could go back more often and teach them!

 

Thursday we had district meeting, and i played an organ that had EVERY SONG prerecorded in it, so I just acted like i was amazing at the organ and sang along, it was a good time. We went tracting and came across this guy who who could NOT pronounce his name so we're calling him GGW. We knocked on this door with some people from India, one was muslim, and one was Roman Catholic. I started doing some submarine teaching (teaching principles and setting the stage for a lesson with casual conversation so you just FIND yourself SOMEHOW teaching instead of talking. :D ) haha and we ended up teaching them the Restoration! It was SOOO Sweet. Through the spirit, we were able to teach two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT religions, and apply what they know and believe to what we had to say. It was crazy, I honestly have no idea how we did it. They wanted to take a picture with us, so we took one! SOO SWEET! I love tracting SOMETIMES.

 

Friday we taught the Woman from Moldova, and it was a way good lesson, but she said that she didn't have any time for us to come anymore. She works 2 jobs, and rides the bus, and 10 other things that are legit, and so she said, "I don't know when I can be taught still." It's a shame cause she was soo sweet, nicest woman ever. We will go back, and try and teach, and if nothing else, I want a picture with her. I think in Moldova/Romania RED is a very popular color, because her entire apartment is red, and she is wearing red every single day. Red pants, shirt, hoodie, and jacket. It's awesome hahaha.

 

Satuday we went to teach some MORE indians and they just talked and talked and talked about india. I could write a dissertation on India and their history of invaders, languages, cultures, and religions. Then we went and taught another guy who is super Oriental, and meets with Jehovahs Witnesses. We taught the Plan of Salvation, and HE ASKED THE BEST/HARDEST QUESTIONS EVER. We totally underestimated how much he knew, and he asked REALLY good questions that led PERFECTLY into the next subject. He too, is very busy, and it has already come to the point where he is going to decide between us and the Jehovah's Witnesses. We tried to help him understand he needs to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, but i don't know how well it sunk in. That night, we were tracting again and a lady and her fiance let us in. They loved missionaries, and it was way sweet to talk to them. BUT her fiance is moving, so the sisters are going back over.

 

One of the people that we contacted on the street is being taught by the sisters, and has a baptismal date! SOOO CRAZY!! It's insane. We give a lot of referrals to the sisters, and they do a great job in using them.

 

Sunday was the Primary Program, and as always, kids yelled, screamed, breathed HARD into the mike, but still no one threw up. I laughed a lot still. We taught Elders Quorum, and met a lot of people tracting and have return appointments.

 

I love this work, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a tool in the Lord's hand. I wish i was a SHARPER and more EFFECTIVE tool though, so i'm working on that.

 

Thank you for everything that you have done for me, I love you!

 

-Elder Hollan

 

ps.. we went back to the spidery cellar this week as well.

AUSTIN'S BIRTHDAY WEEK

It's Austin's birthday this week on October 18!

Everyone send him a note or card to make his birthday week the best!  His address is in the right hand column.

OR...TO MAKE IT EASY...

There's an app called SnapShot Postcard.  Download it.  Upload a photo and add a small message and it sends it as a postcard FOR YOU!  This first postcard is FREE so you can send Austin a birthday postcard FOR FREE!!!

As a reminder, his address is:
3500 N Grand Ave #44
Ames, Iowa 50010.

LIFE ISN'T FAIR

 

 

Hello! First off, Elder Claridge is now serving with Elder Dex Mark Mckell, of Orem, Utah. My best friend since preschool. That's not fair. He gets to serve with HIM? LIFE ISN'T FAIR. BUUTTTTTT the chances of Elder Mckell and I serving together are pretty good I think/hope/pray.

Monday we visited a lot of members in preparation for Elder Claridge to leave.

Tuesday we had a lesson with our investigator that has 6 kids. She asked us straight up, "What do you believe about Grace?" HAHA! this is our time to shine! after grace man #1 (see previous letters) Elder Claridge and I had this in the BAG! We talked about it, and then the member there (who is awesome) shared the scripture that says, "through grace we are saved, after all we can do." She/I didn't like the end, and we focused on how through Christ's grace we will all be resurrected. It was a SICK lesson, and she was really impressed and liked "our view" of grace. We went home and I studied and figured out what I THINK the end of that scripture means, which blew my mind.

Wednesday we went to Texas Roadhouse with Elder Barger and Elder Kilpatrick for the last time together, and had P-day.

