Kia Ora Whanau!

Email from Sister Holmes! She is doing so AWESOME! She even included some pictures this week! :) 

"You are the Sum total of all the you think, say, see, hear, feel and do in this life and before you change immediately with each good thought, each good act every good word changes you for the better. When you willingly obey the principles of the gospel, you are changed by the spirit of God to become incrementally more like Him."

"Every thought word and deed have an effect on us."

Positive thoughts bring positive feelings. Negative thoughts bring negative feelings. It all starts with what we think and what we are letting occupy our thoughts. If we are constantly thinking we are not good enough, we never will be. It we are always comparing ourselves to others we will never measure up. But if we remember and love the Lord, remember we are children of God we will find our purpose and meaning in this life. We will change into what our Father would have us become. 

This week was good! Leah was baptised and confirmed this weekend! It was awesome!! She was soo nervous but She is sooo happy. Love it.

I am grateful for worthy priesthood holders. You know, I have never been one to ask for priesthood blessings. I dont know why..I just dont ever ask. But this past week I was sort of struggling, not being able to concentrate so for my studies I was just went over when i was set apart to be a missionary how I felt instant calm..so I asked our elders to give me a blessing. They told me to pray to know who should give it to me...i hate choosing..I didnt want to offend either of them-they are both like little brothers to me. Anyway way we had some appointments to go to and then we met up so they could give me a blessing. I still didnt want to choose...I had made up in my head before I prayed that I was going to pick one..then when I prayed for some reason my mind was drawn to the other elder. Turns out from the moment I had called them he had started fasting and praying-I didnt know it at the time but he felt like I was going to choose him so he wanted to be ready. He gave me the blessing and I instantly felt calm. He said soo many things that I needed to hear, it was like my Heavenly Father came down and gave me a big hug and said Its going to be okay. Everything will be alright. I am proud of what you are doing-just keep doing it. Good elders. I am thankful that they can follow the spirit. haha funny too because I told sis mihaere I wanted one..but that I hate asking..nek minit the elders call and ask if we needed anything. I know Heavenly Father loves His children.

I have also noticed how easy we forget. I am guilty of it all the time! It seems like if we do not have constant daily reminders we will easily forget our purpose here. We need to always remember God and His plan of Happiness for us. "The purpose and central blessing of life is change. It is to be changed and become more like Jesus Christ. It is to incorporate into your character the qualities of His character. It is to move from one degree of intelligence and capacity to the next and from there to the next until to see God face to face and know Him and He knows you" We cannot know Him if we do not remember Him.  We need those daily constant reminders of who we are and whose we are so when we stand before God and Christ again we can declare we KNOW them and we followed them in this life.

I have been learning heaps this week and last. Personal study is honestly one of my favourite times of the day. Its like my mind is opened up and all this knowledge comes pouring in. and its all helping me to be a better disciple of Christ and just a better person. I care more for others its nice haha Love my life! Love the Gospel and Love Heavenly Father!

Hope yous all have a good day! and Week!

Love you heaps!

Sister Holmes, Leah, & Sister Mihaere

Leah's Baptism! :)

Sister Holmes lookin' fabulous & her companion Sister Mihaere

Ball of Happiness! (8/17/2014)

Crazy week! I forgot to post Sister Holmes' letter from last Sunday :( Here it is now! :)

Sometimes so much happens in one week i think there is NO way that all of that happened in one week. I pull out my planner and I check and sure enough...yep it all happened in one week. Sooo much goodness and sooo much love! Have you ever just felt sooo happy? Felt so much love and a sure knowledge that God is there and He loves you? That is how I feel. I feel like I just have so much love in my heart and so much joy that its a literally a ball of happiness and is too big to fit inside my body and it just wants to jump out and...HUG EVERYONE!

Okay so we were walking it town it was getting late, we had not eaten dinner because we had heaps of appointments and just didnt have time. We walk past a little place called the bakehouse and saw some people who looked like missionaries. Senior missionaries. We kept walking then we ended up having to turn around and walk back the same way. I saw a car that was obviously a mission car and to top it off it had a big red "U" on the back left corner of the windscreen. We walked past them again and the sister stopped us and showed us her badge. Then they brought us in and she bought us a hot chocolate. found out we hadn't eaten yet and then bought us dinner. We ate with them. It was so nice of them!

We had zone conference this week. Life changing! Wish I had time to type up all the things i learned..but I do no so I will share this quote :

"Every Challenge you face, every hard thing you confront, every bad thing that happens to you, every unfairness, every conflict, every sadness, tragedy, very disappointment and heartache, every temptation and every opposition happens for one purpose only: to give you opportunity to respond by applying in  your life the teaching of Jesus. As you do so you are changed to become more like Him"

We are always changing, we cannot stand still. We can only more forward of back ward. As we more forward we incorporate into our being the characteristics and qualities of God. As you more backward we assimilate the qualities of satan. Which way are we moving? That really hit me!

