Another One Bites The Dust

Another month of my mission gone by and....

 

LIBBY IS GRADUATING! WOOT WOOT!

Congrats my pequeño hermana!

Welcome to the real world! 

 (Woods Cross colors of course!)

 

Back to life here in beautiful British Columbia! It's been a week of many miracles. I feel like I say that every week... but really. 

We were blessed with many more baptismal dates, investigators at church, and new friends. But the peak of this mountain of miracles was a voicemail from a young friend trying to find the truth. When we first listened to the voicemal, we couldn't quite understand what was being said and we were 94% sure it was a girl.  So we called the number back and low and behold it was someone who wanted to learn more about our church.  We started talking and found out it was a guy named Noah. We set up a time to meet and asked if we could meet at his place....he said he had to go ask his mom. Uh... what the?   We then found out that he was 14. 14!  What fourteen-year-old wants to find out more about religion?? (with the exeption of Joseph Smith).  So we talked to Noah's mom and figured everything out.  Apparently he's been curious about many religions and have been going around asking to learn more about them. So we went to the appointment and he had already checked out a Book of Mormon from his catholic school's library (ya.. weird library) and was in 2 Nephi. And on top of that he had 40 quiestions all written out that he needed answered about our beliefs.. MIND BLOWN. Needless to say, he is stellar.  He believes the Book of Mormon is true and that "it totally makes sense!"  Now just soak all of that in while I tell you more about this past week.

 

We are also teaching a variety of people. Basically a circus. A recovering crack addict/gang member/biker/, a muslim, a vietnamese mother, and a woman who holds the 2008 or 2009 Guiness Book of World Records record for the most tattoo's (they call her the painted lady). These are just a few of the many interesting kinds of people we teach. Vancouver clearly is a tatted-up melting pot.

 

Another grand week here in Surrey Currey (also many punjabis (East Indians)).  Can't wait to see what the next episode holds.

 

On a somewhat spiritual note... "He died for me. I live for Him."

 

Love always,

sister annie holm

Yes, it rains here in British Columbia

Sikh temple in Delta, BC with the sisters in our zone

With our 'mini missionary' (from our stake; she stayed with us for the weekend)

P-Day chillin' - that outta class feelin.

 

A book of TRUTH

What up what up what up?!

Sports Center highlights of the past week...leggggo

- Sandra's miracle baptism! woot woot (details to come)

- Top 10 in the mission in standards of excellence

- Zone conference in front of the Langley BC Temple

- Seeing a true holmie, Sis Larsen

- Holding baby kittens

- Recent convert Lou dancing to some interesting music

- Partially naked man tanning in the park...hmm…

So, let's expand.

Sandra was baptized this past Saturday! We planned on having her baptism in a few weeks, but after having breakfast with President, he said that she needed to get baptized in 4 days.  It was a whirlwind but somehow it turned out just right.  She was confirmed yesterday and is now a member of Christ's true church.  What a blessing!  P.S. She was concerned that she'd drown during the baptism…mm…okay no.  That's ridiculous.

Things are going well...no that's a lie.  They are exploding here in Surrey and throughout the rest of the province.  With the departure of President Tilleman, I think everyone is giving it 200% to show him how grateful we all are for his inspirational counsel and exemplary leadership!  He's a truly wonderful man and has changed this entire mission! As Elder Christofferson said, we have the best mission president and mission mom in the world and are the example mission to the rest of the world.  I know that President Burt will be able to take all of this on and keep the hastening going in BC!

I don't even begin to explain how grateful I am.  Heavenly Father has blessed us so much these past few weeks.  We are undeserving.

K I gotta be honest…I'm turning into a missionary…using scripture references in jokes, feeling weird about my knees showing, even plugging my ears when apostate music is blasting in the stores…basically my life revolves around mormon.org cards. WHO AM I? Can any other missionaries relate?  Or am I the only one that is going to go home and have the opposite gender run from me?  It's chill.