Thursday we had transfer meeting, and I SAW ELDER MCKELL! (picture included) I also saw all my MTC buddies and they're doing great. My new companion is Elder Keller from Kanab Utah. He's been out 10 months. After transfers we got home, ate dinner, and went and tracted these apartment buildings. We knocked into this SUPER nice lady from Moldova. We taught her the Restoration up to prophets (the spirit prompted us to stop there so she could understand it all) and then we asked her to say a prayer. She was super nervous and was like, I'll do one later. I said, "If I say one, will you say one?" 'Well sure I guess.' So I said a prayer, then she said one, and THE SPIRIT WAS SOOOOO STRONG. SHE WAS SO HUMBLE AND SINCERE. After the prayer it was silent for like a minute. I asked "How do you feel?" She was trying to find the words, and said, "I feel really.. hot. right here (center of her chest). It's hot, and pushing and.. it's nice." I said after a little more silence, "That's the Holy Ghost, testifying what we're saying is true, and that God loves you." IT WAS SICK! We're going back tomorrow to teach her the rest. After that lesson we went out and FOUND EVEN MORE PEOPLE TO TEACH.

Friday we had district meeting, then we went and tracted the same apartment complex more. MORE PEOPLE AND MORE LESSONS. We went into 3 apartments who were all WAY different and taught. Saturday the same. Buddhist, Hindu, Evangelical, it was unreal. 9 people who we are teaching this week. It's going to be crazy. I seriously cannot believe how blessed we are to have found these people to teach and how prepared they are. I can't remember what else we did. And i forgot my planner so sorry. :(

The Lord has prepared people for us to teach, and we're starting tonight. Thank you all for all the support, love, and prayers. Thank you for all the letters and everything. This next week I'll actually be 19! AND maybe some more investigators.

This is the Lord's work, and I am just a means by which it comes to pass.

-Elder Hollan

Corn

 

"My first picture with the kern."

 

 

"KERN!!!"

"i have a bunch of pictures of the HUGE amounts of food that elder claridge and i make for lunch sometimes. A cookie sheet of nachos, HUGE cookies, ya. haha"



"Frozen mcnuggets and corndogs from Brother Sharp. Such a homie."

 "GIANT (burnt) cookies"

 

Dear family,

 

Hello! This week was very hot. I thought that as we got closer to September it would cool down, but the heat that everyone told me about is finally here. We had no car this week, so we walked around in the high 90 heat! I'm starting to get a nice watch tanline.

On Tuesday we spent some time at the family history center so we would actually know what we're talking about when we invite and tell people to come! I kind of knew what was there, but we got to work on our own genealogy work for about an hour, and it was a nice break and learning experience. From there, we walked and knocked around the area. We had a dinner at 430 that was in NARNIA so we walked half the day looking and knocking for people to teach. No apparent success. The dinner was with a family in our ward who's very young son is fighting cancer. Lots of kids in the family, but the one who was battling was one of the biggest sweetheart studs ever. We were probably smelling awful after walking all day now that I think of it... but he loved talking with us. From that appointment we kept spiritually finding for the rest of the day. LOTS of walking, knocking, and nothing.

 

On Wednesday, we had a lesson with the lady that has the corrupt bible. We were planning on teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to her, but for some reason during studies I decided to study about the Apostasy.

 

We had about an hour between studies and our appointment with her, so we walked over to the 92 year old ladies house wondering if she would let us in. She was home! and she let us in! We talked with her for the entire hour, and she really opened up to us and likes us a lot. Hopefully we can meet with her about the gospel soon, even though she says she isn't interested. We can get her, I know it. We went to the lesson with a member, and 3 sentences into the discussion she started asking about things that the Apostasy explained perfectly. Well perfect, it was fresh in my mind! I was talking before I even thought about what I was going to say, but because I had prepared myself so well, I knew that the spirit would make it all come out to make sense. IT WAS AWESOME. And the spirit was WAY strong. Apparently the past missionaries hadn't taught her about The restoration, or the apostasy, because this was the first time she had ever heard it. The member bore a sick testimony, we were all grilled spiritually, and we left. I was pumped.

 

After the lesson, we went and helped this kid in our ward with his eagle project. He had put posts in the ground before, but some unruly kids had torn them out and chucked them into the woods. (hahahaha) We had to haul all the cement bags out there, climb down the embankment to get water from a river with a bucket, and pour it in. It was "one of the hottest days of the year!" according to will's dad, who watched the whole thing... Will, Elder Claridge and I were literally dripping in sweat

 

After that project, we went over to this old woman who is in our ward for dinner! When she answered the door, the ENTIRE APARTMENT was filled with smoke! And Brother Russell, (a different guy from our ward who helps her) was running a flaming pan of green beans out of the the back door. We spent the first 20 minutes waving towels, like we were the hebrew slaves to pharoah, trying to clear the smoke out of the apartment. She just sat on the couch and laughed about the whole thing. SUCH A SICK LADY. (She's really old, African American, and laughs really hard at everything.) We taught a sweet lesson, and when we got home, I realized that because of the smoke, we smelt like a combination of hotdogs and smoke. So I started to singing a song about it.