Also we I have such a HUGE testimony of God's Love for us. I KNOW with out a shadow of doubt that God love us, His children. I see it every day. We are no joke guided every day to who we need to see. Its a miracle that we can be in the right place and the right time. Yesterday we one of the most spiritual experiences ever and i was only a small part of it. When i first came to the area there was in investigator who has stopped taking with us because the sister was being really pushy (not cool) si the first and only time i met her I handed her a note from one of the other sister teaching her. (which if you know me..i forget most things..but I remember to bring the note) That was the first and last time i had seen her. One day this lady came up to the elders at mcdonalds and gave them a note and walked away. it said "why did God take me baby son" They never saw her again after that and had no way to contact her. They prayed and prayed to be able to see her again. yesterday we were picking the elders up and driving to contact some people to invite them to our fireside. We saw one of our normally very peppy and happy Returned missionaries who was obviously upset. We dropped the elders off to comfort him. We continued on. Then we had a dinner appointment with the elders and the RM was still with them. Seemed much happier and they explained something that happened. While they were talking a lady walked by, the elders said hello but kept talking. The the RM stopped and had a strong impression that he needed to talk to her. He ran after her and told her, I feel like I need to talk to you, do you want to meet my friends (the elders) So he took her over to them and immediately the elders recognized her that the one who left the note in McDonalds, the one i had remember to give the note to weeks prior. They got her info and set up a time to meet with her. Then we took the RM to our dinner appointment. He was soo happy. he could remember the good days and feel such a strong spirit and was able to help, and the elders can now teach her and her family. God loves all His children and wants us all to be happy. But it is all out choice, I read this week in Doctrine and Covenants 88:32 32 And they who remain shall also bequickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing toreceive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received. It is all out choice! What are we willing to receive?? Are we going to enjoy all that we CAN receive?? There is so much good that is ours if we are willing to receive it.

We are having a baptism Saturday for one of the sweetest people I have ever met! Her name is Leah and I am pretty sure she teaches me more than I teach her! She is like a little sister to me! Such a blessing to know her! Cant wait for Saturday!

I know that this church is true and God is our Father in Heaven.

Have a good week! Love yous all :)

Sista Holmes

"Salvation Does Not Have a Bedtime!"

WOW! it's been a REALLY long time since I've updated Sister Holmes' blog! Our computer got stolen and I couldn't post from my phone (at least I don't think so). But, here I am now! I found out a friend of hers from New Zealand, Charlene, has been reading the blog so I definitely wanted to get something up here! Sister Holmes has been doing well these last few months! About 15-ish weeks left (or, as a friend of mine pointed out, 3 Fast Sundays!). I'm super excited for her to come home! I've missed her so insanely much since she's been out, but I know that it was where she was supposed to be and she has done/is doing so much good in NZ. So proud of her! Well, here is her letter:

One day I was tired and I just wanted to sleep...then I thought NO! Salvatoin does not have a bed time! haha 

Also, when you dont pay attention life will smack you in the face. Literally. I was walking and Looking at the ground and my mind was distracted...then I walked right into a tree branch! It was sharp. Luckily it didnt scratch my face up! That would have been an embarrassing story! "sister holmes what happened to your face??" "ohhh ummm I uhhh walked into a branch" I probably would have made up a story like how i stopped a run away train from smashing into huntly something like that. haha 

I got 7 Letters and a package this week. Felt so popular! Two were from Katikati! Love Katikati!! 

Oh! We have a rugby star coming and doing a fireside for us in a few weeks! Jonah Lamu! Everyone is really excited, I dont know him but I am excited too haha but because he is coming we have been going out with the ward and inviting all the Less actives and we have seen heaps of miracles! We have met a heaps of less actives that totally invited us to come back! Woot woot! 

Let us see, what else has happened this week. Gave talks in Church that was fun. We have about a million people in our ward...no biggie haha 

"whether it is the best of times or the worst of time. He is always with us. He has promised that and it will never change." Thomas S. Monson. 

I have been extremely grateful with week for being able to have the spirit. I dont know how people get on with out it! Its there to guide us and protect us. To just make us feel good! It can make us feel peace and happiness even when things suck and are not so great..haha It makes it so we never have to be alone. Never. 

I love yous all heaps and miss you heaps! 

Be good and have a good week :) 

Sista Holmes

Testimonies.

Last week Sister Holmes sent this to me in a personal email. It touched me so much to hear her testimony of missionary work and how greatly it has affected her. I would like to add my testimony to hers. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know that He knows/loves each one of us personally. I know that He came to Earth and suffered beyond belief because He knew that it was the only way to save us. I know that without Him, we would be lost. I know that He atoned for MY sins and would've suffered for ME and me alone if that's what it took. I know that He would've done it for YOU. You are important to Him. I know that Heavenly Father is mindful of even the little things in our lives that we think are unimportant. I know that He is always there & that we have the ability to talk with Him every moment of every day. I know that He is listening. I know that President Thomas S Monson is a true and living Prophet of God. I know without a shadow of a doubt that the Book of Mormon is true and that the ancient words of the prophets included therein are true. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that He lives. I know that the love He has for each and every one of us is everlasting and that there is nothing we can do to make that love go away. 