Hope all is well!  Remember…under the biggest dust cloud you'll find the truth!

Peace and blessins. Peace. And. Blessins.

xoxo

sista holmgirl

Sandra's baptism!

Hi, can we share this website with you?

Seeing a true holmie!  Sister Larsen at the Langley BC Temple.

Sisters Stewart, Christensen, Holm, and Larsen.

Speechless

Hey,

No lie, I'm speechless right now.  I don't even know where to begin about how miraculous this week has been!  I guess I'll start with how grateful I am my mother and the chance I had to talk to her yesterday.  Although only 5-foot-2, she is someone I admire greatly and look up to.  She's my little hero!  Talking with my family was weird though...Libby even said that I have missionary voice...so that's embarrassing.  I hope it leaves before I get home.  Honestly, the entire time talking it felt like a dream.  I think I've been so focused on the work that my 'past life' just doesn't feel normal anymore.  Am I making sense?

Anyway, this week has been ridiculous.  To make a long story short..our final key indicators quadrupled our actual goals.  It was a MIRACLE!  Sister Christensen and I felt as though we hadn't done anything to deserve it.  We sacrificed meal times and basically our own sanity to make sure we met our goals....and that was only Tuesday.  We met the standards of excellence for our mission in just two days.  So...we had no choice but to double, triple, and then quadruple it! 

President Tilleman always says, "Work like it all depends on you, pray as though it all depends on the Lord."  We took that advice and ran.  Literally.  My feet have never hurt more in my life.  A skirt doesn't help either.  Through God's hand, we now have 9 people preparing to enter into the waters of baptism.  WHAT A BLESSING.  Heavenly Father has blessed us so much that I'm barely able to comprehend it!  I've had the "Do you believe in miracles?" tune stuck in my head for dayzzz.  He has put such solid people in our path.  One of the insane experiences we've had this week shows how God's hand is truly in everything.  Right as we get out of the car to start knocking doors...Sis C notices that her bag is gone.  We retrace out steps for a solid hour and no luck.  By this point, like any normal person, she's flipping out. I have this feeling that we should go check the apartment so we do.  Earlier that day one of our members who lives in our building told us about this family that lives a couple doors down from them and thinks that we should share the gospel with them.  As we're waiting for the elevator...guess who shows up. THAT FAMILY! 

After chatting on the elevator and then checking the apartment and finding her bag...it hit us.  God set this whole thing up.  We had brushed off the referral because we aren't allowed to teach people in our building...but Heavenly Father had set it up so perfectly just to show us that we needed to teach them.  We prayed and thanked Him for this miracle and chastening us.  Later, we dropped off a Finding Faith in Christ DVD and some popcorn as a sort of Mothers Day gift (give us some slack...we're missionaries).

Another major highlight of this week was having breakfast with President Tilleman (a VERY rare opportunity).  We met at 7am at Whitespot and had a wonderful discussion about the work, his feelings about his mission ending, and what we as missionaries could do to hasten the work in Surrey.  It was heaven on earth to be in the presence of such a kind, genuine man and inspiring leader.

A few things I learned this week:

- Sis C played in ping pong tournaments and enjoys playing the old Chinese guys at the [nearby] Rec Center on p-day.

- Maternity dresses make great missionary dresses

- Canada is truly a melting pot.  I've talked to someone from every continent, no joke.

- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints makes the most inspiring videos

 

Go ahead...change your life! Check em out!

Motherhood --   http://motherhood.mormon.org/?cid=HPTH050814094

The Will of God -- http://www.mormonchannel.org/mormon-channel-daily/213?v=1839005837001

 

love you all. make good choices. remember who you are.

 

xoxo, 

Sister Holmgirl from the hood

Breakfast with President Tilleman!

Not in Kansas Anymore

Greetings loved ones,

Name the song. Do it. ANYWAY. Surrey is not Osoyoos. Not even close. I feel like I'm in Compton or something. Kidding. It's not as bad, just different from what I'm used to.