 

I left the phone on the desk after weekly planning and Elder Claridge and I started getting ready for bed and talking on the other side of the apartment. When it was time for bed, I went to go get the phone, to find that we had 23 missed calls! It started out with the Sisters, then the District leader a few times, then the zone leaders A LOT of times, and finally, the AP. I picked up the phone and called the district leader who told us that because they couldn't get a hold of us, everyone was trying to find out where we were, "A district wide search". Then they told the zone leaders, who with their failed attempts finally told the AP. We were freaking out, mostly because it had gotten all the way up to the AP! We called everyone, and tried to get things straight, everyone was relieved, but we still felt like sinners for some reason. Needless to say, the phone has been in my pocket every second since.

 

Thursday we taught {a guy} a sick lesson, and he is ready to be baptized on the 7th! I'm freaking excited to say the least. He's a huge stud and is excited to be baptized. We had a dinner with {a} family later that night. The {family} is way awesome, and have twin boys that are 3. They are best friends and always running around doing stuff. While we were eating dinner, there was a HUGE noise from upstairs, and I turn around to see one of the boys TUMBLING down the wooden stairs. I thought he was gonna be broken all over, but he was fine, so I laughed because it was so weird, and I just end up laughing at most things now a days. The two boys are studs, and love the Elders.

 

While walking home from dinner we came across a couple who we taught about the Book of Mormon, and prophets. They were WAY excited and really interested, so we gave them both a Book of Mormon. Unfortunately they were leaving the next morning to go back to China... so I don't know how that's gonna turn out. But it was nice to have success talking to someone on the street!

 

Friday was another very very long day of trying to find investigators. The woman from Congo just started school so is too busy to meet with us last week. Hopefully we will be able to meet with her this week. The Sisters got their transfer calls that night, Sister Browne (who came in with me) will be training, and her companion Sister Hill is going to be opening a new area and a Sister Training Leader. They were freaking out. It's weird that they got those callings, but it happens when you're a sister.

 

Satuday we helped this lady move out from Story City and into our ward. The Story City elders were doing stuff all day somewhere else, and because we didn't have a car and no members were going, we couldn't find a ride. The Sisters were going to help her move too, but we have to get permission from the President to ride in the car with the sisters and to leave our area. So I called him, and he was... not happy that no members or auxiliary leaders were helping out with any of it. We got permission though, and drove out to a house IN THE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE, and in the middle of a cornfield. We didn't move everything, but there weren't any other people there so it was not very fun. While driving home, The Circle Of Life came on the CD (Missionary approved music is held as a delicacy) and Elder Claridge and I sang it better than Broadway. The sisters want us to perform in church. HAHAHAHA not gonna happen.

 

Read the Book of Mormon with a specific subject in mind. I am reading it right now looking for the promises the Lord gives missionaries, teaching strategies, and scriptures of encouragement. It's way awesome, and I KNOW whatever subject you choose to study, and as you are diligent to it, your testimony of the Book of Mormon and that subject will grow. It's freaking awesome.

 

Before we came over today we got our new sidebags! NEAT!

 

Thank for all of the support and letters! Let me know if I can do anything for any of you! Don't worry, my address isn't going to change for a long time.

 

Love you all,

-Elder Hollan

A 7 egg omelette and Elder Claridge's birthday

A 7 egg omelette we had and it was also Elder Claridge's birthday.

 

Dear Family,

This week was different than last week. I don't know if I'm just coming down from last week and how legit it was, or if this week really did kind of suck, but this week kind of sucked.

 

Tuesday Elder Claridge had to go a a new trainers meeting in Des Moines so I went down to Ankeny and worked with Elder Kay for the day. He's super stylish, and Elder Mckell's MTC companion. We already knew each other kind of, so it was a good time. He already has a baptism, and he's a way good missionary. We talked to two recent converts, and it didn't really feel like a formal lesson in any sense of the term, but the spirit was strong, I liked it! After Elder Claridge and I got back to Ames we went to dinner at a members home, grilled chicken. mmm

 

Wednesday we helped some more members move, our typical service for the ward. It was his first time driving a moving truck, and it was soooo funny to watch how stressed out he was. We had to move a piano, and honestly, I enjoyed it a little bit. We got to their new house and set a new world record for the fastest unpacking/moving in on the PLANET. 21 minutes to get everything out of the truck and into the house. INCLUDING THE PIANO. It was crazy, (some member was just SOO DETERMINED to beat the old record) but when it was over I laughed pretty hard. I don't know why, but I just find myself laughing at everything

 

We then had another exchange. Elder Mckenzie came down from Story City and Elder Claridge got to go up to Iowa Falls! We taught one of his investigators in a town that's probably about as big as our home ward. She wants to get baptized sooo bad, but can't get approval from her mother. We set a baptismal date for the day after her birthday, in 9 months. She's VERY excited.

 

We then traveled back to Ames, met with a recent convert. After we left his apartment we went over to a less active family who lives upstairs. The mother works from 7pm to 7am at the hospital, and then makes up her sleep. We just happened to show up at their door just 5 minutes after she woke up. The whole family was there! They brought us in, we got to know each other, and taught a sick lesson on charity. They said they wanted us over for dinner, and loved having us.