From Sister Holmes:
Sometimes it seems fast...sometimes it seems slow...mission time is a time warp like no other! But I am soooooo incredibly grateful for this time. Words really cant do it justice. It has been really hard but man I have never learned so much or had so much love for these people. I have learned so much about the importance of knowing where we came from and where are going. That we lived with God and we loved him and chose to come here and we KNEW what we had to do. We understood the plan. I watched Jesus Christ suffer for my sins. I am sure I sat and cried with Him. Know He was the only way we could come back. I love My Savior and my Heavenly Father. Its unfathomable that He can love us so much. Not matter what. Not matter what mistakes we make, He is there for us. Also that missionary work never ends. haha never

I got hit in the head with a pigeon

What a great email! She provided some very spiritual insights along with some funny stories. I love seeing her grow through her stories and experiences. It's pretty awesome! 

It seems like even if its a hard week Heavenly Father always gives me millions of reasons to smile. Which is nice, because I love to smile and I smile thinking about how much He loves me! Oh and yous haha 

I crazy as pigeon flew into my head the other day. It was sick as....also I screamed pretty loud. Normally I dont scream but man I just dont like birds!  

This week was a hard week for our ward. We had two people pass away amongst other bad news. Man, I have realized that I have this problem that if someone is crying I cry too. We have these neighbors Heather and Amber and heathers husband Kenny passes awayWednesday night. Heather and Amber are just about the sweetest most loving people. They called us Thursday morning to let us know. Just that week Kenny had decided to start taking the missionary lessons.Kenny referred to us lovingly as the Nuns haha Heather was so upset as she has a right to be and I cant help but crying with her. Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan for each of us. I have been reflecting on that heaps this week and my love for my Father in Heaven has grown so much more. I know  that this life on earth was not the beginning and is not the end. We have a purpose here!! Hhhhhh makes me soo happy.

Sooo I made 4 liters of cookie dough this week haha and gave them to all the people. Man They LOVED the American cookies and even admitted they were heaps better than New Zealand Biscuits. Score for America! Brother Jones severed in Colorado and he had not had American cookies for ages so we made him some. He was so excited! He said he was driving and said "I am just going to eat one...seven later" haha He brought us back some yum as chocolate from his business trip! 

And Sister Wikaria made us have Tim Tam slams or chocolate straws. Which Tim Tams are like the best things ever. Cookies with creamy middles covered in chocolate. So what  you do is bite off the ends of the cookie. Dip it in your milo or hot cocoa and suck up the milo which melts the middle and it falls apart and you have to slam it into your mouth. Holy cow. that is all I can say. Its dangerous because its so good!

haha so I decided that the only way to be a good missionary is to love the people....that is the only way to teach them. Love them like Christ would love them. But that also makes it hard for when these people use agency to make another choice! Its sooo hard! But Heavenly Fathers loves us soo much! He lets us choose.

Remember Shanti, our miracle baptism? She is doing wonderful!!! I love her! She is the cutest! She knows about transfers and that we might be leaving and she said the closing prayer for us and she prayed that we would be safe and He would watch over us. She started crying...so I starting crying! Missionary work is the best!

I just love all the people! I am so grateful for everything that I have learned being out on my mission and all the people I have met! I love everything about it! Its hard, yes. But its the hardest fun I have ever had!! and I cant wait to one day have the biggest best reunion in Heaven with all my best friends that we knew in the Pre existence we would get to hang out in New Zealand together! hhhhhh Love. love.LOVE!!!!

Well hope yous all have a supah awesome week! Love you!! 

Kia Toa

Kia Kaha

Be Brave.

Be Strong.

Sister Holmes :)

You Sisters are Not Allowed to Leave

So Sister Holmes and I have decided that we have the same brain. This week the title of my email was 'Tap Tap' and it turns out that this week she randomly said 'tap tap' to someone & thought of me. Back when we were growing up, there was this ridiculous show on Cartoon Network called The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and in one of the episodes he says 'tap tap' in this weird and annoying voice. For YEARS she would come up to me and say 'tap tap' and it would bug me so bad. Probably the most annoying thing in my life. Now it's just a fun memory. Anyway, she sent lots of pictures & even shared a recipe! She is so loved here at home & by those whose lives she touches every day in New Zealand. 

Enjoy :)

Our ward mission leader Brother Aupouri is great, in MCM-missionary correlation meeting- he said "You sisters are not allowed to leave" He loves us. haha Elders Hester's response was "Fine we will leave!" hahaha poor elders.