My new companion is Sister Christensen (hah…shout out to Hermana Shelby Christensen).  She's from Colorado/Vegas.  She's been serving here for the past 2 transfers and was on the island before that.  We actually went back to Victoria this weekend to see one of her investigators get baptized.  She and I get along well…which makes a huge difference out here in the mission field.  I couldn't be more grateful to have a comp who likes to laugh as much as I do!

Surrey is crazy. I've talked to so many different people. We went to Surrey Central to street contact (it's this giant train station/mall that is fair game for all the missionaries in the area) and I was so overwhelmed.  In Osoyoos there are like maybe 10 people on the street on a GOOD day.  Nope.  Here in Surrey there are hundreds.  I was dumb enough to walk up to people at a cross walk and shout "Does anybody want this card.... anybody? No…no takers?"  Everyone just stared at me.  As you see…I tend to cause a lot of unnecessary scenes. Whaterrr…

A few experiences that I remember are 1) we tried to talk to this Asian family and the mom said no and waved her hand at us…so then her twin 5-year-old boys caught on and waved their hands and said “no no no no no no” to us for a solid 20 minutes. People were staring.  2) As we were trying to get back to the car a creepy guy on a bike rode past us and said “I'm not lookin’ at you okay? Geesh…I'm too old for you.” So we were like…“uhh okay”. And then he talked to us and began to recite all these philosophical sayings. I think he had issues or something. Anyway, there was more creepiness but it's not appropriate for this clearly uplifting email.  3) THE WORST THING. We were headed towards a bus stop to talk to the people there and this one lady like flipped her lid. No lie.  We said “Hi we're missionaries…” and she started screaming profane things and making a cross with her fingers telling us to go away. We just walked away and started talking to someone else and she starts yelling and making comments like “at least I'm human” and “everyone stay away! Those are Mormons.”  Blah, blah, blah. I don't know what came over me but I looked at the person we were talking to and said, “Will you excuse me a moment please?” I marched over to that lady and said “Why are you doing this? We didn't do anything to you. We are just trying to share a message.  We are people too. Stop being so rude.”  She kept trying to cut me off but I just wouldn't have it.  I'm too stubborn and impulsive (I'll work on it, I swear).  So we start getting mad at each other and Sister Christensen pulls me away and we start walking somewhere else.  I don't even know why I started crying but I did.  I think I was just freaked out that someone had the audacity to yell at me in public.

I was sheltered in Osoyoos.  People throw rocks at things that shine right?  After I got a hold of myself and was able to truly understand Elder Holland's talk on the cost of discipleship.  Sadly, people are not rejecting us…they are rejecting Christ.  That hit me hard.  I can't even begin to imagine what He went through.  If I wimped out at just that stupid lady yelling at me…I don't think I could handle doing this for 33 years.  I'm so grateful for my Savior.

Highlights of the week (other than the obviously wonderful ones above)

- Saw 3 whales on the ferry to Victoria

- Attended a baptism for 6 people

- Sleeping with the window open and hearing the rain come down (name the song)

- Stayed with Sister Larsen in Maple Ridge for transfer meeting. What a blessing!

- Finding a new investigator while using the fitting from at Target today #classic

Thanks for all your love and support!  Hopefully I don't get shot this week...

xoxo,

Sister Annie Holm

Last night in Osoyoos.

Saying bye to my beloved Bro. Whitesell

Me and Sis Christensen

Bang, Bang.. she shot me!

Can you name the song? If you can.. I'll send you a gift card to Tim Hortons!

I'm getting transferred!  I love [Oliver and] Osoyoos but I gotta get outa here!  I'm headed to Surrey North, known as the ghetto of British Columbia.  My new companion is Sister Christensen and together we'll convert all the drug dealers, prostitutes, and gang bangers.  I'm beyond thrilled!  I'm going from the land of the grapes and wine to a city with high crime rates.  Ah...I cannot wait to see what happens out there!