 

We then went to a potential investigators home. To make things short about this very long, tiring, and... challenging meeting I'll keep it to a few sentences. He asked some great questions, which the restored gospel could answer perfectly and completely. But as we were answering, he would interrupt and start talking about something else. WITH EVERY SINGLE QUESTION, HE INTERRUPTED EVERY SINGLE TIME WE WOULD TALK. I was getting really bothered. We somehow started talking about the Book of Mormon (we usually just talk about the bible) and we explained what was in it, very, very simply. He made comments like, "So you are saying that the second coming has already happened?" (because of 3 Nephi when Christ comes to the Nephites). It was very difficult to TEACH him anything because he wouldn't give us more than 5 words to answer before he started talking again. We were leaving, (as he kept talking to us) and he started talking about how God could only not do one thing. "Everytime he tries to make a society works, it fails. It's the only thing he has tried over and over again to do, and can't do." I was mad, and I went off about agency, which he apparently didn't understand or didn't care, or didn't hear, because he tried talking over me. I need more patience and love.

 

Thursday was Elder Claridge's birthday, and we had a way busy day. District meeting, studies, and mormon.org time. A member took us out to Texas Roadhouse for his birthday. I don't know if there is a bigger chicken fried steak, but if there is, I could probably eat that whole thing too. SOO GOOD.

 

Friday we helped a members professor move. Like I said, that's all the service we do. She was way awesome, but had a bunch of funky furniture. She was a interior designer I think? She kept talking to us about the funky lights and tables and stuff... I don't appreciate "art" like that I guess.

 

After she moved, we went and taught the Congo lady again. She is in her 3 year of nursing school, but we still don't know the exact age. This was easily the worst lesson I had ever taught. I confused myself at some points. She knew everything we said is true, and we know she felt the spirit, but she doesn't understand or want to be baptized again because she was baptized as a baby. We're still working with her, but she likes what we teach her a lot. She starts school again this week, so we're trying to teach her a few times before her schedule gets super busy. Pray for her and us. haha

 

Saturday we helped a member for a few hours move his legit library of religious books. There were literally shelves and shelves of books we had to take off, dust, and move to another shelf. He had a collection of books for Old Testament, New Testament, Peal of Great Price, Apostles, Prophets, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Church History, Geology (mapping where Nephi, Moses, Nephites traveled and lived). Literally every single thing. He had books that were original print copies. The original "Mormon Doctrine" by McConkie (apparently worth A LOT), all the Joseph Smith Papers books, everything. I got excited about all the things I can study when I'm home!

 

This morning we had the opportunity to move some more members. Furniture, and more boxes than I've ever seen. A HUGE moving truck. haha. Atleast they didn't have any weird stuff.

As I said, this week was just kind of ordinary.

 

Thank you for all of the letters, love and support.

 

I LOVE THIS WORK, and I CANNOT WAIT TO HAVE A SUPER SICK AWESOME WEEK.

 

I love you, thank you

 

-Elder Hollan

By faith, miracles are brought to pass.

ETHER 12:7-19

 

Me and Elder Olson

Me and Elder Newhouse (He's so awesome)

Thank you for your letters and support. I know that I am being blessed by every one of you and your prayers.

This week was DOOOOPE. But, just like all things worth doing, they were hard. The Lord tested me and Elder Claridge.

This week I was supposed to be the senior companion as part of my training. So I made the schedule, decisions, and led in lessons. No biggy. Except we had no one to teach, so Tuesday looked like a LONG day of work.

Tuesday: BLAZING HOT, HIGH HUMIDITY. The temperature was 89 degrees from about noon to sundown, and because we had no one to teach, we went out to contact people. The people of Iowa are smart, they don't go outside when it's blazing hot. And I don't know if it's the heat, but NO ONE wanted to talk to us. We walked up to a RC house and helped him move some boxes around. A little girl that's a family friend had the BIGGEST crush on me, and would NOT leave me alone. She was jumping on me and grabbing me, spanking me and pinching my butt. I WAS FREAKING OUT. Missionaries are not supposed to be affiliated with children, and this one was getting weird! I was losing my mind, and she would not leave me alone. She would grab my leg and I would literally drag her around, while carrying boxes. FINALLY we left, and she LITERALLY chased me out the door. I ran outside and down the sidewalk, I was done. But there was no relief, no escape for us! IT WAS AN INFERNO OUTSIDE. I don't know if I had ever sweat so much in my life. Walking around, in the blazing heat, with missionary attire, and a backpack, in the humidity. That shirt was worn once, and put in the laundry bag. AND NO IMMEDIATE SUCCESS CAME OUT OF IT. No potential investigators, nothing.