Recipe of the week:
Sister Wikiria's Cauliflower salad:

(you have to guess on the amounts haha use your best judgement.)-Cauliflower chopped up to small peices 

-Corn 

-Mayo 

-Sunflower seeds. 

Its simply delish! We had dinner with the Wikiria's on Friday night then we went over to do some service for them! They are such a fun loving family! Sister Wikira is supah cool! She is a sweet as Maori lady! She took us to get iced hot chocolate and smoothies after our service. She also gave us green stone necklaces. Which was so sweet of her! Its a big deal in the Maori culture. She loves us :) and we love her and her family! She also let us try on her Maori ceremonial cape things...I am sorry I cannot remember what they are called....I know they are not called Ceremonial cape things... but it was really cool!

We also did some service with Sister Anna Howard. She is so sweet! We cleaned the cob webs off the front porch. New Zealand has sooooooo many spiders! Most of them are harmless....but still haha so we cleaned them all up. She gave us some easy how to learn Maori books so that was sweet as. I am practicing how to say 'nek minit' in Maori. 

This week was a good one! We taught English to Anna out Kitibati Friend and this Sunday we went and sat in on their Sunday School class. Which was really a cool experience. Its funny I did not understand anything that was being said....but there as such a strong spirit there! They all have really strong testimonies! We are going to start up an english class for them and all of their friends, hopefully they can get better jobs and they have heaps of nonmember family and friends that we could teach which would be great!

We went and saw Shanit and her daughter Kavita. They are so sweet. Shanti was talking all about all the blessings she has received since she was baptized. She is the sweetest ever! And she gave us heaps of nail polish...which was sooo sweet, I know it doesnt matter a whole heap...but I painted my toes for the first time in 9 months. Its the little things in life that make a big difference hahaha

We went and saw Christine again. She is the sweetest lady ever! Had a mouth like a salilor but she does soo much for her family and others! We taught her the Restoration and man she loved it! She has not been active since she was young so she loved re learning about how wonderful our church is. haha everything we said she was like "far out!" "Really" "thats so cool!"

haha she is great!

I read these verses this wek and thought they were mean as. Mosiah 2:21-22

21 I say unto you that if ye should ^aserve him who has created you from the beginning, and is ^bpreserving you from day to day, by lending you ^cbreath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own ^dwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your ^ewhole souls yet ye would be ^funprofitable servants.

22 And behold, all that he ^arequires of you is to ^bkeep his commandments; and he has ^cpromised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth ^dvary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do ^ekeep his^fcommandments he doth bless you and prosper you.
I just thought about it and was like man o man. TRUTH! God created us and grants us daily breath. That we my come to earth and have agency, that we can choose for ourselves. All He requires of us is to keep His commandments and then He blesses us when we do! Its crazy if you think about it. He gives us commandments which bless us and allow us to have happy lives..then when we keep those commandments..He blesses us more! He blesses us when we live in such a way that we can be happy! It amazes me! 
Well I hope yous all have a great week! I love you heaps and heaps! and heaps and heaps! 
Live long and prosper...in the land... by keeping His commandments :) 

Sister Holmes 

My sister is gorgeous

Sister Wikaria's cape thing

Sister Wikaria & Sister Holmes

They taught me a hand shake...pretty sure its a gang sign....

Email and pictures from Sister Holmes! So fun to hear from her. She is doing so AWESOME! I love it. I really loved all the comments the ward members make about the missionaries! (particularly the Sisters) It's cute. Enjoy  :)

Man o Man this week may have been the best week ever. I am pretty sure. It also my have been the most humid ever. Like really. It was really hot which I feel like I can deal with the heat...but humidity. Ah nah. Its terrible! But it cooled down heaps yesterday and today. Its been beautiful! And I got my New Zealand Drivers license today! Woo hoo! Well I got my temporary one. You know, it too like 10 minutes to get it. I was worried that is was going to take ages..you know like the dmv in Nevada..nah. It was so quick and fast and the lady helping me was lovely! So nice. Go New Zealand.

We helped a lady in our ward mow her lawn and do a bit of gardening. Man (sorry if this is TMI) But we were sweating bullets! With the humidity it felt like I just hoped out of the shower! It was insane!

We have also been helping a lady from Kiribati learn English and we have been helping our neighbor learn how to read. Man cross me off the list for ever teaching english haha its pretty hard but they are so appreciate :) Its awesome! The sister that we helping read raised her hand in relief society and shared how we helped her mow her lawn(different lady than I already mentioned)  and are helping her learn to read, she started crying she was go grateful. We have the most amazing ward here in Pukekohe. No joke.

