Sister Holm: The Island of Misfit Toys

Hey :)

This past week has been rough, but completely worth it! Sister Larsen and I have been working our butts off to make sure we talk to every single person we see. We tracted in rain, mud, and on the “first nations” reservation (sketchy). Heavenly Father put us through the ringer. He tried my patience and faith over and over again. We were yelled at, insulted, and rejected…but that is nothing compared to what the Savior went through. When people reject us…they are rejecting Him. Those sad moments when people choose to ignore this beautiful message just make the little miracles that much sweeter.

One incredible miracle that happened this week was finding Rob and his wife. The prophet has promised us that if we have 20 quality gospel conversations (QGCs) a day the Lord will bless us. So Sister Larsen and I were driving up in the boonies trying to find this potential investigator's house. We hadn't completed our goal of 20 QGC's yet so we started going through our contacts trying to find a non-member that we could talk to. I look through everyone and no one felt right. So Sister L told me to just type in a random 250 number. I closed my eyes and let the spirit direct my finger. The phone started ringing and a women picked up on the other end. I started tell her who we were and asked if there was anything we could do for her, service-wise. She said no and handed the phone to her husband. He asked how we had gotten this number…so I told him. I went on to tell him a little about the church and how we love to help people with anything that they need. He told me they had just moved from Port Hardy to Courtney (nowhere near Osoyoos). I asked if we could walk his dog (everyone has a dog in BC). Then it was silent for a couple seconds. He took a deep breath and said…"How did you know? My wife has cancer and we really need some help." I was speechless. I somehow got out that we have sister missionaries in Courtney and that they would love to help him and his wife with anything that they need. I told him how Heavenly Father loved him and wanted him to know that there were people who cared. Rob is now in contact with the sister missionaries out there and I hope they keep us updated. Isn't that a miracle? God is incredible.

Another miracle I want to share is about our darling new investigator from Mexico! While out on Main Street in Oliver Sister L and I were talking to different people and handing out mormon.org cards. I walked up to this man and started a conversation. Well...kind of a conversation. He clearly didn't speak any English and I bombed Spanish in Jr High, so no bueno. I showed him my tag and said something about Jesus Christ. He got that part. Somehow through our broken conversation he understood that I wanted to share something about God with him. He wrote down his name and phone number for me and we parted ways. So...later that night we texted Eliseo to set up an appointment. He texted back something like "lskjgslajfkaljsreiwaljg." At least that is what is looked like to me. All I could get was "godblessu." Then he called us...God didn't bless us with the gift of tongues…but we figured out he worked at Covert Farms and they we would try to see him the next day. So... off we went to covert farms…up in the middle of nowhere. It was raining and we brought our favorite Hungarian member with us. As we stomped through the mud, going from tiny shack to tiny shack asking "Donde Esta Eliseo Sebastion?" I wouldn't give up. After what felt like 5 gazillion doors...we finally found where all the Mexicans were living and found Eliseo! We gave him El Libro De Mormon and asked him to read 2 Nephi 31. The next evening he called us and said he was on "lesson 10 in nefi" and that it was "bueno." We can't even communicate and he is progressing! He calls us every night and updates us on what he is reading. He always says "God bless you mi hermanas, Adios!" He is DARLING! We are so excited to teach him and help him work towards baptism! Heavenly Father keeps us on our toes and I love it!

I love my mission. I love being in the Lord’s vineyard with all His misfit toys here in Osoyoos. What a blessing it is to meet all of God-s ever-so-unique children :) Thank you for all your support and love! I hope you have a great week! "Godblessu!" – Eliseo

xoxo, A