On Wednesday we had exchanges with the Zone leaders. Elder Barger and I went to his area (Ames 2nd ward) and we had a really good day. We talked to quite a few people, recontacted a dropped investigator, and met this LA who was super legit. We taught him and it was great. The spirit was really strong and we scheduled another visit! We ate at a members house who were from Utah, and they made Costa Vida/Cafe Rio Salads for us (with no meat). OH IT WAS SOOOO GOOD. Between Elder Barger and I, we put down like, 30 Tortillas w/ condiments. I'm smiling on the memories.

Thursday came around, and once again, we didn't have much to do, so we got to tracting! At the stake center (my normal church) the mission president was conduction interviews, and there was a whole zone there for them. We decided that it would be a good use of time to try and schedule a ward activity with the sisters, to strengthen the ward and hopefully get new investigators out of it. We called the sisters, and they agreed to meet us at the church. We started walking over there, (thankfully it wasn't as hot today) and then they called and said something came up, and they wouldn't be available for another hour and a half. We were right by the apartment complex/park where we had found, and forgotten to get contact information, the family from Congo that was so interested in the gospel. I don't really know what was in me, but i just thought, "We're going to find that family today." We headed into the park where we first found them. We remembered that she had pointed over in a general direction where she said they lived, so we headed over there. No way to find them without knocking doors. I somehow, had NO DOUBT that we would find them. The first door we knocked on..... literally yelled and slammed it in our face. I laughed way hard. Because I was the senior companion, Elder Claridge asked, "What next?" I said something like, "Well we know they're not in there, look at all these doors."  I started walking.  We walked over to an apartment that had a fence that closed off the door to the front door. Well, that sucks. It's already uncomfortable to knock on someones door, but to walk inside someones fenced off yard? We weren't about to do that and get in trouble. I started wandering again, and ended up on the other side of the building. On the other side, I saw the backdoor of the fenced off place, and there was a doorbell on it! I said, ELDER! A DOORBELL! "That's someone's BACK DOOR. No one will answer their back door." Too late, I was walking up to the back door, and rang the doorbell.

The woman from Congo answered the door. I was speachless. Literally could not talk. I think my jaw might have fallen open. Luckily Elder Claridge didn't as well poop his pants on the spot and was capable of utterance. She looked ALMOST as shocked as we did. ALMOST. haha. She let us in, we talked about prophets, and scheduled another appointment. As she closed the door behind us, I stepped off the back step and said aloud, "It's a miracle." I have never felt so loved, looked after, and led in my entire life. Looking back, I KNOW we were led by the spirit. I KNOW God had answered my prayers for new investigators, and this family specifically.This morning we met with her, taught the Restoration, and she accepted the invitation to be baptised. We will be returning Thursday morning to teach her again, hopefully with her family, and set a specific date.

After meeting with her, we made our way to the sidewalk, and talked to a lady in a wheel chair. Honestly, I have no idea what we talked about. I have no idea what we said, but I was filled with the spirit, and Elder Claridge said that I was killing it. We invited her to church, she's a devout Catholic, and she considered it. We got her information and gave her ours, and she said she will think about coming to church on Sunday. She didn't end up making it, but we are following up on her this week.

We then wandered our way through the streets, and found ourselves in the front lawn of two people sitting on a bench, and of course, we talked to them! He had fell off his roof onto his head on the driveway, and lost all long term and short term memory, but it was slowly coming back. We talked exclusively to him, he was really funny, and SUPER nice. He loves going inside churches, and does it for fun. He had tried to go inside ours, but it was always locked. We gave him our information and told him we'd love to give him a church tour when we could. (We couldn't right then, we hadn't prepared it and the church was being used by the President). We left with his information and promise that we would go through the next week. I think he was actually more excited then we were. The woman we hardly talked to, was his therapist.

We got to the church, and ran into the President and his wife immediately. GREEEAAAAT. Super sweaty and also filled with the spirit, we talked for a second in the hall and then went to get a drink. We were waiting for the sisters to come when a missionary called for Elder Claridge. We turned the corner, and there was the guy and his therapist we had JUST talked to in his yard! At first I was like.. what? Did you not understand? He said he was walking by, saw the cars, saw the sign that said welcome, and the door was unlocked so they came in! Well great! So we gave them the most impromtu(help) tour of the church possible. His therapist was transfixed by the paintings of Christ, and loved all the artwork in the hall ways. We made our way into the Chapel, talked to them about everything, and it was really awesome. The spirit was really strong, and we had to rely on it, because we were not prepared. She (his therapist) was looking through the hymn book a lot, so I mentioned how I loved the hymns in there, and that they really bring the spirit. She agreed completely. She said she could feel the power of them. She asked why we were called Mormons, and we explained that it was because of the Book of Mormon. We pulled one out and gave the basic rundown. We asked if she wanted one, and she literally snatched it out of Elder Claridge's hands. She said, "I need to make a donation or something." We explained the book was hers, no donation needed or wanted. She said more passionately, "I NEED TO MAKE A DONATION." The spirit, to say the least, was filling my entire body. We finished the church tour and she asked what time our service was. We told her, and she said, I will see you there.