THE THOMPSONS CAME TO CHURCH! Woooo!!! Man that was the best seeing them walk into the chapel today! You know what brother Thompson said to me? He said "You know that feeling when you haven't been to church in a long time..then go and you never want to leave? Ya..I feel that" How is that for a miracle! They also this week gave us boil up and taught us how to make Moutumout or doughboys and Maori fry bread..which is just like regular fry bread..but it sounds cooler when you say Maori Fry bread...Sounds cultural haha.

We had a pretty sweet miracle Saturday night. There is this Less active in our area his name is Oakley and we had gone over to his house and met his partner who is a nonmember she is just the sweetest ever! She told us we could come back. So we did and no one was home. Bummer. Then we saw her on the street and she told us her schedule and when they would both be home. She told us she knows that he wants to go back to church and she would be willing to learn more. Then we went there Saturday night and we talked with Oakley and Rose. We asked him a bunch of questions and all that. Then the concern of the church being for families came up. That is why he stopped going because she was not a member. Then she was like I would have come with you! He was like really?? She said yes and that she would come with him. His face was beaming! He could not stop smiling after she said she would go with him. We are going to start teaching them the lessons. Boom. Miracle. Sorry that was a long story...and its a better in person story haha It made me sooo happy.

Also the little neighborhood kids run around saying "What up holmes!" "Sista holmies!" all kinds of things! All day everyday. Everywhere we go someone is yelling to me haha its great. They taught me a hand shake...pretty sure its a gang sign....they are sweet kids haha 

I had to give a talk on Sunday haha which was kinda lame becuase all the other missionaries just had to bear their testimonies but I had to give a full on talk. All goods haha Soooo our ward really really loves the missionaries. The Sisters to be exact haha poor elders haha her are the comments made in church:
 

"If you are having a hard time getting into a house. Use the Sisters!" Bishop Tangi in Sacrament meeting. 

"We see the Sisters everyday walking up and down the Bronx of New Zealand!" Brouther Wikaria (2nd counselor)  in Sacrament meeting

"You bring the light to the darkside! We have never had missionaries so invloved in our ward!" Brother Aupouri- Ward mission leader

"We are going to protest if they try and transfer you....ahh you too elders." Brother Jones

"I LOVE when the Sisters come for Dinner!"Sister Tangi. 

"This pie is really good!" -Elder Hester

"Oh thanks, I only make it on special occasions" Sister Tangi

"Oh so you made it because we were coming?" Elder Hester 

"No. Because the sisters where coming" Sister Tangi

Yahhh. They Love us. haha And I LOVE them!!! All of them! Our ward is soooo amazing!! We had lunch at the Jones yesterday and had a mean as lesson with their family friend and she is going to take the lessons. It was great! I think if someones hear could exploded from happiness, love and joy mine would have exploded about 50 times already this week. The gospel brings happiness just so yous all know!!

I LOVE yous all!!!!! Have a mega supah sweet as week! Love all the people, serve all the people. You will find happiness and joy that will not be able to fit into your heart. You will be leaking love juice all over the place...but its love so no one will be mad haha

Have a good one :)

Sista Holmes!

Sista Holmes!

Making doughboys!

Their Meal Calendar

Flippin Days!

Email from Sister Holmes! :D I loved this one, it was good! She got to meet Elder Russel M Nelson and his wife. Lucky Duck! 

She only has EIGHT months to go! It has gone by so slow, it seems, but then again how quickly the time has gone. She's doing awesome things in New Zealand! Anyway, enjoy.

Wow. This week was soooo awesome!!!! 

I feel like I love to tell yous all my embarrassing stories or about the ridiculous things we do..The first one (yes there are a couple) We are supposed to be back to the flat at 9pm or 9:30om if we are teaching a lesson. Well we got a but carried away with the lesson and didnt realize what time it was...nek minit its 9:20 it takes us about 15 minutes to walk home...you go the math haha. So we were walking fast and realized we would not make it...so we needed to run. Which you know all goods, chubby missionary running home must be a sight to see haha but all was going well nek minit i bug went straight UP MY NOSE! Flip man! It hurt! Not to mention is was sick as! I think it bruised my nose! I am not even being dramatic! it hurt and I thought it was stuck in there but dot worry it wasnt haha

On Friday, we went out to a part of our area that is pretty far away, Its called Clark's Beach. It was such a beautiful area! The people were so nice!! Loved it! We stayed out there for a few hours but decided to go home around dinner time. We had to wait for the Elders to pick us up. We saw some toilets at the park and nature was calling so we ended up just waiting there for the elders. They took ages to find us! We decided to sit and wait for them..on a see saw. Bad news in a skirt. I  kept sliding up and nek minit the handle smashed my leg. Left a big as bruise. Moral of the story...not see saws in proselyting gear.

For Valentines day a Less active family got us Churros! We were really excited! The ward members love us and its great! The elders we double cover the ward with have made it a goal to be more "bubbly like the sisters" so the ward members will like them more haha We have amazing people in our ward. Love them heaps!