It's been an interesting week.  We've been doing the last couple things on my Osoyoos bucket list.  One was catching Sir Galihath (seen below) and driving out on 'the rez' for no reason. It was wonderful!  We also had the opportunity to teach an older gentleman wearing a darling forest green mini skirt.  I'm very grateful he kept his legs crossed..but needless to say we had to drop him.

Our beloved Mexican investigator Eliseo is still progressing.  He loves the Book of Mormon and wants to learn more about the Word of Wisdom.  There isn't much else to say about him...except that I'm pretty sure that he did Vote for Pedro.

Thanks for all the kind emails I got this week.  Last week was rough and I'm so grateful for the love and support from each and every one of you!  I'm so grateful for my Savior and Redeemer.  He truly is my anchor and keeps me grounded.  I know that I can lean on Him and that when I fall.  His hand will always be the first to reach out and help me up.  I loved Mosiah 14.  I read it during the sacrament on Easter sunday and I think my heart grew 3x's its size!  The Atonement has always been something hard for me to fathom, but once I finally was able to wrap my heart around it, it's something I cherish more than anything now.

I can't wait to tell you about my new adventures in Surrey.  Hopefully I don't get shot before next p-day.  Holla!

Love always,

Sister Gangsta Holmgirl

I will be in North Surrey, somewhere near the green "Canada Highway 1" sign.

A good rendition of me!

Kim and me.

Captured Sir Galiath.  I was scared it was gonna attack me. #classic

The new motto.

Straight Up

Hello,

Not quite sure what to write. I'm a very blunt person so I might as well just say it…It was a terrible, rough, exhausting, sad week. It's hard to be a missionary. I swear that some people just fake it all the time…like pretend that they just love their mission and don't ever feel tired and blah, blah, blah. Well that is ridiculous.  That is not real life and those people need to knock it off.  Don't think that I hate my mission or anything even close though.  It's challenging but ever so rewarding.  And no, I'm not talking JUST about baptisms.  Honestly…who cares how many baptisms you get.  What matters is if you are fulfilling your purpose to  "invite others to come unto Christ," whether that be through baptism, reactivation, and even just planting seeds. All is considered successful in the Lord’s eye.

I’ve been sick for weeks and weeks.  First the flu, then strep throat, now a sinus infection.  The last weeks or so has just been a fog…trying to do “the job” while living with a fever, attempts to identify possible food allergies, eating antibiotics.  Getting better now though.  Maybe just a new series of obstacles to handle.

Had to stay indoors for a few days to try to recover somewhat.  Some other missionaries came down to hang with us.  Sis Bowman can go out finding or teaching or whatever with one of them while the other sits here with me.  Being stuck inside most of the time I found a knack for creating native arrowheads from some rocks I found.  So there’s that.

I just want to let every person, missionary or not, know that it is totally A-Okay if things get stressful and you freak out.  I did…and I feel like I'm still a semi-normal person.  The thought that kept me going was that God gives us mountains and it's up to us to accept the challenge and climb the dang thing or to just sit a the bottom and complain.  Either way the mountain is still there, so get over it.  You don't have to smile the entire way, but you just have to keep going…and luckily He is with us the entire time.  Boy am I grateful for His help.  I'm not one to sit around at the bottom of the mountain…so I had to buck up and climb it, and I can truly say that I feel a whole lot better now that I'm at the top and can see what He was trying to show me.  And if you really think about it…Christ already climbed the mountain and made a little trail for us to follow…mind blown.

Anyway, just my thoughts. Take it or leave it.

I know that serving a mission was the right decision, even if it doesn't feel like it all the time. I'm grateful that I'm not out here in the Great White North all by myself and that my Father in Heaven is here too. Alma 26:27.

Keep it real holmies.

xoxo, Sister Holm

Fence hoppin', Joshua Smith believen', Date settin' Missionaries

Hola Mi Amigos!