Unfortunately, she didn't make it. I'm guessing that there was some type of GIANT car accident near where she lived that made it competely impossible to make it. We'll be checking up on her this week as well.

Two miracles, in one day.

Friday was relatively uneventful, weekly planning, interviews with mission president went well, and his wife is awesome. Saturday we had zone meeting, and we taught invesigators for "Role play". I don't know why they called it role play, they were real investigators. I was put in a group of 5 other Elders, but ended up saying the most. What?? We got a long really well, I loved him, and I was feeling the spirit strong. He's an awesome kid.

Finally, to end the week, we got two dinners yesterday. And it was AWESOME. I'm out of time, so I need to make this quick.

Thank you for all your prayers, love and support. It means a lot, and I am feeling the blessings of it.

I know that miracles happen today, and are possible through faith. I know that THIS gospel, which was restored by the prophet Joseph Smith, is the only true gospel on the earth today. I know that God loves us, hears us, and blesses us. Never give up because you don't see the prize. It's like digging for treasure, you can't see it, hear it, anything, until you've worked hard enough and long enough to finally reach it. Every action of faith, every long day working towards it, is more digging to finally get to the prize. The Lord has a prize for all of us. I would like to challenge you all to find something inside yourself, that you think would take a miracle to change, and exercise your faith in Christ. Bring it to Christ, and work yourself on fixing it. The Lord will bless you, I know it, I've seen it.

Ether 12:27

-Elder Hollan

ps.. If any of you feel like it, you can send me ties, slacks, suits that are now allowed in the new dress code. hahaha

August 5, 2013

(My parents went to Paris last week and sent Austin a shirt)

Dear Family,

 

Thank you for all your love, support, letters, and prayers. I appreciate it immensely.

 

This week was, well a rollercoaster. But that's ok! I LOVE ROLLERCOASTERS! As I said before, we were fasting for new investigators. Thank you for fasting and praying for me (and them) too. (If you did, if you didn't that's ok :) ). On Monday night then this investigator texted us and wanted to start meeting with us again. He had taken all the lessons, but stopped, because of some family problems. But he asked if we would go to institute with him (ISU is on the other side of the city), so we did! It was an awesome lesson, and I got to know him a lot better. He wanted to meet with us Tuesday, so we scheduled a lesson and freaked out after he left. Haha. Even though it's not the first time he's heard the lessons, he didn't want to meet with us anymore, so we dropped him. So now, technically he is still a "New Investigator"!! So the Lord answers prayers. There's your evidence. We didn't really have to do anything, the Lord had been working on him for a few months, and answered our prayers!

 

On Tuesday, we met with this mom. She's been having bible study with missionaries for a long time, and she LOVES religious discussions. She reads her bible, and asks us questions. And we answer them all. She does not have the King James version of the bible, so... honestly it's really weird. I feel really bad, cause if she had the Kind James version, she would be way less confused. THE APOSTASY IS REAL. She asked us interesting questions and we taught as much as we could about the plan of salvation, but it was general. We're going back next week for another crack at it.

 

We met with [the first guy we went to institute with], and the lesson went way good. Because the spirit had been working on him, and he had been reading the Book of Mormon, AND studying and everything, he already knew it was all true. He has a very strong testimony bout the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and the restored church. He has already told his family he will be converting and removing himself from the church committees he was participating in back in his old church. He wants to be baptized in September. WOO HOO!! SICK! Right after his lesson, the sister missionaries texted us with a referral! PROGRESS IN IOWA. FINALLY.

Wednesday we cleaned our apartment, met with a recent convert, cleaned, and contacted. NOT A SOUL WAS OUTSIDE. We just had a nice little walk around, and couldn't find anyone.

Thursday morning the 2nd ward sisters were moving into a new apartment so we went to go help them with that, but by the time we got to their new apartment, the other Elders had moved everything.. so we drove back home. Then we started our move! We moved from one building's basement to the next door buildings top floor! Elder Claridge and I, being the smart kids we are, decided it was best to move the heaviest, most difficult and awkward items first. So we took the super old armchair that felt like a car was in the cushions up 3 flights of stairs. Then we took the ancient couch, which felt like it had a full sized blue whale on it, up the stairs. The turns in the stairwell were too narrow to turn it around at the top of each flight, so we had to get creative. I was on the bottom, and we would make the couch almost vertical and push it up over the railing. IT WAS AWFUL. It took like 30 minutes to get it in our apartment. By the time we were done moving that, we were both literally dripping in sweat. But what can you do? The job had to be done. Almost 5 minutes after we moved ALL the ridiculously heavy stuff upstairs, the Elders and Sisters called to offer help! CONVENIENT TIMING! They came, and helped a lot. Elder Claridge and I were exhausted, but we kept moving stuff. We had a District meeting in Story City, (about 20 minutes away) we had to go to, so we didn't get everything moved before then.