Friday night we got to spend the night up in Papakura because the bus was coming to pick us up at 6am the next day for the mission conference. We slept at another sisters flat. It was really fun! I did have to sleep on the floor so you know I didnt get any sleep haha I am too old to be sleepin on the floor! The next day we got up and got ready to see Russel M Nelson. Man that was the most awesome thing ever!! We were all sitting and ready then he came in and stood at the front of the chapel. Then we all got to shake his hand. We I realized what was happening that we would actually get to shake his hand oh man I was sooo nervous! But I didnt pass out so It all worked out. We got to meet his wife as well. She was saying good morning to everyone so I expected her to say it to me but when I shook her hand she said "You have been working hard. I can tell" She gave an amazing talk! All about how to feel the spirit and how to keep it in our lives. She said when you cant sleep at night dont waste time counting sheep! Alphabetize your blessings and she talked about the importance of always being positive. Which I have never understood until recently. That negativity is just so easy but so damaging! When we are positive we are choosing to see the good things Heavenly Father has blessed us with and it just makes life heaps better!

President Hamula spoke about how in the Doctrine and Covents the Lord says He will come to us through the hands of His servants. I could feel it and knowing that I was shaking hands with one of the 12 Apostles was the most amazing feeling! We left on such a spiritual high! It has inspired me to be better! I starting doing the things which he told us and it has made the biggest difference! I know that Russel M.Nelson is an apostle of the Lord. Man I wish I could tell you all the things!

Hey any of  yous heard of a movie called Mount Zion? It was filmed in the town were I serve! Pukekohe! I don't really know what it is about....but it is on the streets where I walk! Cool aye?

The faith of our investigators is amazing. We taught Teno about the law of chastity and tithing. (she is living with her partner) She had a really hard time with tithing but she said "I know that the church is true. I will pray for understanding" Which she did and she told us she is all good with is and even though she is not baptized yet she said she would still like to make donations until she is a member then she will pay tithing. Which they are really struggling financially. Her faith is mind blowing at times. Even with the Law of Chastity. she knows she has to get married before she is baptized which she was really worried about at first but know she talks about how she is going to drag her partner to get married so she can be baptized haha. Some members came over with us to see her and they were blown away by her testimony!

I wish I had time to write all the things! But this will have to do for now! haha 

Love yous all and hope you had a great week and have an even better one!!

Kia Kaha! 

Sister Holmes

Such a lovely photo! Love everything about it.

Holding a cute puppy!

Meditating!

"You Got What the Maoris call..."

Woo hoo! Email from Sister Holmes! This is a good one. I loved that her prank backfired. She's almost at her 9 month mark which means she's halfway done! It's gone by so slowly, it seems, but then again it's gone rather quickly. She's doing an amazing job and is touching so many lives with her personality and spirit. I LOVE IT! Enjoy the email, it's a good one! No pictures this week, unfortunately.

We watched a Mormon Message at Zone meeting this week and It was by President Utchdorf. He said " We will be able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us"

Which reminded me of a scripture I thought I would share with yous today. It is in Ether 12  

 

          27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their ^aweakness. I ^bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my ^cgrace is sufficient for all men that ^dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make ^eweak things become strong unto them.

 

He gives us weakness so we can be humble! But we can be made strong! We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us :)

 

Speaking of Zone meeting....I thought I was going to be funny right. I love to think I am funny haha so for Zone meeting I had brought this dress from the opp shop (thrift store) It was $2 and worth every penny. Anyway it looks like it is from the 80s or something (Not super sure on the time era..) It goes down to my ankles is blue and white checked, buttons up the front and there is a tie in the back. Its just really old school. So got it as kind of a joke for Zone meeting. Then Sister Miggin got one as well! We thought we would be so funny. I even wore a cardigan! That plus my glasses I looked like a old school librarian. Guess how many people thought it was funny. 2. Sister Miggin and I hahahaha everyone else loved my dress. We has comments such as "You look so beautiful! I love your dress" From one of the sisters and "that's a mean dress sister Holmes!" From one of the Elders. All goods. Have to think of a better prank next time haha

 

This week was good though. Heaps of miracles! Its been hot as however! Sooo Flippin hot.  It was Waitangi day on Thursday. All I know is that Waitangi day is in celebration of the signing of the treaty of Waitangi between the Pakeha (white people) and the Maoris.

 

Sister Miggin has been a tad on the sick side. We went and saw Teno and Sister Miggin made mention that she was not feeling well and told Teno her symptoms. Teno diagnosed her(....hopefully no one is offended by this...haha) she says "You got what the Maori call the runs!" We has another lesson with her and her partner Garrison (the one read the Book of Mormon) Sat in the whole time and asked heaps of questions. She keeps saying how much she just wants to plant the seed in him so he can grow his faith. Her Sister in law is also investigating in the other ward. Teno went to one of the lessons and told the missionaries where to read about the fall in the Book of Mormon! We had talked about it before and she remembered where it was! haha Crack up! She is sharing the gospel with all the people! Its that best!