I just can't seem to get rid of the Spanish vibe even though we haven't talked to Eliseo in a couple of days. He's doing well though, currently on 1 Nephi 20. I asked if he could read Tres Nephi Capital Once...pray for him.

Sister Bowman and I are doing great out here in our little village. We spent some time of the reserve [“the rez”] trying to track down some less-active [folks] and talked to some super sketch people. Also on the rez we hopped a massive fence and walked 15 minutes down a dirt road just to go contact a potential investigator.  The good news: became new investigator.  The bad news: might be a rapist. So there's that. Remember when I first got here and my first BOM handout was to someone similar? Well…let's just say this isn't the only two times I've attracted some dangerous creepers…but what can I say? Even THEY need the gospel.

Also while tracting, we ran into a man who told us that Joshua [Joseph] Smith was a felon and a dirty, rotten man. So...we asked who Joshua Smith was. (Clearly we knew who he was talking about…but you get bored and have to entertain yourself somehow). Anyway...we tried to clear that little misconception up to the best of our 19-yr-old abilities. I thought that was funny though. Poor ‘Joshua’.

We had a great week in terms of key indicators (numbers and stuff)! We set 3 baptismal dates…which is super duper great for this first-world, teensy-tiny town. People tend to think that because we are in Canada that we have a "cushy" mission. Well yeah…we do in terms of housing, food, hygiene, etc. But not in terms of finding people who are willing to hear our message. Because we are in a first-world country we have to deal with people who text during our lessons, have access to ‘anti-’ [LDS] material, and are just generally "too darn busy" to even give us the time of day. ALL missions are hard.  The difficulties just depend on where you are. 

ANYWAY...our three “dates” are Noreen, Holly, and Wei. All three “dates” have generally the same concerns: Church and Smoking. Noreen has been taught for a while now and she is very ill. She suffers from a kidney disease as well as something with her heart and then a million other things…so coming to church will be VERY difficult. Hopefully we can work something out so that she'll be able to get the sacrament at home or something. She has been to church once though. Oh! Her grandson Rori is now reading the Book of Mormon and he will become an official investigator in no time! Another “date” is Wei. He is Chinese and has been raised with no belief in God or even a higher power. He was willing to set a [baptism] date, but it's going to be slow helping him understand prayer and such. He also has an 8-year-old daughter named Ying-Ying and hopefully we'll be able to baptize her too! The other “date” is a woman named Holly! She is half native and looking for something more in her life. She has two daughters who are 6 and 3. She really wants them to know more about God…so that's the main reason she is meeting with us. She is in the process of quitting smoking. Pray that all of these will go through on April 26th!

Jim is doing well! He has received the priesthood, participated in baptisms for the dead, and is now taking a temple prep course all within a month of being baptized! I am so happy that I was able to be here when Jim finally decided to "get dunked" (as he would say). I know that we will be friends for life and I can't wait for the day that he can finally go to the temple for his endowments! He continues to ask if I will do the baptism for his mother…but he doesn't quite understand that I have to wait until after my mission. Oh well. That is still a huge compliment! What a gem!

Updates on me?

•  Uhh...I have strep throat.
• Hit 5 months.
• Got testimony blocked by 2 members and then ran out of time. Bummer.
• Dyed Sister Bowman’s hair brown yesterday. Thinking of going to hair school instead of going into politics…the world is going downhill anyway, right?
• Officially gluten free (can't say I love it, but will have to adapt).
• No longer fit into any of my clothes. Sorry mom but I've started buying new ones! #7incheslost
• Learned how to make yams.
• Crossed the US border for a solid 3.7 seconds.

It's been an uphill battle all week, but just as the ever poetic and clearly wonderful example to children everywhere Miley Cyrus said "It's the climb!"  1 Nephi 17:7

xoxo, A

On the rez.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Wild horses on the rez.

Osoyoos Lake at dusk.  Magical.

US Border.

Dying Sis Bowman's hair.

Missin' my Sis Larrrrrrsen!