 

During the meeting, the phone was going CRAZY. I finally checked it (I was trying to be reverent) and realized that I should've heeded it's call. We had a ton of missed calls from people, mostly about the move. Our apartment complex is owned by members in our ward, but they needed to know if we were out so they could start cleaning and getting it ready for the next people. We weren't done, and the apartment definitely wasn't anywhere near being clean. So we SPRINTED out of that meeting and moved everything as fast as we could. We didn't finish until like 9. Needless to say one of the longest days of my life. There is so much crap in missionary apartments you didn't even know existed until you pull them out of old, dusty closets. I don't know if I've ever slept better in my life.

 

Friday, we met with a less active family, it was really hard to teach a lesson because they just loved to talk talk talk about random stuff! Then we called some of the potentials we had last week while we were contacting. One kind of blew us off with the feeling that she was just really polite the first time. We had a lesson with some of our potentials planned, we showed up, and she was about to put her kids down for a nap, so she told us to come back later. We came back later, and no one answered the door. While sitting in the car trying to figure out what we were gonna do, we saw the husband come out of the complex. GREAT.

 

3 more things, I'm almost out of time. GO READ 2 Nephi 4. It is so legit can change your life.

Be spiritually minded.

Watch the video "Mountains to Climb" and try not to cry. I CRIED. I'll admit it! I cried in a public library! IT'S AWESOME.

 

The church is true, the Book is blue. Thank you for all your support. My new address is 3500 N Grand Ave. #44, Ames, Iowa

 

I love you all, and love this work.

 

-Elder Hollan

The Spirit Is Strong In This One

Hello.

Last monday night we went to a members home and had dinner. They served us the LARGEST pork chops I've ever seen in my life. Easily over a pound of pig, all in my belly. They were amazing. Then while we were teaching them a lesson, it started getting REALLY windy and raining way hard. I kept looking out the windows and they're like, "Oh it always storms like this". I just wanted to see a tornado. Haha I hope that isn't bad. We got a ride home, (because we didn't have a car this week) and the kid driving us was like, "You don't have to worry about it until the sky turns green, then you can worry." As soon as he finishes his sentence we come out of some trees and look to the left, and the sky is green. He simply says, "Ya like that. That's green." So I started to get excited. No tornado though. :(

Tuesday Elder Claridge and I walked over to this elderly woman.  She is 92 and looking to live to 100. They had done some service for her before in the earlier months, and we just wanted to touch base and try to get a lesson out of it. (Because we still have 0 investigators) She said she needed some help for cleaning up her yard. The storm had blown some branches and all the bark off the trees. As soon as she said that I thought, "Heavenly Father is looking out for us." So we scheduled to come help her the next day. We then started walking to this other old ladies house that was way far away. on our way, we talked to everyone we saw. EVERYONE. This one guy was super nice, and loved talking to us. We found out he had read a lot of Anti-Mormon literature, and LOVED the Book of Mormon.... musical. He joked with us and talked to us a little more, but I think it was just for some entertainment. We got all the way to the old ladies house, and she wasn't home. So we went and visited a recent convert and talked to him about Patriachal blessings. After dinner, we still had a few hours of unscheduled time. We weren't about to sit around and waste the Lord's time, so we said a prayer. We both got the feeling we should just start walking around. So we said another prayer, asking for guidance, and to put people in our path that we could help.

We started walking, and got to a corner. Elder Claridge said, this way. We walked. I felt like freaking Nephi, "And [we] were led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which [we] should do." We walked, and walked, and walked, looking for ANYONE we could talk to. Turning corners where we felt like we should, and somehow we ended up in this apartment complex with a park. We walked through the park and found a family from Congo playing basketball. We talked to them about the gospel. It went SO WELL. The spirit was strong and they took Book of Mormon's from us and committed to reading them. Elder Claridge and I both taught simple, quick things, and they really stuck. We gave them our number and left, knowing Heavenly Father had answered our prayer. IT WAS DOPE. BUTTTTTT we forgot to get their number.... so we're praying that they'll call. AHHH. hahaha

We kept walking, and met two more people, both potentials. One was a couple. The FUNNIEST man I have ever talked to in my entire life. He works at a cemetary, mortuary, and cremetorium. (I spelt that wrong I know. I don't really care.) He believed in God, but had trouble with church, saying it was a fashion show. We talked to him about prophets, the restoration, the Book of Mormon... a bunch. Then they agreed to meet with us again. They really liked Elder Claridge, he was making way funny comments. SO we have their info, and we will be contacting them tonight. We went home, and just died. We were drained. The Lord answers prayers when you pray in faith. We got home, and the Story City Elders needed to do an exchange because one needed to interview someone in our zone. So I got to go to Iowa Falls! ROAD TRIP.