 

Man so mission gossip is a pretty big thing. Everyone wants to know all the things about all the people. Its nuts really. I think its becoming a really big problem. And I can see how devastatingly negative it can be to a companionship, to a district, zone and even a mission. Its nuts! My companion and I decided that no more! We would not instigate or participate in any gossip. With others and even in our companionship. It was hard at first. BUT I can see how much our companionship has grown and even just how much it benefits those around us. Repent and move forward everyday! I am exceedingly joyful that we have the opportunity to learn and grow. Repent and move forward. That we can learn from mistakes and become better.

 

Valentines Day is this Friday so I wanted to just express my love for all of yous! Man yous are da best! I have come to learn on my mission that it is all about LOVE and Charity. Which is the pure love of Christ. Cheesy aye? Its all about love! God loves us so He sent us here so we can become like Him. He loves us so He gave us a plan to follow and a way to return.

1 John 4:1010 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

He sent His son to die for us as apart of that plan. Christ suffered and died for us why? Because He loves us and God. We keeps the commandments and make promises with God because we love Him! When we follow God and keep His commandments we show our love. We have love in our families and for our friends. Our lives are so much more fulfilling when motivated by love and charity. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care!
I love yous all and I hope you know that!
Have a wonderful week!

LOVE
Sister Holmes :)

"No I want to watch this on TV"

Well this Christmas was AWESOME! Talking to Sister Holmes was one of the best gifts I've ever received. We skyped with her, except somehow something wasn't working on her end so we could hear her but couldn't see her! But she could see us. I think she preferred it that way though. What a blessing modern technology is! I'm excited that she'll be here to celebrate next Christmas with us :) here's her email and some pictures.

The Subject line is a rejection we got from tracking...we asked a lady if we could share a message with her about Jesus Christ and She says "No, I want to watch this on TV" then she walked away. It was funny as. Then we were talking with this young guy and he was like aw you are bad as but I dont want any Jesus Pamphlets. haha at least he was nice about it! 

Wow. This week has been...a challenge. We had transfers this past Thursday. Found out I was gettin another daughter I still have Sister Pearce. So we are in a Tripanionship. I was nervous. Our new companion is Sister Miggin. She is from Utah and she is great! She is 22 and a hoot. Didn't figure that out until yesterday. Sister Pearce has been having a really hard time adjusting to there being 3 of us so these last couple of days have been hell. It was soo awkward we couldn't not even function. It WAS TERRIBLE!!! Because I am the trainer of both of these sisters I was feeling all the burden on me and I felt like a joke because nothing seemed to be going right and all 3 of us where miserable. Through much prayer and crying unto Heavenly Father to help we had a miracle. We all wanted to badly for this to work that it did. Yesterday was amazing. We had miracles in our day and we have soo much fun together! The last 3 days have been the hardest days of my mission thus far. BUT I have also learned more about myself and the kind of person I need to be. Its  my own little Christmas Miracle. Well actually its a HUGE AS miracle.

I have looked back and was thinking about the last few days. Like I said they have been hard. Trying to find unity  so that we can teach and feel the spirit. I wanted to give up to be honest with you. I begged and pleaded with Heavenly Father to know what to do.
I know that Heavenly Father has helped me. Helped us. I was able to turn my thoughts toward the Saviour. In Luke 9:23

            And He said to them all if any man will come after me, let Him deny himself and take up His cross DAILY and follow me. 

He says we have to take up our cross DAILY AND FOLLOW HIM.  Some days its going to be really hard. We are going to think that our cross is to heavy a burden to bear. But Life is not meant to be easy because Salvation is NOT a cheap experience. (Elder Holland) We have to go thought so much less that our Saviour but He wants us to lean on Him and follow Him. We don't have to carry our burdens alone. 

I have learned that I need to follow more closely the example of Jesus Christ.  I have learned to be PATIENT with my weaknesses. HUMBLE enough to to plead with Heavenly Father for help. Love Him enough to show love to my companions. 

(not a very touchy feely person...but sometimes people need hugs) and ask Him for guidance. I need to have HOPE and FAITH in a better tomorrow and trust in Heavenly Father to guide me. CHARITY and LOVE for my sisters. KNOWLEDGE that Heavenly Father loves me enough to help me. I have learned to be DILIGENT in finding ways to help my sisters and myself grow. All of these things would have been impossible without OBEDIENCE to Heavenly Father and the mission rules.

I am amazed with how much Heavenly Father could help me learn in just 3 days. I have come to love Sister Pearce and Sister Miggin so much. I have learned so much from each of them. They are amazing and we will have much success and all be better because of our service together.