I went with Elder Newhouse (NH), and we drove about an hour up to Iowa Falls. It's a way small town, and super picturesc. (Don't care) We had a full day of work up there, so we dropped our luggage off at their SICK LUXURY apartment and headed off. Elder NH is pretty quiet. He's a tall, blonde missionary who is from a way small town in northern Idaho. He may not say much, but when he does, he packs the spiritual punch. Such a homie. ANYWAYS. We took care of his business (meetings with members, scripture study with members) and it was time to GO GET PEOPLE. At this one house we knocked on the door, and waited. A huge black guy drove his gangster car up and parked out front, he was blasting Kanye, I was rapping it under my breath. He goes to the other door and we asked him, "Do you know if _______ still lives here?" He says, "Nah I'm not from around here." 'Well where are you from?' He responds in a way deep, "THE SOUTH" and closes the door behind him. HAHAHA I almost died laughing. We visited some former investigators, one had been reading the Book of Mormon and agreed to meet with missionaries. Another excitingly accepted a offer to teach the following week. Basically Elder NH and I were tearing it up. Then we went "Sister ********'s" house, (another former investigator)

We talked to her about why she stopped meeting with the missionaries. She said that everything was going fine, but then they called her "an abomination" and she was really offended. She was straight up and really blunt about everything, without being rude. She apologized for her bluntness and I just said, "No no it's fine! I'm the same way!" We talked super casually and she started to like us a little I think. She began to be more open, and she told us about her church, and how it was just alright. She didn't really "feel it" anymore. Then SOMEHOW we started teaching the Restoration. I was doing most of the talking... no surprise, and it was going really well. When it got to the part when you talk about Joseph Smith and his vision, I got super nervous. (Elder Claridge and I had role played it the day before, and I couldn't recite the first vision very well in a lesson. I didn't have it memorized well enough.) So in my head I said, "Heavenly Father, this is it. I need your help. I can't do this without a lot of help." haha. So I went for it! I started with the Prophet Joseph's words. "I saw a light, exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me, I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other 'This is my Beloved Son, Hear Him.'" SHE WAS FEELING IT. Her eyes were watering, and she just stood there. I will never forget the look in her eyes. We bore testimony, and as we were doing so, her son came and she kind of shrugged the Spirit off and acted normal again. We asked if she would like us to come back and teach her some more. She declined. So we smiled, thanked her for her time, and started walking back to the car. Once in the car, I realized how big of an idiot I was! I didn't give her a Book of Mormon! I pulled one out, wrote a little message in it, with the missionaries number, and we ran back there and gave it to her.

We finished our night in Iowa Falls teaching an inactive grandma. She was the nicest person ever. She was SUPER old and was a caretaker. The lesson went really well, and when we left it was dark. One of the sickest things about Iowa is the Fireflies. When we left, there were SO MANY FIREFLIES OUTSIDE. We grabbed some empty gatorade bottles and Elder NH and I caught as many as we could. It was super funny. hahaha.

OPPOSITION IN ALL THINGS.

Back in Ames, with no investigators, Elder Claridge and I once again said a prayer, and went out searching. We came across this guy taking the finish off a desk. He worked for the Baptist church for a long time, and wanted to talk to us about his beliefs. I'll keep this short, I don't want to get upset, and I'm almost out of time.

He talked to us about Grace. Asked us questions, and when we answered, would try to confuse the doctrine we used. He spit scriptures out at us and asked us what they meant. It's not like he knew anything we didn't his perspective on it was very misunderstood. You could tell he was very studied in the Bible, and that he was very proud of his "knowledge". He thought he was teaching us a lesson and making us second guess our religion. Here's the thing though. HE DIDN"T TEACH ME ANYTHING. I already knew everything he was saying. He did not make one valid or non-hypocritical point. He COULD NOT understand the doctrine of Grace, the atonement, our purpose, our potential, God's purpose... It was so frustrating. It was like talking to a person with a misunderstanding of 2+2=4. We weren't going anywhere, and we had somewhere to be, so we started wrapping it up. He said, "If you guys ever need some water or anything, come back if you're not scared! I'd love to teach you the truth about Jesus." HAHA scared. That was really funny to me. Elder Claridge and I started walking away. Both of us very frustrated.

We ended the night digging a window well for some members! 6 feet in a hole, working hard, I loved it. Perfect way for me to blow off steam. Ha, probably the best part of my day. All the daughters were gathered around watching us dig and talking to us, it was really funny. Then they gave us a pizza, and that made me happy.

The last few days have been relatively uneventful. Half the people in the ward are moving, so we have been moving A LOT of furniture. We moved like 3 families this week, and more this coming week. We fasted for new investigators, and pray for them all the time. The Lord's time frame is difficult to get acquainted with. But I know he hears us, and if we are faithful and work hard, he will bless us. That's what we have to do, WORK HARD, and FOCUS.

I love this work. I love the opportunity to be a tool in the Lord's hands. I know he answers prayers, he knows us personally, and he loves us. This is truly HIS WORK. So, farewell for now. I'm gonna go sweat in this Iowa heat.

-Elder Hollan

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