In other news. I am a Grandma..That escalated quickly. I don't get all this mission family stuff.. but here it the run down of my family tree

2 Daughters  -Pearce

                       - Miggin

1 Adopted Daughter -AhQuin

2 Sons -Brann 

             -Otto 

1 Grandson -Branns Son whom I have never met.

Maybe one day I will understand this whole mission family tree stuff. Maybe not haha

One last thing before I stop pestering yous with my words. I have been thinking about The Innkeeper and how he said that there was no room in the Inn. Then I think do I have room in the Inn of my life for the Saviour? Do I leave a place for Him in my heart? I hope we can all focus on the Saviour a little more this season and remember all that He has done for US and all that we are grateful for.

I am grateful for all of yous and all that yous do for me :) I am grateful for My Heavenly Father and how much He loves me even when I make silly mistakes. That He forgives me and still wants me to be happy. I am grateful for the most wonderful family ever I think Heavenly Father knew I would need heaps of help so He had to give me the best :)
I am grateful for the knowledge and faith I have in the gospel and in the atonement of Jesus Christ. And much much more.

I wish you all a Very Very Merry Christmas! I will be sweating on Christmas so if you are cold right now be jealous! haha jokes. LOVE YOUS ALL!!!!

:) :) Sister Holmes :) :)

day before Transfers

Far Out!

Yeah...it's been a reallllllly long time since I updated Sister Holmes' mission blog. However, I plan to do better! She is doing wonderfully in New Zealand! She is almost at her 9 month mark and I am stoked. I say it a lot and I'll say it again; I'm BEYOND proud of my little sis. What an example she is! Here's her most recent letter and some pictures. Enjoy :)

This week has been far out! Just when I think I have been learning a lot about myself...nek minit Heavenly Father decides I need to learn more...Its been a learning experience that is for sure! And of course miracles :)

oooo I have more respect for all those kids in seminary...I volunteered our services to teach one day they said they would let us know if they needed us...nek minit..more like next day they asked us if we could teach on Thursday. SO we did and It was really fun! We have some really outstanding youth! It was a good experience and we got them to go to school and hand out pass along cards to their friends. 

Soo you know how last week I talked about the prank on the Elders having to give talks and fast? Well we played another on our zone leaders! Whoo hoo! (Its a good thing they love us) We had district meeting on Tuesday and Sister Miggin and I usually just set everything up. We were rounding up some tables and chairs when I saw a little baby table and some little baby chairs....LIGHT BULB. We set everything up nice and neat then at the front of the room where our zone leaders sit we put the little table and chairs. They walked in and were just like what da flip! Then sat there anyway and studied before the meeting started. THEN they stepped out of the room. LIGHT BULB. We jumped up and moved the little table and chairs and replaced them with a regular table and chairs. They looked confused and amused. Elder Brann thought it was funny. I will have to show the photos. Like I said its a good thing they love us haha

Shanti was baptized on Saturday Wahooo hooo!!! She was an hour late....haha she got off work late. All goods, it worked out and there was  a huge turn out from the ward! It was beautiful. It was scheduled for 8 pm at night....then she was an hour late...but all is well! Everything went well with her confirmation :) She was so excited! I love this ward too man they are so supportive and nice to her. Its wonderful :) 

Also the heater on the font was broken..so luckily sister miggin is a boss and was able to fix it haha

BAH Our Mexican Restaurant opened up! We are going to go today! Its like legit Mexican food. I have never been so excited!

I want you all to know how much I love my companion. Sister Miggin! She is wonderful! My favourite child for sure. haha funny story..I have a few mission kids the ones I love the most and am the closest to are both Lactose intolerant. Its nuts. I wanted to take a photo of us all eating ice cream. haha we will see.

Remember Teno? She is amazing! We had not seen her a heap this week but then she came running after us yelling "Sister Holmes" I was like what the flip..I turned around and saw that it was her. Then we ran over and met up with her. We walked back to her house and had a mean lesson with her! Funny enough but more miraculous...she went to look for her Book of Mormon and she couldn't find it then she asked Garrison her partner...he said I dont know...then she said you were reading it last! He has been reading it as well which is great!

I have been getting eaten alive by bugs. Its nuts. I even got stung by a bee! The first time in my life. It hurt..but I now know I am not allergic to be stings.

I love Pukekohe 2nd ward. These people are so faithful and so amazing! I love my area! Oh Elder Russel M Neilson is coming to talk to our mission of 15- Feb! Far! I was soo excited when i found out! Whoop whoop! Gonna be amazing!

Well that is about all I can remember!

Love yous heaps! and Heaps and heaps of loveingness!

Sweet as! Kia Kaha! All of the things!

Sister Holmes :)

Sister Holmes with Nutsy the Flea Dog

Ice Cream with her companion Sister Miggins at the Coopers

Sister Miggins, Shanti, & Sister Holmes on Shanti's baptism day! :D

                                                                              The End.